Goodfellas

Goodfellas (1990), directed by Martin Scorsese, is a representative of a masterpiece of the fusion of sound and vision. This is achieved through various features of the soundtrack, from the blending of gunshots with traffic to the lyrical pairing of songs with cinematic action. The unconventional sound design begins with the opening credits as titles zoom onto and off of the screen along with the sounds of speeding cars.

It soon becomes clear that these car sounds are coming from the opening sequence in which Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, and Robert DeNiro are driving to bury a dead body that turns out to still be alive. When this is discovered, Pesci's character stabs the body and DeNiro shoots him. The sounds of the gunshots fade away into the sound of distant traffic. This dissolve between sounds is just the tip of the iceberg as the Liotta's voiceover begins.

"As far back as I can remember I'd always wanted to be a gangster." This line is punctuated as it cuts off to the beginning of "Rags to Riches" by Tony Bennet. This song is a classic 40's style swing song that is, to me, quintessential and emblematic of gangsters and gangster films. Liotta's monologue continues in the style of a radio announcer, not is his pacing or voicing, but in the way that it goes right up until the lyrics of the song begin. He comes back in later as the song gets quieter again, but there is always a respect between the volume of the dialogue and the music and the soundtrack.

Later in the film this pattern continues and the songs continue their poignancy. The "Case Study on Goodfellas" from the book Short Cuts identifies a key scene in which this type of laying takes place. "Jerry Vale's 'Pretend You Don't See Her' plays at the beginning of Henry's [Liotta's character] affair with Janice. Henry's voiceover announces that Friday nights are for the wives and Saturday nights are for girlfriends, as the song plays diegetically, with Vale performing in the club" (52). This study also notes that the music switches to being non-diegetic sound as it continues into cuts to Henry and Janice in the apartment he rents for her and also his wife Karen and their daughters.

The soundtrack in the film also communicates the general mood of any given scene. When Jimmy (Robert DeNiro) commits his murder spree, wacking the robbers who worked the Lufthansa job with him, the music is cheerful. "Layla", by Derek and the Dominos has a purely instrumental part during the second half of the film. The voiceover confirms this connection saying that Jimmy was happy. The viewer finds out that this good mood and music are due to the Tommy (Joe Pesci) getting made. Jimmy and Henry cannot be made into full members of the mob because they are not completely Italian. The music cuts out as tommy is being brought into where he will be made. The music is completely gone when he, and we, realize that he is instead going to be killed.

The music in this sequence is somewhat devastating, building up hope and good cheer before cutting out and leaving the death of a main character. This is indicative of the greater purpose of the soundtrack in this film. The music and sound in Goodfellas does not simply give backing for the action on the film. It masterfully provides context, support, and structure to the action taking place on screen.