What gangster film is the best: The Godfather versus Goodfellas | Films | Entertainment

Gangster films have captivated audiences for decades, offering a thrilling glimpse into a world of power, danger, and moral ambiguity. This genre has been extremely popular for decades due to the blend of high-stakes drama and complex antiheroes, which some people relate to. After all, these films were first admired during the Great Depression, when the idea of going against the system and finding the quickest way to riches was fantasised – and it still is. 

I, for one, am rather unbiased towards this genre as I have always gravitated towards crime thrillers or murder mysteries that make the audience play detective. But with a degree in film and television studies, it’s shameful to admit I have never watched these gangster masterpieces, The Godfather (1972) and Goodfellas (1990). Amid much online debate over which film is better, I spent six hours watching both to declare a winner.

Exploring the plots

The Godfather

The Godfather, adapted from Mario Puzo’s novel, follows the rise of Michael Corleone, the youngest son of powerful New York crime boss Don Vito Corleone. Vito rules with a strict personal code: he is generous to those who show him respect, but merciless to his enemies.

When a rival seeks his support to expand the drug trade, Vito refuses, setting off a violent power struggle among the city’s Mafia families. As old values clash with ruthless new ambitions, and Vito becomes the target of an assassination attempt, Michael is drawn into the world he tried to avoid.

Forced to protect his family, he enters a spiral of violence, betrayal, and mob warfare that ultimately transforms him from a reluctant outsider into a central figure in the Corleone crime dynasty.

Goodfellas

Based on a true story, Goodfellas follows anti-hero Henry Hill, who recounts his rise and fall within New York’s organised crime world, beginning as a poor Irish-Italian teenager in 1950s Brooklyn and ending in exile under FBI witness protection.

Drawn to the glamour and power of the mob, Henry builds a life of wealth, status, and violence alongside his volatile partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito. As loyalty and ambition drive his ascent, betrayal, paranoia, and excess lead to his collapse.

The better opening scene

There’s nothing more captivating than hearing that trumpet at the beginning of The Godfather. It’s the simple isolating chords that repeat that create a melancholic, eerie atmosphere, and then the sudden close-up shot of Amerigo Bonasera sets the film’s tone when he states, “I believe in America.”

The beautiful cinematography is established here, as the film uses deep, low-top lighting to cast enormous shadows in the room and across the characters’ faces. The slow fade-out until you finally meet Vito’s face establishes his dominant power. It’s just truly alluring.

Amerigo Bonasera’s tragic tale and murder plea for his daughter, and Vito’s response to it, is so unexpected and fascinating, but establishes exactly how powerful the Corleone family are. Nonetheless, Goodfellas’ opening sequence is just as interesting and every entertaining.

The audience is also welcomed to low-lights and immediate tension. Henry, Jimmy, and Tommy are all in a silent car, looking rather tired and stressed, when they hear a sudden knock. At first, they think it’s a busted tyre, but the camera pans to the boot.

As soon as they open it with weapons in hand, a man is in there, bloody and pleading for his life. Tommy then brutally stabs him to death with a long knife. This is all within the first two minutes of the film, showing the chaos and violence of the mafia life.

For me, The Godfather is the winner because of how iconic this scene begins; it doesn’t have to do much for us as the audience to understand the domineering power in that room. However, if you are more of a fast-paced person who needs something shocking to capture you, then you would enjoy the opening to Goodfellas more.

The better ‘villain’

An unexpected aspect of The Godfather is that it is more heavily centred on Michael’s journey into the family business. Michael was an idealistic war hero who wanted nothing to do with his family business. Unlike his brother Sonny, Michael was calm and calculated.

After his father is shot, Michael Corleone commits to the Mafia by killing Virgil Sollozzo and flees to Sicily, where he marries Apollonia Vitelli. While he is away, Sonny Corleone is murdered after being betrayed by his brother-in-law. Apollonia is then killed in a car bombing meant for Michael. These losses complete Michael’s transformation into a cold, vengeful Mafia leader in The Godfather.

One of the best montages in the film is when Michael is baptised as The Godfather, a literal and symbolic act as he denounces the devil, only to be seen orchestrating a major assassination of the heads of the Five Families and other rivals. Michael’s characterisation is truly remarkable as his journey is heartbreaking yet fascinating and justified.

However, sometimes simplicity is more. Take Henry Hill in Goodfellas. He may be one of my most liked, disliked characters in film, but it didn’t start off this way. The beginning of the movie shows an ambitious young man escaping an abusive home, drawn to the Lucchese crime family under Paulie Cicero.

His loyalty earns trust alongside volatile figures like Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito, but he is initially more compassionate than his peers. My favourite scene is watching Tommy begin to rage and kill the young employee, Spider, for disrespecting him and contrasting it to the horrified look on Henry’s face despite choosing this lifestyle.

However, Henry slowly turns into these monstrous men with violent behaviours and is sucked in by greed. He grows increasingly unstable after prison, fueled by cocaine dealing despite mob rules. Becoming a liability, he’s marked for death, and ultimately breaks the Mafia code by informing and entering witness protection.

Despite being lucky to make it out alive, Henry ungratefully states: “the hardest thing is leaving the life,” and that he has to “wait around like everyone else” and live the “average life of a nobody.” To put it frankly, Henry is an obnoxious jerk who is selfish and hedonistic, but he sure makes fantastic cinema.

Overall, which is the better watch?

The Godfather and Goodfellas are iconic in very different ways, and I understand why both are respected as masterpieces. If you prefer to stick to a more realistic and authentic story about the mafia, then Goodfellas is your movie. While the run time of both films exceeds two hours, the quick shots in Goodfellas that add to the film’s chaotic nature make it feel less dragged out than The Godfather, which is very slow.

The cinematography in Goodfellas doesn’t quite match The Godfather, but I do love the colour grading, camera movements, and edits, such as the tracking shots, news-style pans, and dolly zooms. Having a narrator isn’t always my favourite choice, but I do think this works really well here; it is as humorous as it is dark.

The Godfather is just an amazing body of work. Regardless of its authenticity, which was said to be influenced by Joe Colombo, a reputed head of a New York crime family, the film perfectly explores the consequences of family ties, generational curses, and capitalism.

Personally, The Godfather is better made, with a grander plot and well-developed characters, but if there was one film I’d watch again, Goodfellas would take the crown.