In this essay we will look at the production, reception and interpretation of American film, concentrating in particular on the role of the gangster film. In order to do this we will focus on The Godfather (1972) and Goodfellas (1990). We will first identify a definition for the gangster film genre and go on to discuss the role it has played in American Film with reference to the aforementioned films.
Film genres are categories of film characterized by instantly recognisable recurring patterns of setting, content, theme, styles, characters, and stars. Differences between genres are usually identified in terms of themes, stars, use of costume, and settings and locations. Each genre deals with the central societal conflicts, problems, and concerns of the audience, with the gangster film dealing in particular with threats to law, order, and social stability within an already established urban society. According to Tom Ryall (2000, p.104), "understandings of gangster films derive from the historical subject which is dealt with: urban America in the 1920s-. They have distinct visual qualities; usually set in large, crowded cities in the secret world of the criminal: dark nightclubs, bootleg liquor factories, bars in back streets lit by lurid neon signs, and flashy, expensive clothes and cars. This is particularly evident in Goodfellas where many of the scenes take place in the Bamboo Lounge and the Copacabana Club. In one scene Henry takes Karen to the Copacabana Club on their second date. When they arrive at the front of the club a valet attends to the car as they bypass the huge queue into the club by using a side entrance. The camera follows them as they wind through the hallways, into the busy kitchen area, pass other clients waiting inside and are immediately taken to a front-row table, which is hastily set up especially for them. .
In many gangster films the rise of the gangster, and his increasing separation either from his roots or from "acceptable society-, are exemplified by a change into clothes that are signifiers of affluence (if not taste).
