Details
Movie Description
Based on Nicholas Pileggi's book WISEGUY, Martin Scorsese's GOODFELLAS is a wry, violent, and exhilarating film about the life of Henry Hill, an aspiring criminal who ends up in the FBI's witness protection program after testifying against his former partners. As a poor Irish-Italian growing up in 1950s New York City, Hill (Ray Liotta) rises through the ranks of his Brooklyn neighborhood's organized crime branch, and with money from the mob he begins living the good life, complete with a beautiful bride, Karen (Lorraine Bracco), a fancy house, and the best seats at the most exclusive restaurants. A botched robbery lands Henry in prison for a brief period of time, and when he gets released, his reckless infidelities and drug abuse damage his association with his adopted family.
Scorsese's film is a visual and sonic onslaught, featuring a brilliant pop-music soundtrack and stunning camera work--including the infamous Steadicam one-take that introduces the audience to the Copacabana's patrons. He uses the songs to infuse a breathtaking, invigorating rhythm into every scene. As the psychopathic Tommy DeVito, Joe Pesci delivers an unforgettable performance that is alarming in its cold-blooded callousness, helping to cement GOODFELLAS' place as a classic portrait of life in the mob.
Synopsis
Martin Scorsese's classic crime drama follows Henry Hill from his beginnings as a petty criminal to his inclusion into one of the world's most ruthless mobs. Featuring a nostalgic soundtrack and inventive camera work, GOODFELLAS throbs with an obscene amount of electricity. Ray Liotta and Robert De Niro bring Scorsese and Pileggi's script to life with great fervor, but it is Joe Pesci who steals the show with his portrayal of Tommy DeVito, a psychopathic gangster who is terrifyingly short-tempered. Simply put, GOODFELLAS is one of the most striking crime films ever made.
Industry Reviews
"...GOODFELLAS makes poetic drama of warped ambitions. It's a prodigious achievement..."
Rolling Stone - p.47 - Peter Travers (10/04/1990)
"...Packed with solid-gold dialogue, tight performances and way too many classic scenes to list here..." -- 5 out of 5 Stars
Total Film - p.106 - Dan Jolin (06/01/2000)
"...Awesome GOODFELLAS is a punk movie, both in subject matter and attitude..." -- 4 out of 4 stars
USA Today - p.1D - Mike Clark
"...Breathless and brilliant....GOODFELLAS is memorable for the ensemble nature of the performances..."
New York Times - p.C11 - Vincent Canby (09/19/1990)
"...Filmed like a rainbow-hued thunderbolt and celebrating Mob lore in the fastest 2 1/2 hours in film history..."
Film Comment - Harlan Kennedy (11/01/1990)
"...GOODFELLAS is RAGING BULL squared....[The film] flows with the exuberance of a filmmaker who has every detail nailed and a few new lovely moves he wants to show us..."
Los Angeles Times - Sheila Benson (09/20/1990)
"Martin Scorsese regained the explosive force of his '70s heyday with this true-life mafia memoir."
Premiere - Howard Karren (07/01/2004)
"GOODFELLAS is Martin Scorsese's violent and intense view...of organized criminal life, with powerful performances by De Niro, Oscar-winner Pesci, Bracco, and Sorvino.."
Widescreen Review - Widescreen Review Staff (07/01/2006)
Quotations
"All my life, I've always wanted to be a gangster."--Henry Hill (Ray Liotta)
"I gotta admit the truth--it turned me on."--Karen Hill (Lorraine Bracco)
"Whaddaya mean I'm funny?...Funny how? I mean, funny like a clown? I amuse you?"--Tommy (Joe Pesci) to Henry Hill
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