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Goodfellas


Goodfellas (1990)



Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast overview: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta
Running time: 146 minutes

Wow. Fantastic film. From the very start, you know you're watching something special. I obviously knew this was highly regarded as a classic but often I find these films to be not as satisfying for me as they might be for others. Not this one. From start to end, it's a fantastic piece of cinema, and has already placed itself firmly into my favourite Scorsese films - I don't think it's quite as good as Taxi Driver but it's not far off.

The acting is stellar - personally I thought Joe Pesci probably gave the best performance but that's just me. However, all the actors give their all. Liotta held the film together as the protagonist, and reminded me a lot of Di Caprio's character in The Wolf of Wall Street; De Niro was as charismatic and captivating as ever; Lorraine Bracco was surprisingly decent as Hill's wife. I thought Paul Sorvino was excellent as well. Really, I can't fault this film on the basis of the acting, which was flawless.

Scorsese's direction is really terrific. The music is typical Scorsese perfection, the guy has great taste. There's a multitude of memorable scenes and quotes but the whole film holds up well as a look at the mobster lifestyle. Pileggi's script is utterly brilliant. Pretty much everything here is well-done, feeling like a labour of love in essence.

Overall, this is one of the best 1990s films, and not far off being my favourite. Terrific acting, direction, music, and an all-round modern classic.



Quotes
Henry Hill: You're a pistol, you're really funny. You're really funny.
Tommy DeVito: What do you mean I'm funny?
Henry Hill: It's funny, you know. It's a good story, it's funny, you're a funny guy.
[laughs]
Tommy DeVito: What do you mean, you mean the way I talk? What?
Henry Hill: It's just, you know. You're just funny, it's... funny, the way you tell the story and everything.
Tommy DeVito: [it becomes quiet] Funny how? What's funny about it?
Anthony Stabile: Tommy no, You got it all wrong.
Tommy DeVito: Oh, oh, Anthony. He's a big boy, he knows what he said. What did ya say? Funny how?
Henry Hill: Jus...
Tommy DeVito: What?
Henry Hill: Just... ya know... you're funny.
Tommy DeVito: You mean, let me understand this cause, ya know maybe it's me, I'm a little ****ed up maybe, but I'm funny how, I mean funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh, I'm here to ****in' amuse you? What do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny?
Henry Hill: Just... you know, how you tell the story, what?
Tommy DeVito: No, no, I don't know, you said it. How do I know? You said I'm funny. How the **** am I funny, what the **** is so funny about me? Tell me, tell me what's funny!
Henry Hill: [long pause] Get the **** out of here, Tommy!
Tommy DeVito: [everyone laughs] Ya mother****er! I almost had him, I almost had him. Ya stuttering prick ya. Frankie, was he shaking? I wonder about you sometimes, Henry. You may fold under questioning.

Henry Hill: Jimmy was the kind of guy that rooted for bad guys in the movies.

Henry Hill: [narrating] For as long as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster. To me that was better than being president of the United States. To be a gangster was to own the world.

Trivia
The "You think I'm funny?" scene was based on a story that Joe Pesci acted out for Martin Scorsese. While working in a restaurant as a young man, Pesci once told a mobster that he was funny and the mobster became very angry. Scorsese allowed Pesci and Ray Liotta to improvise the scene. He did not tell the other actors in the scene what would happen because he wanted their genuine surprised reactions.

According to the real Henry Hill, whose life was the basis for the book and film, Joe Pesci's portrayal of Tommy DeSimone was 90% to 99% accurate, with one notable exception; the real Tommy DeSimone was a massively built, strapping man.

The now-legendary Steadicam trip through the nightclub kitchen was a happy accident. Scorsese had been denied permission to go through the front, and had to improvise an alternative.

Trailer