Bob Sallese

(2013-05-21 02:21:08)

The best movie ever made!

I've probably watched this movie at least 20 times and not only is itScorsese's best but it is the best film ever made. Ray Liotta gives hisfinest performance and Deniro and Pesci are incredible. Of course, theAcademy robbed Scorsese of yet another Oscar. What a shame! Also note that the soundtrack is fantastic and really works perfectly tomake this film one perfect piece of art.

Michael O'Keefe

(2013-05-20 15:22:14)

Masterful. Potent. Scorsese triumph.

Director Martin Scorsese more than puts Nicoas Pileggi's Wiseguy on thescreen...GOODFELLAS is a high octane crime drama based on the life ofHenry Hill. Henry as a young boy, half-Irish, half-Sicilian andhalf-Jewish if need be, wanted nothing more than being like the "wiseguys" in business across the street from his home in Brooklyn. Althoughthe neighborhood was impoverished, money flowed like water around themobsters that Henry idolized. Henry(Ray Liotta) is taken under the wingof Paul Cicero(Paul Sorvino)and would distinguish himself as he rosethrough the ranks of the "crime family". Henry was the golden boy untila reckless deal threaten the security of the family. Knowing he was amarked man, Hill turned informant and New York crime families fell likedominoes.Scorsese and Pileggi collaborated on the screenplay which was greatlyenhanced with Scorsese's masterful use of soundtrack music tocomplement the extraordinary story line. Just a few featured in thesoundtrack are: Tony Bennett, Jerry Vale, The Moonglows, The Crystals,Dean Martin, Bobby Darin, the Ronettes, Cream and The Rolling Stones.Giving the movie much authenticity is a wonderful cast that includes:Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, Frank Sivero, Chuck Low,Gina Mastrogiacomo and Frank DiLeo.

edwjoolee

(2013-05-15 07:56:25)

A masterpiece.

When a movie this good comes along, I break down like a little child andweep. What can I say, Martin Scorsesse is God. The way he employs thevisualmedium to spill his heart and soul is breathtaking. Goodfellas is THEmovieabout the Mafia,and criminals in general. As good as The Godfather trilogyis, this movie, in my opinion, is much better.It's the little things in the film, like the way the characters banter andjoke with one another, the way they hang out in bars and restaurants, theparoxysm of violence that occasionally mark their days, the way theycelebrate eachothers birthdays and weddings, etc..., that help place thisfilm way ahead of othersin its genre, including The Godfather 1 and 2.Martin Scorsesse does an excellent job of conveying the daily routine andlives of these mobsters, portraying them as basically sad hoodlums, nomoreand no less. Their spiral downward seems all but inevitable.All of the cast in this film are excellent, especially Robert De Niro, JoePesci and Ray Liotta. Fluid camerawork, masterful direction and greatmusicare added to the mix to bring one, exhilarating piece of modern cinematicmasterpiece. 'Nuff said.

(2013-05-14 15:01:05)

Excellent

I don't care what anyone says, I will take this over the Godfather Series anyday. However, I can't see how Pesci got such rave reviews for his performance when every 3 words was F&$k

(2013-05-14 12:03:04)

One of the top ten movies of the last twenty-five years.

This is one of Deneiros best performances

emperor-6

(2013-05-14 00:19:54)

It had its moments....

"Goodfellas" has a good story, and there are some really great camera shotsand edits that are characteristic of Mr. Scorsese. However, I didn't likeit as well as, say, "Raging Bull". For one thing, I thought that some ofthe violence was a little bit unnecessary. Now I know that the maincharacters are not heroes, but are anti-heroes. But I still think that therewere some parts that were unnecessary - in particular, the part where Tommymercilessly shoots the poor kid in the bar.However, in addition to the artistic shots and editing, the film alsohad some really memorable dialogue. And there was some great acting,especially from DeNiro, Joe Pesci, and Ray Liotta. So, I wouldn't say thatthis film is a perfect 10, but I guess I'll give it a 7.5. Although alittle violent, it is a film I wouldn't mind seeing again.

Killacal

(2013-05-09 18:43:56)

I'm biased, this is my favorite movie!

From the very first scene I was hooked. From start to finish this movieis a masterpiece.It is the quintessential "modern" gangster movie, but it's much morethan a gangster movie and to call it such doesn't quite do it justice.It's a movie about friendship and loyalty and how outside elements andexcess can ruin both. It also gives an insight on the life of and innerworkings of the wiseguy network.Lorraine Bracco, Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, and Oscar winner Joe Pesciall turn in masterful performances and Martin Scorsese is at his bestdirecting.There isn't a bad performance in the entire movie as a matter of fact.Each character is developed well and the dialogue is entertaining, yetauthentic.In short this is a movie that lives up to the hype. It is essential forfilm buffs, pop culture gurus, and casual movie watchers.10/10

richard_peers

(2013-05-09 13:49:08)

So what's all the fuss about then?

I bought this film on DVD on the strength of two things - one, de Niro'sexcellent track record, and two, the very high rating on IMDB (in the Top50).Having watched it, I have to ask what all the fuss is about? This is averyordinary film which explores at extreme length the intimate details of thelives of the most childish individuals ever committed to celluloid.Whetheror not people like these really exist, I found it completelyuninteresting.I have no idea why so many people are fascinated by the mafia - maybe it'senvy of the power - but they should not hold a fascination for civilisedhuman beings. People who deal out death as a punishment for the slightestreverse in their lives deserve to be ignored or reprimanded, not laudedandcelebrated as in this film. For every Henry Hill, there are a thousand ormore kept in poverty because of the crime which supports his odiouslifestyle. It would be nice to think there was some kind of a moralending,but even then, we see Henry selling out his colleagues just to keephimselfsomewhere nearer the feeding trough.How anyone can rate this film so highly is beyond me; how so many of youIMDB browsers can and do, just beggars belief!

lashawill

(2013-05-06 02:02:59)

Predictable story of an average gangster

At a most general level the movie is about a dilemma of an averagegangster. At certain point in his career if things go wrong, an averagemobster faces a dilemma. A dilemma of becoming either a 'rat' or a'martyr'.At the story level the most of the characters are all too'rationalistic', in the sense that most of the time they are doingwhatever they got to do to stay fit and survive. Probably the onlyexception is Tommy DeVito, whose overcompensating, psychotic aggressionmakes him the only interesting character. However, even in his case,the all too 'rationalistic' social milieu makes his fate far topredictable. Everybody except Tommy know the rules and know the limits.There are rules to rob, rules to kill, rules to betray and rules to goto jail. Tommy is the only person that challenges the order.Overall, contrary to romantic stereotypes, the portrayal of mafia worldgives a picture of strict subordination and 'law-abidingness'. Thestory gives the picture of the mafia world that is exactly the oppositeof what the narrator's childhood memories describe. What seemed to bethe world of the free, daring and interesting, strong men, appears as aworld of socially conditioned, 'rationalistic' and predictable world ofpredator mammals, who do whatever their dominant cultural environmentpermits or commands them to do.

tieman64

(2013-05-05 05:54:16)

Gangster Movies: Part 6

"Goodfellas" is championed as a "gangster movie", but like most ofScorsese's pictures it's really a religious movie concerned about thedestructive aspects of devotion. The film begins with its only momentof authenticity – a nightmarish sequence in which several gangstersknife a man to death in the trunk of their car - before zooming intothe starry eyes of Henry Hill, a low level gangster who begins thefilm's narration with a heartfelt, "As far back as I can remember, Ialways wanted to be a gangster."But Henry's recollections are not meant to be trusted. He's so obsessedwith "gangsters" that his romantic view of crime eventually becomesakin to Scorsese's own faith in both cinema and Catholicism. We watchas Hill devotes himself to the hoods above him, a criminal clergymanwho worships at the altar of the Mafia's glamorous lifestyle. As a kid,he gazes longingly at the neighbourhood gangsters as if they were gods.To Hill, being a gangster is better than being "the President of theUnited States". Being a low level mafia "somebody" is better than beinga regular "nobody" schnook. Of course, the irony is that Hill's Irishancestry prevents him from ever climbing the Mafia ranks. He rises fromalter boy to priest but is unable to climb any higher, stuck in thevery "blue collar" life he deplores.Released by Warner Brothers in 1990, "Goodfellas" follows the same"rise and fall" narrative progression as all the early Warner Brother"machine gun operas" of the 1920s and 30s. Films like "Little Caesar","The Public Enemy" and "Scarface" all presented fairly simple critiquesof crime, their first halves containing "heroes" who climb the ranks ofthe criminal underworld, crime aestheticized through the power ofcelluloid, whilst their second halves showed the "hero's" worldcollapsing inexorably around him. The message: crime is seductive butultimately doesn't pay.Scorsese disguises his simple narrative with a frenzied style thatmight be described as "anecdotal" or "documentarian", but it's the samestructure. We, like Henry Hill, are seduced by crime, by the sheersexiness of Scorsese's technique, before being subjected to a long30-minute sequence tonguelashing in which Hill's life comes crashingdown.During this sequence, Scorsese revokes every technique he employedduring the film's first two acts. Consider the way Scorsese shows usHill's cocaine fuelled dash through the daily minutia of his life, thedirector's once lyrical long takes and smooth tunes, now choppy,unsettling and paranoid.Scorsese's point: Henry's life is a dream, a complete fabrication, theaudience suckered into accepting the image-lie. Henry articulates thishimself when he says he was "living in a fantasy", the audience finallylearning that our perception of mafia life is built upon artifice. Themessage is no longer "crime is seductive but always comes crashingdown" but "crime is seductive only because it has never been truthfullyrendered".The film ends with the image of a gangster firing his gun directly atthe audience. This is a homage to "The Great Train Robbery's" finalscene, which 90 years ago caused audiences to flinch in their seatswith terror. Scorsese's choice of referencing this shot neatlyencapsulates how cinema audiences are still captivated by the charismaand violence of the criminal. But the scene also has the unintentionaleffect of showing how impotent the gangster has become. Devoid of newideas - less a film about crime, "Goodfellas" is a formalist game aboutthe falsity of itself as a crime film - the gangster genre thusrequires escalating levels of violence, camera pyrotechnics andswearing to hook audiences. Simply pointing a gun no longer has aneffect.In "Projections 1", director John Boorman criticises "Goodfellas",writing: "Marty's camera caresses them, celebrates them, dancesattendance on them like the most sycophantic fan. This sets up anuneasy tension in the audience. When a movie is as well made as this,we are seduced. Our moral judgement collapses." But seduction is the very point. This is not a film about gangsters,this is a film about gangster films. It is a film about theseductiveness of pure technique. A TV series like "The Sopranos" wouldtake this further, presenting gangsters who are so seduced by falseimages of themselves that they consciously act like the image.So what you ultimately get is a continual distancing effect. We movefurther away from the "truth" of crime, instead getting increasinglyhyper-mediated levels of "fake". What's problematic is that"Goodfellas" always gets touted as a factual and authentic account ofcrime, when its actually got more in common with something like "PulpFiction", in that both films are relatively substanceless joyrides witha surfeit of style.More interesting are the film's "religious aspects". Henry renounceshis ideals and is promptly excommunicated from the mafia for heresy (herats out on his friends). For his sacrilege, the life he onceworshipped so devoutly is taken away. The worship and devotion tosomething, the constant testing of one's faith and the inevitabledisgrace that occurs when one cannot possibly live by an imposedmorality any longer, are themes that permeate all of Scorsese's films.Harvey Keitel's "faith in his brother" in Mean Streets - a faith thatis tested and then shattered - is very much the genesis of all theseideas.7.9/10 – "Goodfellas" abounds with contradictions. It probes thefraudulent cinematic image of mob glitz whilst relying ("Funny like aclown? I'm here to amuse you?") on the very traits it undermines. Butreally, the film represents the inability of the maverick directors ofthe 70s to push cinema any further. Stymied and thoughtless, they seekcomfort in nostalgia. Luckily today's new wave of modernist crime films("Miami Vice", "The Wire" etc) make an effort to map our increasinglycomplex world, which is why they are so murky and labyrinthal, comparedto, say, the easily resolved conflicts of "The Departed".

(2013-05-04 16:48:36)

I've always wanted to be a gangster...

It's a classic. De Niro is one of my favorite actors of all time. His performance was great. And all power to Joe Pesci for winning an oscar, for best supporting actor. And Ray Liotta was great also. There was too much chemistry in the movie.

fulosee

(2013-05-04 13:51:21)

Got a question about the movie

In the movie, to me the people who carried Henry's mother's grocery allthe way is not out of respect, but fear. In gang movies such asGodfather and Goodfellas, they always messed up the concept of respectand fear. Is that because how the writer wrote the story or the Italiangangsters are too stupid to identify the difference between respect andfear? I hardly believe anybody will really 'respect' gangster. Didanyone envy the life of gangster after they watched the movie?Hopefully somebody can be able to answer my question, and please do notgive me dumb answers such as:'That is how the ways are back to thedays. People did respect the mobs and that's why they do it. It isdifficult to explain such abstract concept. You might know if youbecome one of their members.'

jefflittle19

(2013-05-02 03:11:18)

Another great gangster film

Scorsese defines his brilliance with this movie. Goodfellas is one of thetop films of the 1990's and has stood the test of time. The performancesofLiotta and De Niro are sensational but Joe Pesci is the one that reallystands out. His role as the short-tempered accomplice is portrayedflawlessly and he really becomes the character. The story by NicholasPileggi is topnotch and the action is intense. A wonderful piece ofcinema!My rating : @@@@ 1/2 (out of five)

adam-97

(2013-05-01 05:44:06)

Flawless!!!

"Goodfellas" ranks on my list of the best movies of all time. From thedirector to the actors, nothing is out of place. I've viewed almost everyfilm dealing with the mafia, and I'd have to say that this is one of thebest. After watching this movie, I read the book "Wiseguy", which the movieis based on. Like the movie, the book is incredible! If you've seen themovie, I strongly suggest that you read the book, you will appreciate themovie even more. Just a wonderful project on both the screen and onpaper!

(2013-05-01 03:04:42)

Goodfellas with Great Roles

Martine Scorcese is absolutely brilliant! Robert De Niro plays Jimmy Conway, a guy who will never be "made" because he is part jewish. Ray Liotta plays Henry Hill who will also never be made because he is half jewish as well. And Joe Pesci plays Tommy DeVito, a full Italian who will some day be the boss in Liotta's well-narrated part. This film focuses the most on Liotta and this is the movie that no joke "made" all three of these talented actors. This is also from the maker of"Casino", another great film by Scorcese. But, "Goodfellas" is the better of the two. Pesci roles in both films are very similar and he is funny and entertaining in both. "Goodfellas" is one of my favorites and I will recommened it to just about anyone who can understand it and like it as much as I did.

(2013-04-30 17:21:15)

Fantastic view of REAL mafia life

This movie had everything that a good mafia movie has to offer. It gave a brilliant preformance and it deserves the nomination for best 100 movies of all time. It is an instant classic to all who see it for the first time. Martin has done it!he has created a mob movie that could give you everything you want in it! A MUST SEE PEOPLE!!!!

Sherlock Jr.

(2013-04-30 06:36:06)

Goodfellas

"Goodfellas" follows the life of Henry Hill (Ray Liotta). A man who grew upwanting to be a gangster. Henry gets a job as I guess what you might call arunner for some mob guys, when he is a teenager. The head of this mob outfitis Paulie Cicero (Paul Sorvino). Who treats Henry almost like a son. And wemeet the young Jimmy Conway (Robert DeNiro also plays the older) and TommyDeVito (Joe D'Onofrio, later played by Joe Pesci). All three of them becomefriends. Almost like brothers. Jimmy & Tommy are more on the wild side. Theylike and want all the high life part of being a gangster. But they also loveto kill & steal. Henry is more or less in it for the glamour & money.We watch Henry start as a head strong young man. He gets married to the "Idon't take any c**p" Karen Hiil (Lorraine Bracco, don't know the character'smaiden name). We see him turn from this very smart man, and watch him fallinto pushing drugs. He then helps mastermind the biggest job in history.After that things go downhill for Henry. Slowly losing control of his lifeand of the things he thought he had so well organized.The whole cast is perfect. They make their characters seems so real, it'sbreath taking. Scorsese of course is magic behind the camera. Even in themost violent parts, he makes them seem like poetry. I think "Goodfellas" isbetter than the "Godfather" films. I realize they both deal with twodifferent kinds of a mob. "The Godfather" mainly dealing with the "family."While "Goodfellas" deals with the people who aren't really born into it. Andshows why they would want to be a part of it. The fact that every soul willfear you. You can get anything you want. You are almost invincible. But italso shows how fast your invincibility can fade. A great film, made by thegreatest of the day. How this didn't beat "Dancing with Wolves," no one willever know. 10 out of 10

fuq

(2013-04-29 15:34:09)

Scorsese's '7 Samurai'

As 'The Seven Samurai' was for Kurosawa, this is the film that Scorsesewillalways be remembered for. And like that Kurosawa opus, it is not becauseoftechnical perfection or creative peak, but because this movie struck theperfect balance of the two. Kurosawa and Scorsese both had other filmsthatwere more creative (Roshomon and Taxi Driver, respectively), and they bothhad other films that were more technically impressive (Ran and Kwaidan,respectively), but it is in those two films that the two directors foundthebalance that makes a masterpiece. Kurosawa never again achieved thatbalance(although he came close a few times), and Scorsese has yet to as well(although he has also come close).this film just pops! it has a frenetic energy that makes its nearly twoanda half hour running time just fly by. the various details, and thecharismatic narration (possibly the finest use of narration in film todate)used to point them out just draws you into this world. scorsese's use ofabrupt freezeframes during the exposition stage really punctuates thepointsof those scenes. by this time scorsese had already perfected his use ofmusic in such films as Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, but here it shineslikeno other. he actually scores the entire film with period pop tunes, pickedwith exquiste taste, variety and precision. all though so many films havetried, no other movie uses music quite like this, and quite this well(well,maybe Boogie Nights).The cast is a who's-who of actors who have done, or would go on to do finework in the mafia genre. Sopranos fans will no doubt notice a youngMichealImperioli (Christopher) playing the bartender 'Spider' in a memerablescene.I recall in an episode of the Sopranos in which Cristopher, having beenmadeto wait for an inordinately long time at a bakery, get fed up and shootsthecounter-person in the foot. the guy, writhing on the ground in pain, asks"why did you have to shoot me in the foot?!", and in a clever nod to hisGoodfellas role, Christopher responds "it happens".ahh, I could go on forever about this movie. just see it (whether or notyou've seen it already).

Framescourer

(2013-04-22 00:19:46)

Great flick

A classic wiseguy flick, a classic Scorsese. It's dynamic, funny, andrewrites the accepted lines of exhilaration and disgust by mixingpanache and violence. Scorsese has created a great document of themobster life that can stand alongside Coppola's famous Godfather films.Yet he's done it in his own inimitable style, bursting with the energyof the four decades it takes in.From the off the film's temperament is dictated by Ray Liotta'scareer-defining role as Henry. His behaviour is dictated entirely byself- interest - Liotta manages to establish a wonderfully neurotic,porous self-awareness that means he's always an outsider trying toohard to please the paymaster... most of the time that means PaulSorvino's outstanding, pre-Gandolfini capo, and of course verydifferent bosses call his tune at the denouement. The film is alsonotoriously a playpen for the more outrГѓВ© behaviour of Joe Pesci, aguilty delight. Lorraine Braco is equal to her considerable supportingrole as Liotta's moll. 8/10

lime_and_limpid_green

(2013-04-21 06:50:55)

Jimmy was the kind of guy who rooted for the bad guys in the movies

Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas" is an amazing film that looks at life inthe Mafia. It tells the true story of Henry Hill, a former mobster, whois still alive to this day; it also relates the story of his friendsand associates who he spends a great deal of time with in the film.Henry's (Ray Liotta) grandest dream as a young boy is to someday becomea gangster. As he says, "being a gangster was better than beingpresident of the United States." He grows up in a neighborhood full ofthem, and even gets a job at the cabstand which gains him respect amonghis peers. (During all of this, his parents become aware of hisinteraction with the other mobsters, and his dad cruelly beats him.) Hecontinues to work and become more familiar with the neighborhood,including Paulie (Paul Sorvino) who he becomes very close to later on.Eventually, he is introduced to Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) who hebegins working for soon selling cigarettes. From here, he first meetsTommy DeVito, who he will also become extremely close with later onalong with Paulie. Unfortunately for Henry, he is caught selling oneday and is immediately arrested. Luckily, Henry is smart enough to notreveal anything, and he is acquitted of the charges. Later on, thestory moves into Henry's adult life where he continues robbing theairport and other places with his close friend Tommy (Joe Pesci). Welearn more about Tommy from this point. What we learn more thananything else is how insane he is. He is obviously a complete psycho,and at his worst he kills people just for kicks. Over time, Henrybegins dating Karen (Lorraine Bracco) who, while she seems close tohim, is infuriated when one day he decides not to show up for a date.She stands him up, and this is when the connection between the two ofthem is soon about more than just a date.Over time, Henry marries Karen and they have two daughters. Henry'swork starts getting more serious, and occasionally they have fightswhich result in Karen almost killing him. Tragically, Henry and hisfriends' killings go over the line and result in ***SPOILERS!!!***Tommy's death.***END SPOILERS!!!*** Henry becomes a cocaine dealer andaddict (despite Paulie's warning that if he messes around with it toomuch he'll disregard him forever) and earns a fortune from it. But,what he and Karen don't realize is that narcs are fully aware of hisactions, and they arrest him one day. When they arrive on the scene,Karen, in panic, thinks that they are actual cops and flushes all ofHenry's cocaine down the toilet (all of which is worth about $60,000).In the end, Henry has to become "an average nobody just like everybodyelse," as he puts it. To conclude, "Goodfellas" is an absolutemasterpiece. Martin Scorsese directs it with a master's touch, and the145 minute running time truly flies by. The performances are fantastic(the best being from Pesci) in addition to the writing and editing.