- The Observer,
- Sunday February 6 2000
The last scene in Failsafe, a film about a nuclear stand-off , depicts the last 10 seconds of life in New York before the Bomb goes off. Ordinary people, about to end their lives in a nuclear flash, are shown doing ordinary things. I love the scene in Goodfellas when Joe Pesci challenges Ray Liotta for apparently laughing at him. A tremendous moment of Scorsese interplay. In John Carpenter's Dark Star, there's one of the funniest sci-fi scenes ever. A spaceship crew member tries to entertain his dour friend with a box of tricks that includes a funny nose, glasses with eyes on springs, and other hopelessly tired visual gags.
