Goodfellas - Stacks Gets Whacked and How Scorsese Went CGI

-You were late for your own fuckin' funeral

Boardwalk Empire premiered on Sunday and it was everything you could expect from the great Martin Scorsese. The sets, the acting, and the cinematography were all very impressive. But when it comes to the gratuitous mob violence, Martin Scorsese shines. Boardwalk Empire delivers, as the death scenes were very violent-one scene in particular involving a shotgun to the face, but there was something a little off. Something that I have noticed Scorsese has been doing ever since The Departed in 2006, a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. The CGI headshot.

Not sure what the hell I'm talking about? Take a look at the final scene from The Departed. Pay close attention, because once you see it you can't unsee....

But it wasn't always like this, before CGI took over Scorsese was the master of the unconventional headshot. From the goon that gets his face shot up by Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver to this scene great scene from Goodfellas, where Stacks(Samuel L. Jackson) gets a visit from Tommy(Joe Pesci). Scorsese loves to show us the blood splatter and we get plenty of that here. Notice the difference between this scene and the computer generated one from The Departed. Does the CGI take anything away from the story? No, but it does seem to diminish some of the gritty realism. Almost to the point where it screams out: Look! I'm animated!