92 Goodfellas

Brief Synopsis (from Netflix)

Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro chew plenty of scenery, but the focus of this gripping Martin Scorsese opus is real-world mobster Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), a gangster who dreamed of making it big but landed in the Witness Protection Program instead. Nominated for six Oscars (including Best Picture), the film's only win was Pesci's Best Supporting Actor statue for his scene-stealing portrayal of ticking time bomb Tommy DeVito.

Jason

Now the guy's got Paulie as a partner. Any problems, he goes to Paulie. Trouble with the bill? He can go to Paulie. Trouble with the cops, deliveries, Tommy, he can call Paulie. But now the guy's gotta come up with Paulie's money every week, no matter what. Business bad? Fuck you, pay me. Oh, you had a fire? Fuck you, pay me. Place got hit by lightning, huh? Fuck you, pay me.

I love this movie. I haven't seen it in about 5 years, but it was still as good as I remember. Though this time around I noticed a flaw that I either over looked last time or just didn't remember it being there before.

Now I would never call Joe Pesci or Robert De Niro in a Scorsese movie a problem, but I think they inadvertently effected the movie negatively for me. Am I saying that these two were bad, no, actually I'm saying the complete opposite. They are so good at being these characters that it makes everyone else look like crap. I mean even though Ray Liotta was the main character, any time Pesci and/or De Niro were on screen. I barely even noticed Henry Hill and the problems he was having.

I know the above doesn't actually count as a flaw but it was enough of a problem for me that it made me finally decide the age old question. Which is better Casino or Goodfellas, and I know not everyone agrees with me, but I think its Casino. I mean don't get me wrong I think both plots are great and they are both told in an interesting and engaging way. I really think the only reason I enjoy it more is because the story centers on De Niro and Pesci. So we get to engage with at least one of these two amazing actors 100% of the time, instead of like 60%.

Final Thought- I love this movie, so it definitely should go on my top 100. Though I'm not really sure where. Before I watched it the most recent time I would have said top 25, but after seeing it again it just didn't have the same charm that I remembered. Maybe it was me noticing Ray Liotta's terrible fake laugh or maybe I'm looking at it in a different way since I know I have to review it, but whatever it is I would put this movie no higher then 50. I should also note that if I felt like my list of 100 was getting to cluttered I would cut this and keep Casino since they are so similar.

Bryan

"You know, we always called each other good fellas. Like you said to, uh, somebody, 'You're gonna like this guy. He's all right. He's a good fella. He's one of us.' You understand? We were good fellas. Wiseguys. But Jimmy and I could never be made because we had Irish blood. It didn't even matter that my mother was Sicilian. To become a member of a crew you've got to be one hundred per cent Italian so they can trace all your relatives back to the old country. See, it's the highest honor they can give you. It means you belong to a family and crew. It means that nobody can fuck around with you. It also means you could fuck around with anybody just as long as they aren't also a member. It's like a license to steal. It's a license to do anything. As far as Jimmy was concerned with Tommy being made, it was like we were all being made. We would now have one of our own as a member.

This is a great movie. I'm glad it is on the list, and it would absolutely be on mine. While it has sufficient action and violence to be classified a solid guy movie, it was also emotionally jarring.

I particularly like that the narration shifted perspective based on who's point of view the scene was illustrating. The scene when Karen is yelling at Henry in front of the card shop and she picks up the narration from Henry for the first time, the transition is so fluid you hardly notice it. A device that could have been unwieldy and distracting was executed in such a way to make it natural, like breathing. Genius. And she fit perfectly into this film- the tone of the film was often trying to convey to a normal audience why someone would choose this life of crime, and her narration took that point home more effectively than much of Henry's account of the allure.

That being said, she came nowhere close to being the best character in the movie. Joe Pesci as Tommy DeVito was iconic- any impersonation of the actor you will ever see will draw from this film. What do you mean I'm funny? Funny like a clown?

*Spoiler warning (But if you haven't seen this and can be spoiled, I'm disappointed in you)*

And DeNiro is great. He is introduced shooting a corpse in the gut that had already been stabbed to death, and yet his sobs at learning that Tommy (Pesci) had been executed were emotional and believable. The dichotomy of his complete disregard for human life and his strong regard for friendship was stunning. He became even more complex when it was revealed that he would willingly order the hit on Henry (Liotta), someone he'd been close friends with and watched grow up, in order to protect his own ass. I like the complexity, and can't imagine anyone other than DeNiro doing it so well.

Throughout these reviews I've always tried to rate the movie not just against all other films, but against others of the same genre. Comparing apples to apples, Goodfellas falls considerably short when compared to the Godfather. This doesn't disqualify it from my list, but certainly makes ranking the top 100 much easier.

Final Thought: Goodfellas belongs on the list. It certainly should be lifted up as a movie that everyone should have seen, but I would say that it's relative low placement on the list is appropriate. It is a phenomenal movie, but it is not top 10 material.


Angel


Attaboy! I got respect for this kid. He's got a lot of fucking balls. Good for you! Don't take no shit off nobody.


This movie is just plain fantastic. It is hard to put into words how enjoyable the film really is.


I think a big part of it is the perspective of the film. It is from the point of view of the main character who always wanted to be a mobster. Most of the time movies play out from the point of the good guy. Detectives trying their best to keep the scum of the world from being on the streets. Not Goodfellas, here we were able to see the other side of the coin. The ability to do what you want, where you want, when you want. To be in a group of people who only hung out within that group, and who had a freedom that people only could wish for.


That freedom was as much a punishment as it was a pleasure. Power corrupts and so does greed. Facts that Joe Pesci and Robert deNiro's characters embody. Thinking that they were untouchable Tommy(Pesci) stepped on one too many toes. Stick your nose where it shouldn't be and get a hole put in the back of your head. Pull off the heist of your life, become an old paranoid man who cuts strings....and throats. Life gets hard when you spend it looking behind you.


Final Thoughts- I really enjoyed this film. It almost gave you an honest view of what the life of a gangster actually was, both the good and the bad. Not counting for some overacting by Ray Liota the movie acted out perfectly. This definitely belongs at this list.

Alfredo

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

It's funny what a few years can do as far as opinions are concerned. I can recall seeing bits and pieces of Goodfellas a few years back and from what I saw I was not in the last bit intersted. It seemed to me like The Godfather (which at the time I had not yet seen), another Italian-American cash cow Hollywood wanted to bank on. I'm happy to report that my taste in movies has significantly matured since I was in highschool.

I started the evening we wached Goodfellas exhausted from a long day at work. I'm telling you this because that evening I was just as if not more tired than the night we saw The French Connection and I was
looking forward to passing out. There was a slight problem though. From the moment Goodfellas began it grabbed hold of my attention and did not go until the end credits started scrolling.

The only way I can really describe this movie is to say that it's a recruit film for the mob. Right from the begining all the Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) talks about is how fantastic the mafia is. How he can get away with doing damn near anything to damn near everyone.

The movie starts with Henry at a young age looking out his window at a bunch of wise-guys in a social club. Those first few minutes of the movie set the entire tone of the movie for me. Watching everything that progressed after that point I felt like a young Henry, simply in awe at the extravagant lives these men lead. Like the characters in teh story I felt no remorse for the actions they took towards others. They all seemed to deserved it in one way or another. Especially Tommy Devito.

Even at the end of the film when Henry does the right thing and turns in all his comrades, for a full pardon, I was so drawn into the lifestyle of the characters that I hated him for ratting them all out.

Final Thought- Goodfellas is fantastically acted, it has an all star cast, and is written to the point where you yourself feel drawn into the story. I've liked most of the movies we've seen up to this point. This is the first one though that has actually immersed in it's world and got me lost in it's story. I don't see how this movie couldn't make it onto this list.