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| The criminal underground honchos reign as kings in sharp suits on this dark and iconic poster for Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas |
Henry Hill comes of age as an Italian-American in 1950s Brooklyn, striving to make the gangsters' ranks that he witnesses daily around the neighborhood. We follow the decades to come as he does: The Lufthansa heist, the money and the crimes, and the eventual downfall in a whirlwind of drugs, trial and witness protection.
Goodfellas is written by Nicholas Pileggi (Casino (1995)), based on his own non-fiction book Wiseguy (1985), and directed by master filmmaker, New-Yorker co-writer/director Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver (1976)).
Goodfellas is a film of superb quality on so many points that it strikes its audience like thunder while it also entertains with a razor-sharp lucidity and purpose. The cinematography (by Michael Ballhaus (The Marriage of Maria Braun/Die Ehe der Maria Braun (1979))) in the ever-moving masterpiece glides with incredible elegance and swiftness, and it has never been matched by any of the many imitations since.
Ray Liotta (Bad Karma (2012)) is phenomenal as Hill in his career's high point; a man who walks wittingly into a dead end of crime, death and paranoia. Lorraine Bracco (Crazy for Love (2005)) is divine and scene-stealing as his wife Karen. Joe Pesci (Betsy's Wedding (1990)) is fabulous as the mercurial Tommy. These are just the foremost three performances from a cast that is generally fantastic and thoroughly great throughout. Goodfellas is, in short, a centerpiece of modern cinema.
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Casino (1995) - Scorsese's sumptuous Vegas gangster tale has the wingspan of a Greek tragedy
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Cape Fear (1991) - Scorsese adds lots of stuff to remake but loses the balance
Watch the legendary 'Am I funny' scene from the film here
Cost: 25 mil. $
Box office: 46.8 mil. $ (North America only)
= Uncertain - but likely a box office success (returned 1.87 times its cost domestically alone)
[Goodfellas premiered 9 September (Venice Film Festival, Italy) and runs 145 minutes. Scorsese has described his approach in the film: "To begin Goodfellas like a gunshot and have it get faster from there, almost like a two-and-a-half-hour trailer. I think it's the only way you can really sense the exhilaration of the lifestyle, and to get a sense of why a lot of people are attracted to it." The real-life Henry Hill was paid 480k $ by the filmmakers prior to filming. (He later saw and liked the film.) The biggest inspiration for the style and 12-draft script was François Truffaut's nouvelle vague classic Jules et Jim (1962). Scorsese fought the reluctant studio (who preferred an established star) to get Liotta cast in the lead. Filming took place in New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Illinois, Florida from May - August 1989. The film opened #2, behind holdover hit Problem Child, to a 6.3 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weeks in the top 5 (#2-#5) and grossed 46.8 mil. $ during its original run. Regrettably the international gross numbers for the film are not reported online; but even if the film's reception was considerably stronger in North America than internationally, Goodfellas likely became a box office success. The film was nominated for 6 Oscars, winning one; for Best Supporting Actor (Pesci). It lost Best Supporting Actress (Bracco) to Whoppi Goldberg in Ghost, Director to Kevin Costner for Dances with Wolves, Editing also to Dances with Wolves, Picture also to Dances with Wolves, and Adapted Screenplay to Michael Blake, also for Dances with Wolves. It was also nominated for 5 Golden Globes, won 5/7 BAFTA nominations, was nominated for a César and 2 David di Donatello awards, won 2 National Board of Review awards, 3 prizes in Venice and many other honors. Roger Ebert called Goodfellas the best mob movie ever, with a 4/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. It was a major inspiration for gangster TV-series masterpiece The Sopranos (1999-07)). IMDb's users have voted the film in at #17 on the site's Top 250 list, sitting between The Matrix (1999) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). Scorsese returned with Made in Milan (1990, short documentary) and theatrically with Cape Fear (1991). Liotta returned in Women and Men 2: In Love There Are No Rules (1991, TV movie) and theatrically in Article 99 (1992); Robert De Niro (The King of Comedy (1982)) in Awakenings (1990); and Pesci in Home Alone (1990). Goodfellas is certified fresh at 96 % with a 9.01/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
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