So I shot him in the foot, what is it a big fucking deal?

"Goodfellas" is almost a perfect movie. The narration by the Liotta character, the progression of time and the changes it brings about, the real-life feel of the whole thing, and Pesci's remarkable performance all make it one of the best movies of the 90's and one of the best gangster movies of all time. I know, I have said Pesci always plays the same guy, but in this movie, that guy works better than in any other movie in which I have seen him.

Scorsese, at his best, is one of the best directors of all time. I don't know how you can compare him to Eisenstein, Welles, Hitchcock, et al., but I know that some of his movies are just really...cool. The inspiration for this poll came when I saw "The Color of Money" again about a week ago. The camera movement in that one is just unbelievable. The way the camera follows the cueball down the table or its spinning around the table as Cruise finishes a rack is just genius. It's almost poetry it's so good. A lot of times I think camera movement like that is gimmicky (see: Brian DePalma) but Scorsese makes it work.

I am ashamed to say I have not seen the lion's share of these movies but that makes my point even stronger. Of the few I have seen, they are all I need to consider Scorsese a genius. "Raging Bull," "Goodfellas," and "The Color of Money" are just great movies. Another thing about Scorsese that I don't think he gets enough credit for is the acting in his movies. Pesci is an example but the same thing applies to Sharon Stone in "Casino," Tom Cruise in "The Color of Money," and Juliette Lewis in "Cape Fear." The last one is especially notable because I normally think Lewis is horrible. But in that scene with DeNiro in the school theatre, she was perfect. I think the environments Scorsese creates are what makes the actors so effective. And Paul Newman won his only Oscar for his performance in a Scorsese movie.

Scorsese isn't scared to show us the underbelly of the underworld. That sounds repetitive, but what I mean is he will show you the worst part of a bad person. Yet, through it all, you still care about the character, and that caring makes his movies memorable. I have to see "Raging Bull" again. I have seen it once, but I didn't really know what I was watching and I don't think I appreciated it fully.

Marty has had his misses just like everyone else, but you still like to see them and they are better than 90% of the movies you see. I don't want to see him get bogged down in gangster movies, but I wish he would give DeNiro and Pesci another shot. Stone was good, but "Casino" doesn't hold a candle to "Goodfellas." Give another chance to Scorsese with a great script and he will equal if not surpass "Goodfellas." I am looking forward to it.

Poll Topic: Best Scorsese Movie
Goodfellas	40.9% - (141 Votes)
Taxi Driver	22% - (76 Votes)
Raging Bull	14.8% - (51 Votes)
The Last Temptation of Christ	4.6% - (16 Votes)
Casino	4.6% - (16 Votes)
Cape Fear	3.7% - (13 Votes)
After Hours	1.4% - (5 Votes)
The Age of Innocence	1.1% - (4 Votes)
The Color of Money	1.1% - (4 Votes)
Mean Streets	1.1% - (4 Votes)
Boxcar Bertha	0.8% - (3 Votes)
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore	0.8% - (3 Votes)
Bringing Out the Dead	0.5% - (2 Votes)
The King of Comedy	0.5% - (2 Votes)
Kundun	0.5% - (2 Votes)
The Last Waltz	0.5% - (2 Votes)
New York, New York	0% - (0 Votes)
Who's That Knocking at My Door?	0% - (0 Votes)
Total Votes: 344