"I had never really known who John Dunbar was. Perhaps because the name itself had no meaning. But as I heard my Sioux name being called over and over, I knew for the first time who I really was."The big controversy with this win is whether the Oscar should have gone to Dances with Wolves or Goodfellas. On its own, Dances with Wolves is certainly Oscar worthy (Though I can't watch the part with the wolf and the horse getting killed. Tyler has to fast forward those parts.).
It's not a matter of whether or not Dances with Wolves is deserving, but of whether it is more deserving than Goodfellas. After putting a lot of thought into it, I'm still not decided. I polled people I know, and the results were about even (women tending to favor Dances with Wolves and men Goodfellas). It's was an especially tough choice for Tyler, as they are two of his favorite movies.
Dances with Wolves is an epic frontier film about a Union soldier, Lieutenant John Dunbar (Kevin Costner), sent to man a military outpost way out in the boondocks (Side note: I always thought that the word was boondogs until spell check set me straight -that's embarrassing):
Major Fambrough: You wish to see the frontier?
Dunbar: Yes sir, before it's gone.
Then, through a series of unfortunate events (one murder by Indians, one suicide by nutcase), all knowledge of Dunbar's having been posted is lost. What Rimmer (from Red Dwarf) would refer to us as "a gigantic administrative cock-up." Since he is unwilling to abandon his post, he is on his own, aside from his his loyal horse, a friendly wolf, and a group of may or many not be friendly Lakota Indians.Into his new, idyllic existence bumble the Americans, finally remembering the existence of the post. They are jerks, and beat and imprison him, until his Lakota friends come to the rescue, defeat the soldiers, and free him. He sets off into the unknown with Stands With A Fist, knowing that he will endanger the Lakota if he is found with them. As he leaves, his friend, shouts after him: "Dances With Wolves! I am Wind In His Hair. Do you see that I am your friend? Can you see that you will always be my friend?"
Of course, we all know that this is the beginning of the end for the Western Native Americans, and the epilogue reveals that in just over a decade the area would be in the control of the Americans. It's sad, of course. Like The Last Emperor it is showing the end of a way of life -in this case, the end of many different groups of people as they are conquered, killed and imprisoned.
It's an intense movie -sentimental, funny, distressing, violent (By the way, I'm sorry, but scalping is never okay. Gross.), and romantic.
1990 Goodfellas
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| Henry, Jimmy and Tommy |
Goodfellas is a very different sort of movie. The back cover quotes Roger Ebert as calling it "The best mob movie ever." Well, no, it's not. The Godfather is. But I'll just put a pin in that.
It is directed by Martin Scorsese, and is similar in tone to Raging Bull, which he also directed. Several of the same cast members, foul language, violent. But Goodfellas is definitely a much better movie. It feels like there is a point to the movie, and the dialogue actually gets us somewhere.
Like Raging Bull, Goodfellas is based on a true story. It's about Henry Hill, played by Ray Liotta, and is mostly told from his perspective, though it sometimes switches over and is narrated by his wife, Karen ("I know there are women, like my best friends, who would have gotten out of there the minute their boyfriend gave them a gun to hide. But I didn't. I got to admit the truth. It turned me on.").
He grows up wanting to be a mobster: "As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster. To me, being a gangster was better than being President of the United States." He admires the respect they garner, the power they wield, the fear they inspire, and, of course, the money they have to throw around. Starting as a kid, he gets his career started as an errand boy for mob capo Paulie Sorvino, and then works his way up.
He becomes a successful associate within the organization, and befriends fellow mobsters Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci). Jimmy is a bad guy ("Jimmy was the kind of guy that rooted for bad guys in the movies."), but Tommy is something else. The man is unhinged beyond belief. He is like Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull -quick to anger. Except that when you make him angry, over whatever slight he has perceived, he shoots you. When someone talks to him, they don't know if he's going to laugh and respect how ballsy they are, or kill them:
Henry: You're a pistol, you're really funny. You're really funny.
Tommy: What do you mean I'm funny?
Henry: It's funny, you know. It's a good story, it's funny, you're a funny guy.
Tommy: What do you mean, you mean the way I talk? What?
Henry: It's just, you know. You're just funny, it's... funny, the way you tell the story and everything.
Tommy: Funny how? What's funny about it?
Anthony: Tommy no, you got it all wrong.
Tommy: Oh, oh, Anthony. He's a big boy, he knows what he said. What did ya say? Funny how?
Henry: Jus...
Tommy: What?
Henry: Just...ya know...you're funny.
Tommy: You mean, let me understand this cause, ya know maybe it's me, I'm a little fucked up maybe, but I'm funny how, I mean funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh, I'm here to fuckin' amuse you? What do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny?
Henry: Just... you know, how you tell the story, what?
Tommy: No, no, I don't know, you said it. How do I know? You said I'm funny. How the fuck am I funny, what the fuck is so funny about me? Tell me, tell me what's funny!
Henry: Get the fuck out of here, Tommy!
Tommy: Ya motherfucker! I almost had him, I almost had him. Ya stuttering prick ya. Frankie, was he shaking? I wonder about you sometimes, Henry. You may fold under questioning.
In the instance above, he laughed. Other times people are not so lucky. A scary guy.
He finally pulls this crap on the wrong guy and gets himself killed, which I have to say was a relief. Partly because he is a stressful guy to watch, and partly because I was beginning to think that the mob bosses must have zero common sense (They had promised to "make" Tommy, but it turned out to be a ruse to lure him into their trap.). Note: A "made man," in the immortal words of Wikipedia, "is a fully initiated member of the Mafia." It's a big deal in the mob world.
Unfortunately, his death causes Jimmy to become paranoid and go a little crazy -as in, crazier than he already was. He is killing off people left and right.
Henry is in big trouble. He's into drugs, having affairs, in big trouble with the law, and now he's afraid Jimmy is going to kill him: "Jimmy had never asked me to whack somebody before -but now he's asking me to go down to Florida and do a hit with Anthony? That's when I knew I would never have come back from Florida alive." He testifies against Jimmy and is put in Witness Protection.
At the end of the movie, Henry is discontent, bored, and missing his former life: "We had it all, just for the asking. Our wives, mothers, kids, everybody rode along. I had paper bags filled with jewelry stashed in the kitchen. I had a sugar bowl full of coke next to the bed. Anything I wanted was a phone call away. Free cars. The keys to a dozen hideout flats all over the city. I'd bet twenty, thirty grand over a weekend and then I'd either blow the winnings in a week or go to the sharks to pay back the bookies. Didn't matter. It didn't mean anything. When I was broke I would go out and rob some more. We ran everything. We paid off cops. We paid off lawyers. We paid off judges. Everybody had their hands out. Everything was for the taking. And now it's all over. And that's the hardest part. Today, everything is different. There's no action. I have to wait around like everyone else. Can't even get decent food. Right after I got here, I ordered some spaghetti with marinara sauce and I got egg noodles and ketchup. I'm an average nobody. I get to live the rest of my life like a schnook." The epilogue makes it clear that he failed to maintain his marriage and couldn't stay out of trouble for long.
Definitely not as good as The Godfather, but a less sentimental, grittier look at mob life, focusing on the brutality of that world. It's a long movie, and I was kept entertained throughout. I like that it didn't romanticize the mafia. It was honest.
I still don't know which movie should have won. Can we call it a tie?
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