Great Movie Scenes II

This is the greatest scene from the greatest movie.  Oftentimes movies seem to acquiesce to the shorter attention spans exhibited by the younger generations.  If things aren't exploding and moving rapid fire from scene to shining scene, then kids are not interested.  And if kids are not interested, the conventional wisdom goes, then the movie is not worth a hill of beans, since teens bring in the most bang for the buck.  But Scorsese didn't exactly care about his box office take.  He wanted to make a movie that was genuine and unique and captured the exact mood for the time.  This scene does exactly that.

Watch it again.  Henry (Ray Liotta, perfectly cast) runs the joint.  He walks in through the kitchen and knows everyone.  They, of course, are happy to see him since he tips so well.  He interacts playfully with the doormen, the kitchen staff, and the host.  He accepts drinks from front-row big shots.  He is the hottest thing in the room, and he wants Karen to know it.  This is, I believe, the height of his gangster life.  Everything is going well for him.  People know him and, better yet, respect him.  He is comfortable in his lifestyle and epitomizes a man that is cool and collected in the face of a  potentially dangerous job.  He has his life on lockdown mode.

And then there's the filming technique.  Scorsese captures the action in one two-minute Steadicam shot.  While most modern films would be jumping from scene to scene every 15 seconds, Scorsese keeps the camera on Henry for a full 120 seconds, showing the action uninterrupted.  This serves a few purposes.  One, it levels with the audience.  He trusts that he has the audience's attention by now and they can handle a two-minute sojourn through an anonymous kitchen.  Two, it adds to the story.  As mentioned, Henry has the world at his fingertips and this scene is indicative of that very thought.

Don't forget the music!  The Crystals' "Then He Kissed Me" is one of the better '60's girl-group bubblegum pop songs.  It describes the relationship between a young man and woman from first date to marriage, directly paralleling Henry and Karen's future together.

A perfect song, a perfect camera shot, a perfect scene.