Characteristics And Conventions Of Goodfellas

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Regarding genre, Goodfellas presents a fair balance of auteur and genre based conventions situating the film as an American gangster film. The 1990’s film mimics the characteristics and conventions first presented by writers and directors like Raymond Chandler and Billy Wilder in the thirties and forties, with films like Double Indemnity defining the iconography of the American crime genre. It’s similarities to more modern films like Scarface 1983 and Casino 1995 embody the characteristics of this genre surround the narrative structure; following the rise and fall of Henry Hill.

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