A star of the Martin Scorsese-directed film GoodFellas has criticized AMC for issuing a “trigger warning” ahead of the iconic gangster film.
“This film contains linguistic and/or cultural stereotypes that are incompatible with current standards of inclusion and tolerance and may offend some viewers,” warns a message broadcast on the channel.
This disclaimer caught the attention of not only the general American public, but also actor Frank Sivero, who played gangster Frankie Carbone in the 1990 film.
He called the message “an insult to (him) and to De Niro” – who starred alongside heavy hitters like Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta in the decorated drama – and to cinema in general.
“I’m a little disturbed, in a way, that AMC — and even AMC — is cutting the movie,” the 72-year-old Italian said, describing the move as a telltale sign of cancel culture.
Frank Sivero, who played gangster Frankie Carbone in the Martin Scorsese-directed film, criticized AMC for issuing a “trigger warning” before its television screenings. We see him here in a scene that he says he improvised, just after a hit
“This film contains linguistic and/or cultural stereotypes that are incompatible with current standards of inclusion and tolerance and may offend some viewers,” warns a message broadcast on the channel.
“You don’t hear the language, they suppress the language, so why are they so upset? » he told TMZ on Monday about the changes already made to the TV version of the film.
“I’m a little disturbed because – thank God – I was able to do my job by improvising,” he continued, referring to a particular scene where he found a few lines on the armband, offering some of the film colleagues a coffee gangster.
“I created that,” he said, referring to the extremely natural exchange with Pesci, now 81, who ultimately made the final cut for theaters and television .
“I made those moments real, to relieve the tension of those horrible moments.”
He insisted that there was nothing stereotypical about either the film or his character, let alone those of the lead actors – who helped propel the film to greatness.
They achieved this largely through improvisation, he said: “by introducing a little bit of dark humor into these people’s lives,
“Don’t just do a violent scene, like a horror movie,” he explained further about the intricacies of filmmaking which he says are hampered by post edits. cut.
“A horror movie you’ll dream of, you know? You’re not going to dream of that (with Goodfellas).
He called the post “an insult to (him) and De Niro” — who starred alongside heavy hitters like Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta in the decorated drama — and to cinema in general.
“You will remember the coffee pot scene. You’ll remember me warming up the car,” he continues, as streaming services continue to face criticism for removing potentially offensive scenes or themes from their titles.
“Instead of wondering what the scene is, what’s it called, getting shot and getting killed, I think about the card game,” he said.
“‘I had a full house, I just lost,’ he remembers of another classic and organic scene. “So, I do humor. ‘I just lost, with a full house, a big jackpot.”‘
He went on to conclude that people already know what they’re getting into when they prepare for GoodFellas, citing how it has been out for decades and is widely accepted as one of the most defining films of the last century.
Additionally, the film is considered by some to be one of the best ever made, inducted into the National Film Registry for perpetual preservation in 2000.
This saw it join classics like Casablanca and Citizen Kane, both of which were created over a century ago, but still endure today.
Such films serve as a kind of time capsule that recalls a different era, critics like Sicily-born Sivero said, and do not need to be altered.
He said he and the other actors improvised much of the film — and that such choices were made tactfully and in good taste, and did not need a trigger warning. Stars Ray Liotta, Robert de Niro, Paul Sorvino and Joe Pesci are seen on the set of the 1990 film
Actors also improvise many moments in such films, Sivero explained Monday – insisting that such choices were made tactfully and in good taste, and therefore do not need a trigger warning.
“Why are they so upset about a movie that is known all over planet Earth in every language imaginable, and every world leader has seen this movie?” he said.
He concluded that the improvised, and sometimes risky, exchanges are what make the characters, especially in the mob film, more real and “likeable”.
He called it an insult to consider them offensive stereotypes.
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