1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die- Goodfellas

#848- Goodfellas (1990)
Starring: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci
Directed by: Martin Scorsese


Plot Summary: As far as he could remember, Henry Hill always wanted to be a gangster. Growing up in Brooklyn, Henry is taken under the wing of local mob boss Paul "Paulie" Cicero and his associates Jimmy "The Gent" Conway and Tommy DeVito. They achieve success through numerous thefts and robberies, with the fame and respect going to their heads and making them feel untouchable. When Tommy murders Billy Batts, a made man, they need to cover their tracks in order to avoid being found out and murdered for their actions. Henry finds a new way to make money by selling drugs, even convincing Jimmy and Tommy to join him despite Paulie's wishes for them to stop. Jimmy is elated with the news that Tommy is going to be a made man, feeling that he and Henry will be virtually made as well and will be feared, respected and untouchable, that is if all goes according to plan.


By the time The Godfather wrapped up its trilogy with a third installment that was considered underwhelming by critics and audiences, the gangster genre had seen its fair share of films that tried to reintroduce and modernize the genre with moviegoers everywhere. Throughout the '80s and early '90s, films like The Untouchables, Scarface, Reservoir Dogs, and Pulp Fiction proved that there was still new life to be breathed into the genre thanks to directors like Brian De Palma and Quentin Tarantino. In the modern age of film, no director has immortalized himself more with the gangster genre than Martin Scorsese, and much of that can be credited to his work in one of the greatest mob movies of all time, Goodfellas. Usually with films like Goodfellas and The Godfather, if it has a reputation that deems it so good that I "have" to love it when I see it, part of me becomes skeptical of whether or not I'm going to watch it and believe the hype. Sometimes a film is so good that it is easy to enjoy it, and other times it is harder to do so if I have difficulty trying to find the appeal. Luckily, the latter was not an issue at all with Goodfellas, as I instantly saw why people love this film and it was a film where I was able to believe the hype.

Goodfellas is told through the point of view of Henry Hill, played by Ray Liotta. Henry is the character that goes through the most development, so his up and down development (seriously, it's an emotional roller coaster to see how he progresses) allows Liotta to showcase his acting talent in playing numerous versions of Henry Hill. There's a comedic side to him, a loyal side, a nervous side, an explosive side, and many other ways we see Henry performed, and since Liotta is able to do all of these emotions convincingly, it makes for a very engaging main character to follow.

Jimmy "The Gent" Conway is played by Robert De Niro. De Niro is much different in this film than he was in The Godfather Part II, but still knows how to fill the role of a mafia associate. Jimmy is protective of Henry and Tommy as if they were his sons, prideful of his heists, and overly paranoid of being whacked or snitched. All these elements combine to form a unique mentor character for Henry and Tommy to follow. Jimmy and Paul "Paulie" Cicero, played by Paul Sorvino, are characterized by the different personalities of the Corleone leaders in The Godfather Trilogy, with Paulie reflecting Vito's values of family and respect and Jimmy reflecting Michael's modern business savvy.

Joe Pesci plays Tommy DeVito and is an absolute scumbag the entire film. Tommy is the character that lets the success go to his head the hardest, and thinks because he, Henry and Jimmy have some success that he can do what he wants and can't be touched. That's not to say Tommy is a "bad" character, as there are many times where there is an appeal to the character. You can tell that there's a solid relationship between Tommy and his mother, played by Catherine Scorsese, and Pesci's personality helps Tommy find a sense of humor that provides for some very funny lines and scenes. Just don't tell Tommy that you think he's funny, trust me.

Henry's wife Karen, played by Lorraine Bracco, is a very interesting character because she wants to stand by her husband, but can't stand him when she suspects he's not being honest with her. Rather than acting rationally about it, she resorts to public tantrums and even threats of violence. It is clear that Karen is a bit unstable, and even a bit whiny, but it's nothing that she shouldn't have expected when she learned what Henry did for a living. Instead of reacting the way most people would, she admits she got turned on by it, which I'll admit was kind of funny but is also a sign that Karen isn't a logical person.

Goodfellas encompasses all the iconic status that The Godfather was able to achieve, and a lot of that can be credited to the filmmaking techniques of director Martin Scorsese. Scorsese not only called the shots as a director, but also helped write the screenplay for the film. It has a different style in its narrative that is written to have rich and compelling scenes of dialogue, performed by top quality actors, and mixed within a ton of fast paced action. When a film is able to do all of those things within itself, it is no wonder how Scorsese has become one of our era's top filmmakers, and one of the best directors to make a gangster film.

Now go home and get your f****** shinebox! (I love that scene)


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars 

With great performances and quickly paced narrative, Goodfellas became an instant classic and immortalized itself as one of the great gangster movies. This film was full of action and great dialogue, making it a film that's more my speed and one I recommend everyone see and own in their collection. 

Comment below to share your thoughts on the movie or to discuss a topic that I left out of my review

Goodfellas and movie images are copyrighted by Warner Bros.