98. Goodfellas (1990)

Stars:  Ray Liotta (Henry Hill), Robert DeNiro (Jimmy Conway [James Burke]), Joe Pesci (Tommy DeVito [Thomas DeSimone]), Lorraine Bracco (Karen Hill), Paul Sorvino (Paulie Cicero [Paul Vario]), Samuel L. Jackson (Parnell "Stacks" Edwards)

Director:  Martin Scorsese

Awards / Honors

• 1 Oscar win - Best Supporting Actor (Joe Pesci)
• 5 Additional Oscar Nominations - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress (Lorraine Bracco), Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay), Best Editing
• #94 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies list (1998)
• #92 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies list (2007)
• #2 on AFI's 10 Top 10 lists - Gangster films (2008)
• In 2000, Goodfellas was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant"

Genre:  Drama / Gangster film

Running Time:  2 Hours, 26 minutes

Format:  DVD, Blu-ray

Odyssey Rating:  5 Stars (John - 5 Stars, Beth - 5 Stars)

John's Take

I love this movie. I mean, I really LOVE this movie.  If I were actually compiling this list – instead of just collating two pre-existing lists – Goodfellas would, without a doubt, be somewhere in my Top Five.  I have lost track of the number of times I have seen this movie over the last 20 years.  It probably has to be around 40 times or more (once every six months or so sounds about right).  I do / have owed copies of this film in VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray – I am like K is with the Beatles’ White Album when it comes to this film.  If you watch this film and don’t walk away saying, at the very least, “That was pretty good…”, then you need to seek professional help because something is very wrong with you.

Now, the problem is, what do I write about this movie?  I mean, this is one of those movies that everyone pretty much universally loves.  Not only is it on both of AFI’s greatest American movies list, but is currently #17 on IMDb, list of best movies and Rodger Ebert named it “the best mob movie ever”.  So, instead of just rehashing well-covered cinematic aspects of the film, here are some interesting facts about the movie Goodfellas that you may not have know before.

The Scorsese / DeNiro / Pesci Connection

When these three work together, they cannot help but produce classic work.  Robert DeNiro has been in eight Martin Scorsese films (Mean Streets; Taxi Driver; Raging Bull; King of Comedy; Goodfellas; Cape Fear; Casino; New York, New York).  Joe Pesci has been in three (Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Casino).  Of the three Martin Scorsese films that have made the AFI’s list of the top 100 films of all times, DeNiro was in all three while Pesci was in two (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas).

The Goodfellas / Sophie’s Choice Coincidences

It is probably inaccurate to say that Goodfellas was the Sophie’s Choice of the 1990’s, but there is no doubt that there are some striking parallels between these two movies .  OK. maybe not striking, but intresting is a silly sort of way: 

• Both movies are perfect examples of the dominate genre of their respective decades.  The 1980’s, the decade of Sophie’s Choice, was the era of big, heart-wrenching historical films such Amadeus, Gandhi, A Passage to India, Dangerous Liaisons, The Color Purple, The Last Emperor, Empire of the Sun, Driving Miss Daisy, The Elephant Man, Reds, and Out of Africa.  The 1990’s, the decade of Goodfellas on the other hand, was the decade where criminal dramas were king – The Godfather Part III, The Green Mile, Bugsy, Hoffa, L.A. Confidential, Tombstone, Fargo, Casino, Unforgiven, Silence of the Lambs, Donnie Brasco, and The Shawshank Redemption. 
• Both movies are basically three-man shows – Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Peter MacNicol in Sophie’s Choice; Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci; and Ray Liotta in Goodfellas.
• Sophie Zawistowski is considered by many to be Meryl Streep’s signature role.  Tommy DeVito is generally considered to Joe Pesci’s signature role.
• While both Ray Liotta and Peter MacNicol, both have very successful film and television careers, neither have been able to capture the critical success they both had in these films.  Both roles came up relatively early in their film careers and while both may be the “weakest link” in their little threesomes, neither movie would have been as good with someone else playing those roles.

The Goodfellas and Music Connection

There are approximately 45 or so songs featured in the movie Goodfellas – ranging from artists like Tony Bennett and Dean Martin to The Rolling Stones and The Who.  In fact, there aren’t too many films out there that are better examples of how music can influence a film.  To quote Wikipedia:

Martin Scorsese chose the songs for Goodfellas only if they commented on the scene or the characters "in an oblique way".  The only rule he adhered to with the soundtrack was to only use music which could have been heard at that time.

For example, if a scene took place in 1973, he could use any song that was current or older.  According to Scorsese, a lot of non-dialogue scenes were shot to playback.  For example, he had "Layla" playing on the set while shooting the scene where the dead bodies are discovered in the car and the meat-truck.  Sometimes, the lyrics of songs were put between lines of dialogue to comment on the action.

Some of the music Scorsese had written into the script while other songs he discovered during the editing phase.  There is no music once Henry is arrested in his driveway by the DEA, until the end credits.

The Movie Characters vs. The Real People

• While a number of the minor characters in the film are referred to by the real names of the people that their characters were based upon.  Henry and Karen are the only major characters that use people’s real names.
• Jim Colella, Detective Ed Deacy, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ed McDonald all play themselves in the movie.
• Despite being described in Henry Hill’s testimony, there is no evidence that Michael "Spider" Gianco ever existed or that he was murdered by Tommy DeSimone (Pesci’s Tommy DeVito character in the movie).
• Tommy DeSimone / Tommy DeVito was in fact killed in reprisal for the murder of two of John Gotti's close friends (Billy Batts, like in the movie, and a guy named Ronald “Foxy” Jerothe).  While January 14th, 1979 is often citied as the day he died, that date has never been officially confirmed.  January 14th is the he was reported missing and Henry Hill’s testimony places the time of his death as “a week after Christmas”.  Tommy’s body was never recovered, so the whole part of the narration describing Tommy being shot in the face, was just created by Scorsese and Nicholas Pileggi.  Henry Hill claims that John Gotti himself killed Tommy, but that has never been confirmed.
• The “Lufthansa Heist” was a real robbery perpetrated by the characters the movie is based upon and, as mentioned in the movie, was the largest robbery in American history at the time (1978). Approximately 6 million dollars had been stolen.  Also, just like in the movie, James Burke (DeNiro’s character Jimmy Conway) became paranoid and greedy and started knocking off the other participants in the crime.  For a time the police believed that Burke had killed Tommy DeSimone (or that Tommy was in hiding from Bruke) due to Tommy’s participation in the robbery.
• Of the three major characters only Henry Hill is still alive.  Henry divorced Karen (who I presume is also still alive) and both are no longer in the witness protection program.  Henry has been to rehab multiple times for a drinking problem. 

That is one of the great things about this movie. It is just one of those cases where the real stories are just as fascinating as the ones the movie tells.  The screenwriters (Nicholas Pileggi and Martin Scorsese) didn’t have to embellish the story – they needed to simplify it.  If you have some free time, I highly recommend you perusing the Wikipedia entries concerning the real people / events depicted in Goodfellas.  It is a heck of a read.  As far as the movie is concerned, as one of my all-time favorites, of course Goodfellas gets a solid rating of 5 Stars from me.

John

BETH'S TAKE:

Great movie! I am a little morbid of a person...I love to watch "Murder Shows" (48 hrs, Wicked Attraction, Most Evil...Discovery ID is my favorite channel)...and I have a HUGE fascination with the mob. So this movie was right up my alley.
Henry Hill was determined not go live a life like his mother & father. He became a part of the mob family and enjoyed every bit of it..no matter what that meant. Unlike alot of other mobsters however, Henry was compassionate. He truly cared about the "Family". And I also believed he truly loved his wife, Karen. He did everything he could to please her and give her what she wanted. She may have hated knowing the fact he had a girlfriend or many girlfriends, but she was not willing to go back living like "common folk" either.

One questions, does Joe Pesci have to play the same arrogant mob character in every mob movie he plays in?? LOL...remember him in Casino...freaked me out when the shanked him over the head with a baseball bat then, barely clinging to life..they buried him alive...YIKES!

But anyway, back to Goodfellas...I think everyone loves this movie..how could you not. It great!

Two thumbs up!