While the versatile filmmaker Martin Scorsese has helmed various genres, the gangster drama is the one that put him on the map, starting with the Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro starrer Mean Streets. The film’s success led to him being the master of the genre with films like Casino and The Irishman.
However, before he became the master of the genre, he was reportedly apprehensive about following through on one of his best films, Goodfellas. Scorsese was reportedly hesitant to tackle the genre again after Mean Streets and reportedly went to The Godfather star Marlon Brando, who surprisingly advised against pursuing it.
Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas Was His Return To Form
Martin Scorsese has been making films since the ‘60s and debuted with Who’s That Knocking On My Door and struggled for a bit before finding his breakthrough with the gangster film Mean Streets. The director collaborated with Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro, the latter of whom he would go on to have a lengthy collaboration in the coming years.
After filming Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Scorsese gained notoriety for helming the crime drama Taxi Driver. Starring Robert De Niro, the film is often considered to be one of the greatest films of all time and was even nominated for Best Picture and Best Actor (via Empire). Scorsese then went on to direct films such as New York New York and The King of Comedy, which were not as well-regarded.
While his last best film was considered to be the De Niro starrer Raging Bull, Scorsese was considered to have returned to form with Goodfellas. Based on the novel Wiseguy by crime reporter Nicholas Pileggi, the film chronicled the life of a member of the mob named Henry Hill, who would later turn into an informant and get into the witness protection program.
Martin Scorsese co-wrote the film along with author Nicholas Pileggi and reportedly liked the aspect of a gangster’s daily life and the documentary feel of the original novel. In an interview with Empire, Scorsese said,
“What fascinated me most were the details of everyday life. What they (the local good fellas) eat, how they dress, the nightclubs they go to, what their houses look like, and how, around that, life organizes itself, day by day, minute by minute, Their wives, their kids.”
The film is often considered to be one of Martin Scorsese’s best films and also one of the greatest films ever made. The film received nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor and Actress at the Oscars. Joe Pesci won the award for Best Supporting Actor.
Martin Scorsese Was Discouraged By Marlon Brando to Pursue Goodfellas
When Martin Scorsese first came across the book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, he was reportedly working on the Tom Cruise and Paul Newman starrer The Color Of Money. Scorsese reportedly loved the exploration of gangster life in the novel and wanted the film to be more kinetic and quick in its treatment.
Though Scorsese had spoken about never making a film on the Mafia as he was an Italian American, he was so impressed by the narrative structure of the story that he could not stop himself from making it. He said to Empire,
“It’s a bit different here. ‘Cause it’s not that. When I read the book, and then when I started writing the script with Nicholas Pileggi, we gave it such a structure that it seemed to me an exciting film to make. That it would be too bad not to make, too bad for me not to make. It’s an epic, insofar as it covers 25 years, from 1955 to 1980.”
However, the filmmaker reportedly did feel underconfident about making another gangster film while developing Goodfellas. He mentioned in the book Made Men: The Story of Goodfellas that he approached actor Marlon Brando for advice on whether to tackle the genre yet again after Mean Streets, to which Brando had discouraging advice,
“I was going sour on [Goodfellas] a little bit…During these times, I had misgivings about making another film about organized crime. And [Brando] said, ‘You don’t wanna do that again’…Thelma [Schoonmaker] had read the script to Michael Powell. Michael was not a great fan of the gangster genre. And Michael called and told me, ‘You must do this.’ shifted me back into the original energy and original impulse to make the picture.”
Martin Scorsese then reportedly moved ahead with the film and then made what is considered to be one of the greatest films ever made. Scorsese has since made gangster films such as Casino, The Departed, The Irishman, and Gangs of New York.
