Goodfellas [1990]

But above all that, it's an extraordinarily visceral, gripping and thoroughly enjoyable piece of storytelling as we witness the glory days of organised crime from the protagonist's viewpoint; then, abruptly after one bloody murder too far, we see him decline in a spiral of drugs, violence and paranoia. The principal triumvirate of Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci ("You think I'm funny? I'm here to amuse you?") and Robert DeNiro are utterly convincing as the three wiseguys. If you haven't seen it for a while, watch out for many familiar Sopranos faces in the rest of the cast, not least of course the wonderful Lorraine Bracco.

On the DVD: Finally, GoodFellas gets a worthy DVD release, with the feature presented in a new anamorphic 16:9 digital transfer, accompanied by two separate commentary tracks. Scorsese, Pileggi and other collaborators are present on a patchwork and partial track which is too disjointed to be really satisfying; fortunately on the second track, Henry Hill himself is joined by ex-FBI agent Edward McDonald to chat about their own memories of the events depicted in the movie. On the second disc there are four new documentaries which look back at the making of the picture, at its effect on other filmmakers, at Scorsese's creative process, and the true-life background to the film. A gold-plated essential item for every DVD collection. --Mark Walker

It is also an extremely poor, non-anamorphic transfer that barely surpasses the VHS version.

Hopefully if enough of you don't buy this version, Warner Home Video might release a special edition that might do the film justice.


Great film, poor DVD   January 11, 2002
29 out of 31 found this review helpful

It's not clear from the technical details that this is a double sided (flipper) DVD. You have to turn it over during the film. Also, the trailers are anamorphic but the film is letterbox which gives a VHS type experience.


Great film shame about the flipper   January 24, 2002
29 out of 33 found this review helpful

I love this film and have watched it countless times, however, when i bought it on DVD i was shocked to find you had to turn the thing over half-way through the film! This has already been mentioned in other reviews but i just thought i'd re-inforce this point, i just don't understand why they couldn't have put the film all on one side. I personally wish i hadn't bought the DVD and my advice is to stick to the video until they sort this out.


Brilliantly executed film, shame about the extras   December 16, 2001
25 out of 29 found this review helpful

The only things keeping this movie from being known as Scorsese's crowning achievement are those other movies he made known as known as Taxi Driver and Raging Bull.

It is usually accepted that Raging Bull was the greatest movie of the 1980s. That's probably true. Goodfellas is possibly the greatest movie of the 1990s.

The thing that makes this movie so attractive to me is that Scorsese could have easily made another Godfather. Goodfellas isn't about Mafia Kings, or Crime Lords. This is about the lower levels of the mafia who don't have the glamorous lifestyle as "the kings". These are the people who are several levels down from Don Corleone. Hence, the tone of the movie is much more raw, and violent. Thus, this film is more similar to Scorsese's 1973 classic Mean Streets as opposed to Coppola's Godfather.

Scorsese pays attention to every little detail in this movie. He uses so many different aspects of cinema in order to turn what may be a typical scene into something that you always remember. Examples of this include the brilliant camera work through the back entrance of the nightclub ; freeze frames that are accompanied with interesting narrative ; great shifts in scenes that highlight twists in the characters' minds. It is as though Scorsese had a whole bag of tricks that he was picking from to put into this movie - and they all work perfectly.

The soundtrack is brilliant. In some cases it places an exclamation point on a dramatic scene, in other cases it is used to give the viewer a sense of a time period. Scorsese even shows the same scene twice from two different angles just to illustrate two different points of view...brilliant!

This is Scorsese's best film from the 1990s, even better than Cape Fear and Casino. Robert De Niro, is brilliant, as you would expect from on of the greatest actors of all time, Joe Pesci plays his usually "scrappy little Italian psychopath" to perfection and Ray Liotta, recently seen misfiring in Hannibal, defies all expectations in what is without doubt his best performance to date.

The DVD is a double sided disc and the distinct lack of any extras does not do justice to this brilliant film. However, never fear as there is a Goodfellas special edition due out next year, to celebrate the existence of such a wonderful film.


FOR HE'S A JOLLY GOODFELLA   November 24, 2002
Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle)
15 out of 19 found this review helpful

This is simply a great mob movie. Based upon the best selling book, "Wiseguy", by Nicholas Pileggi, it traces the rise and fall of "gansta" wannabe turned government informant, Henry Hill. Skillfully directed by Martin Scorsese, this film with its all star cast, megawatt performances, and period music soundtrack packs quite a wallop to the senses. Named 1990's best film by the Los Angeles, New York, and National Society of Film Critics, it garnered six Academy Award nominations and earned Joe Pesci an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

In the 1950s, a preteen Henry Hill (Christopher Serrone) began his career as a "gansta" wannabe on the mean streets of East New York, where a small Italian American community thrived. Working with Paul Cicero's (Paul Sorvino's) crew, he worked his way up, doing the penny ante, gofer stuff, until he began more heavy duty involvement. As a young man, Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) took to his life in the underworld like a fish takes to water. He married a nice, jewish girl whom he turned into a shrewish girl, as he lived the life he wanted. His wife, Karen (Lorraine Bracco), also became entranced by the perks available to a mobster.

Henry teamed up with Jimmy "The Gent" Conway (Robert DeNiro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci). Together they stole, lied, cheated, and killed their way through life, until they got wacked or got caught. When Henry, against the express advice of Paul Cicero, got involved with Jimmy in the 1970s cocaine drug trade, it was the beginning of the end for him and Jimmy. The film skillfully chronicles the rise and fall of Henry Hill from wiseguy to goverment informant in the witness protection program.

It is amazing that the actor playing young Henry Hill, Christopher Serrone, resembles Ray Liotta so much, right down to the piercing hazel eyes. He gives a terrific performance as young Henry, expressing all the joie de vivre that young Henry had over being associated with mobsters. Ray Liotta, as the adult Henry Hill, gives an outstanding performance. The viewer senses his absolute love for the life that he lives. He clearly enjoys all the perks of a mobster, his only regret being that he could never be a "made" guy, because he was not fully Italian, as his mother was Sicilian but his father was Irish.

Robert DeNiro is wonderful as Jimmy Conway, low key yet powerful. Joe Pesci gives an over the top performance as the wild, volatile, and totally crazy Tommy DeVito, an out of control wiseguy who has no redeeming value as a human being. He is a guy who does not think twice about killing someone over something trivial. Paul Sorvino is excellent as the mob boss who is all about the family and plays it the old fashioned way. Lorraine Bracco gives the performance of her life as Karen Hill, a woman besotted by the life of a mobster's wife, until she realizes that girlfriends are an expected part of that life. She is sensational.

This is simply a great mob movie. It is a film that the viewer will watch again and again. I, myself , have seen it at least three or four times, and each time is as if it were the first. Vastly entertaining, this film is a worthy addition to one's collection.