Goodfellas (1990)

User Rating:

8.8/10   

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers (WGA):

Nicholas Pileggi (book)
Nicholas Pileggi (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

19 September 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

"As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a gangster." -- Henry Hill, Brooklyn, N.Y. 1955.

Plot:

Henry Hill and his friends work their way up through the mob hierarchy.

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | New York | Mafia | Robbery | Organized Crime

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 32 wins & 18 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. July 5

4:00 PM

Telemundo

Cast

Robert De Niro	...	James 'Jimmy' Conway
Ray Liotta	...	Henry Hill
Joe Pesci	...	Tommy DeVito
Lorraine Bracco	...	Karen Hill
Paul Sorvino	...	Paul Cicero
Frank Sivero	...	Frankie Carbone
Tony Darrow	...	Sonny Bunz
Mike Starr	...	Frenchy
Frank Vincent	...	Billy Batts
Chuck Low	...	Morris 'Morrie' Kessler
Frank DiLeo	...	Tuddy Cicero
Henny Youngman	...	Himself
Gina Mastrogiacomo	...	Janice Rossi
Catherine Scorsese	...	Tommy's Mother
Charles Scorsese	...	Vinnie

Also Known As:

Good Fellas (USA) (original script title)
GoodFellas (USA) (promotional title (video box title) (poster title))
Wiseguy (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

146 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Brazil:14 | USA:R (certificate #30613) | Israel:16 | India:A | Poland:18 | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-16 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Italy:VM14 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Bern) | UK:18

Filming Locations:

2409 Thirty Second Street, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The 1912 American Mutoscope & Biograph Company groundbreaking gangster film short The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) influenced director Martin Scorsese in the making of his own gangster films Goodfellas (1990) and Gangs of New York (2002). The film was picked by Scorcese for his 2005 tribute at Beaubourg, centre d'art et de culture Georges Pompidou (1977) in Paris, France, as one of his favorite films. Biograph is the oldest movie company in America and in existence today.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: Shadow in Henry's house when he is talking with Marie about the Lufthansa heist.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Henry Hill: The fuck is that?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Lord of War (2005)

Soundtrack:

Can't We Be Sweehearts

A classic mobster film.

This is one hell of a film about the mobsters, based on a true story and coming from one of the great directors of all time. This is about Henry Hill, the narrator of the story, an Irish simple person who gets involved with the Mafia at a very young age and continues his life through it. There is no major plot in this film, just isolated incidents one of which was the turning point of Hill's life. Scorsese, as brilliant as he ever was, shows violence, sex and drugs etc in his own trademark style. And his actors helps him to make this film one of the classics.

Robert DeNiro is not present in much of the film, nor his acting leaves too much impression. The three actors who really did their best job here are Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci and Lorraine Bracco. I hate to say that most youngsters today don't know too much about Liotta or how talented he was. I asked my younger brother about him and he said, "The man who did the voice on GTA: Vice City?". This is partly because Liotta did not get too many big roles after that, especially in recent years. But here he is just brilliant as Hill. It's Pesci's one of the best too. Playing a mad mobster with dark sense of humor wasn't his usual type. And Lorraine Bracco becomes the perfect lead female in such type of films.

The film's got smart screenplay and excellent cinematography. And I don't know how many times Scorsese will be denied his Academy recognition. I hate to see a lifetime achievement award as his first Oscar. But things are going like that.