Goodfellas (1990) User Reviews

In one word: perfection

[gogoschka-1 · 10/10 · 17 December 2013]

Needs to be seen to be believed; in one word: perfection. Every frame, every voice-over, every song - it all comes together at the exact right moment to create the perfect film experience. This film makes you really understand and feel what makes the American mafia so compelling; in the eyes of a kid, who was unfortunate enough to grow up in a tough neighborhood, those gangsters are rock stars. Live fast, die young - but when you die, it ain't gonna be of a glamorous suicide or drug overdose - the ending will be brutal, ugly and sad. And it may very well be one of your best friends that will blow your brains out.

I'll never get tired of watching Goodfellas; the entertainment value of this film is just amazing. It doesn't happen very often that every person involved in the process of making a film is at the peak of his/her game. And rarely do art and entertainment come together the way they did here. Storytelling with impeccable pacing, this is what it's like when a master composer conducts his masterpiece. All hail the king; the most versatile and talented filmmaker of his generation: Martin Scorsese.

My vote: 10 out of 10

Favorite films: IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/

Lesser-Known Masterpieces: imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

Favorite Low-Budget and B-Movies: imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: imdb.com/list/ls075552387/

Iconic

[whoisfishmooney · 10/10 · 10 March 2022]

One of the most iconic movies of the 90s. So many unforgettable moments in cinema history. Quotable lines throughout also. A fun film on a bit of a negative subject.

A great director at the peak of his talents

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 9 January 2011]

It is hard to describe the brilliance that is Goodfellas. As good as Raging Bull and Taxi Driver are, I think Goodfellas is Martin Scorsese's best film and is a textbook example of a great director at the peak of his talents. The film crackles with raw energy and enthusiasm, the film is superbly directed and the final sequence is nothing short of stunning. The script is also excellent with memorable quotes, the story is never less than compelling and the pop and rock soundtrack is winning. The cinematography and detail is immaculate, and the ensemble cast is one of film's finest. Joe Pesci won an Oscar for his performance, and as good as he was, he is perfectly matched by Robert DeNiro and Ray Liotta. All in all, it is a brilliant film and an instant classic no matter what time, day, week or year. 10/10 Bethany Cox

One word: priceless

[mhasheider · 10/10 · 6 November 2004]

If there was one word that I could use to describe Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas": it'd be priceless.

A surreal and deeply fascinating take on life of Henry Hill who was involved in the Mob for three decades and his rise throughout the time span (and Nicholas Pileggi's book "Wiseguy").

There isn't a single moment in the movie where it doesn't miss a beat, you could only tell by the atmosphere of the time period and it seems so real.

The performances in this film simply make it even more memorable and how the characters are portrayed here especially by Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci (who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor), and Paul Sorvino are believable and easy to understand that they were a family, very close and tightly knit to the core. Also, how director Martin Scorsese lets the movie pace itself and keeps the viewer off guard in what happens deserves a lot of credit.

Other mafia films struggle to hit same heights

[doolanfile · 10/10 · 19 March 2022]

Trouble with goodfellas is it sets the bar so high for mafia organised crime style movie. Outside of godfather and scarface this is the holy grail in its genre.

The greatest mob film still today

[OriginalMovieBuff21 · 10/10 · 11 April 2005]

Amazing is the one and only word to say for this film. I have always thought that Goodfellas was one of the greatest films ever made and set a landmark in the 90's or even in movie history. I bought Goodfellas last week and I got to watch the film a couple days ago. I really just couldn't lay my eyes off the film and everything about it was just simply worth watching. The acting was excellent, Ray Liotta, Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, and other actors did great and almost all of the characters they portrayed were 100% accurate. The camera-work also was brilliant and Martin Scorsese does a beautiful job by putting excellent camera shots in his films and I give him high credit for that. The soundtrack too is one of the best soundtracks ever made and the song "Layla," put chills down my spine of how great this song fitted the film. Overall, Martin Scorsese made his best film in my opinion and him and Nicholas Pileggi made an excellent and sharp script that made this, the greatest mob film still today.

Hedeen's Outlook: 10/10!! **** A+

The Definitive Film of the 1990s

[tfrizzell · 21 July 2000]

"GoodFellas" may be the most important film of the 1990s in the fact that its incredible success led to some of the other great movies of the decade. Films like "The Silence of the Lambs", "The Crying Game", "Pulp Fiction", "The Usual Suspects", "Fargo", and "L.A. Confidential" would have likely never been made as well as they were without the influence of Scorsese's "GoodFellas". The film is an intense study of a Mafia family over a 30-year stretch. Ray Liotta plays the half-Irish, half-Sicilian kid from Brooklyn whose only dream is to be a gangster. Although Liotta's story is at the heart of "GoodFellas", it is the supporting cast that is the film's calling card. Robert DeNiro gives one of his greatest performances, Paul Sorvino is quietly effective, and Lorraine Bracco (in an Oscar-nominated role) does the best work of her career. However, it is Joe Pesci (in his well-deserved Oscar-winning turn) who steals every scene as the one who does the "dirty work". This is probably the definitive film in a decade that produced many film-noir styled classics. 5 stars out of 5.

Just plain overrated

[Bevan - #4 · 5/10 · 20 October 2015]

Chalk me up as another reviewer who found this movie to be vastly overrated. My wife and I saw it a couple nights ago, for the first time, and it just pales in comparison to cinematic triumphs such as The Godfather movies or The Sopranos.

As much as anything else, there are no likable characters. Part of the reason you could keep turning in to The Sopranos is that you could genuinely like and identify with the principals, despite their brutality and crimes. Here, you can't. None of the principals have any displayed virtues: at best, they're shallow and two-dimensional.

Yes, the highly lauded soundtrack has many tunes. But if you're going to use the hoary old tactic of advancing pop tunes down the years to denote the march of time, could you not be so flamingly anachronistic as all of that? They were playing 40s tunes in the doo-wop era, 50s doo-wop post-British Invasion, 60s psychedelic pop in the 70s, and early Eric Clapton in the disco era. Get the freaking DATES right.

Speaking of anachronisms, the film's jammed with them, and while it's superficially a glittering, gritty portrait of the wiseguy life and the wiseguy era, the goofs just overload. Cars too late for the year. Phones too late for the year. Livery too late for the year. Did Scorsese bother at all with accuracy and continuity, or did they just say "Eh, get an old looking car out there." It pains me to read about how exacting and painstaking DeNiro was to get every aspect of Jimmy's personality true to life, exactly how the real Jimmy Burke did, in the middle of a blizzard of anachronisms.

Most damning, there's just no dramatic tension. There's little by way of plot, little by way of suspense. The actors did good jobs with the material and direction they were given, but that's not remotely enough to sustain this seriously overrated flick.

5/10.

A classic. Durp.

[justinbrizendine · 10/10 · 18 March 2022]

My goodness. If you ain't seen, and much worse, don't care for this movie... I don't wanna associate w you. 30 years later it's still considered possibly the best gangster film of all time. Watch.

Peak Scorsese

[levelbigfan · 10/10 · 7 April 2022]

This was the biggest and best scorsese movie of his long and great career.everything is perfect about this film absolute proper banger.love it so much.

Pow right in the kisser

[darwinlovesprice · 10/10 · 8 March 2022]

This film gets you by the balls and you better strap yourself in for a thrill ride in mafia culture Italian style. 10 out of 10 rating from me full marks movie.

A true classic

[thomashamps · 9/10 · 13 September 2000]

This is the gangster film at its finest. Scorsese is on top form as are Pesci and De Niro. Liotta has never bettered the performance he gives here. The film starts as it means to go on - violent, full of profanity, fast paced and very stylish. The story follows Liotta's character from boy to man as he climbs his way up through the ranks of organised crime. We see all the highs and lows of his life and meet a host of very believable and very undesirable characters along the way. It's a film full of memorable scenes whilst remaining much more than the sum of its individual parts at the same time. This is what all movies should be like. It draws you in and won't let you out of its grasp at any point. When it finishes you feel exhausted and exhilarated at the same time. If ever the word 'masterpiece' was meant to be used, it was for this film.

A masterpiece exposing misguided loyalties and greed

[SmilingRon · 10/10 · 5 September 2005]

Scorcese & Pileggi's masterpiece on the life of Henry Hill as a Brooklyn NY mob wise-guy.

As much as the true events of Henry's life have more than likely been dramatised and glamourised to a certain extent, the essence of this film IMO is that it is still a brilliantly damning portrayal of the characters and lifestyle of mobsters.

The sham of the mafiosi is exposed - preaching loyalty, respect & principles - but when it comes down to it they are just two-bit criminals that'll stab each other in the back for money or power over others. Each of them has an inflated sense of self-worth and stature that comes with being a "wiseguy", breeding with it paranoia that others are not giving them the respect they deserve.

An example is De Niro's portrayal of Jimmy Conway. His outward persona is that of a calm and reasonable nature. But really he is a paranoid killer who at the drop of a hat would kill even his closest associates for money. I use associates rather than friends, as their relationships are of tolerance rather than kinship. Distrust, hate and jealousy through the forced smiles.

Interesting that given this, certain people envy their life-style and would have loved to have been a wiseguy. I personally couldn't think of anything worse that being tied for life with having to keep the likes of Tommy company, but whatever rocks your boat. Some people have actually paid to see The Dukes of Hazzard film, so I shouldn't be surprised.

The Mob...Revealed

[arthurclay · 29 August 2004]

The movie that dispelled the romantic myths about La Cosa Nostra and showed it as it really was. "The Godfather" for the 90's minus the silly notions of love, honor, and family. Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) is a half-Irish, half-Italian who rises to prominence in Paul Cicero's (Paul Sorvino) Lucchese Crime Family along with Jimmy Conway (Robert DeNiro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci). This is his story of hi-jacking, stealing, cheating, killing and finally drug dealing. He makes no excuses about what he does. Simply put he is just doing business and trying to survive on the mean streets of New York City. He explains the trials and tribulations of being a mobster and what it's like to have to do these things and live with the consequences. Cicero, an aging old-time underboss, heads a dangerous and powerful organization that enjoys free reign over the neighborhood in which Hill lives and recruits him when he is only a kid to work for them and learn to "score" more specifically, the art of committing crime. Hill quickly hooks up with veteran criminal Jimmy "The Gent" and his protege Tommy to hi-jack trucks from the Idlewild Airport. This makes these three rich and respected in the underworld but there is a new game in town. Narcotics. They quickly undertake this highly profitable business even though they know it is against the expressed rules of Paulie. This combined with another serious rule violation and the score of a lifetime sets them up for their own possible demise. Lorraine Bracco co-stars as Henry's wife. A marvelous true life story of one of the most violent and profitable street crews in the history of the American Mafia. The best movie of 1990.

That's gangster

[catscolapoo · 10/10 · 28 March 2022]

This is the crime movie for you. Its not slowly paced as something like the godfather or brutal like scarface no goodfellas is the perfect balance between both.

Simply a masterpiece. Scorsese's last truly great movie (to date).

[Infofreak · 17 March 2003]

'Goodfellas' is a masterpiece, pure and simple. While not my favourite Martin Scorsese movie it is a stunning achievement, and one of his very best movies. The film is stunning technically. The consistently fine acting by the large ensemble cast (both known and unknown), the cinematography, editing, dialogue, brilliant use of music, it's all breathtaking. But Scorsese and co-writer Mitch Pileggi never lose lose sight of their main goal - to tell a story. And in that it's really hard to beat this movie. As to the actors De Niro is on top form, Ray Liotta is the best he's ever been, and this is Joe Pesci's definitive performance. Plus you have Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino, Michael Imperioli, and lots of well known faces in small but important roles (Debi Mazar, Samuel L. Jackson, Illeana Douglas, Kevin Corrigan), plus dozens of unfamiliar actors (and non-actors) who are all so good it seems unfair just to single out the "stars". (Also keep an eye out for Vincent Gallo in a few scenes. He has no lines, but looks cool!). 'Goodfellas' is (to date) Scorsese's last Great Movie, and one of the very best films of the 1990s. Absolutely essential viewing for any movie fan, this tremendous film is not to be missed! Highly recommended!

Sizzling

[stevenmillne · 10/10 · 21 April 2022]

Cracking story and film from a pretty cracking book. Can't fault the acting in this with little Joe taking the well earned plaudits with his performance that is Oscar worthy any day of the week.

One of the greatest if not the greatest crime films ever made

[ctetrick-04340 · 10/10 · 17 October 2021]

This movie stood the test of time and every watch is enjoyable, a classic that doesn't seem to lose any of its charm no matter how many times you watch it. Simply perfection I don't know how any crime fan can find this as anything less than one of greatest mob films ever created.

Choose the right path

[itsagotakeemdown · 10/10 · 2 April 2022]

Classic tale of young child becoming a product of a dangerous environment where criminals are someone to look up to. Great seeing a criminal work his way up the ladder.

Martin Scorsese's masterpiece.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 10/10 · 1 January 2023]

The story of Henry Hill's life from youth to adulthood, from his own words.

'Never rat on your friends, and always keep your mouth shut.' The lines are as sharp as those suits.

Martin Scorsese's incredible masterpiece still holds up as an out and out classic. Easily one of the best films to come out of the 90's, the direction, the visuals, the storyline are all fantastic, it's a film that never dates, it's as gritty, hard hitting and stylish as ever.

The characters are incredibly rich, and there's such a variety of them. Some of the most awesome acting you'll see, the likes of De Niro, Liotta, Pesci and Sorvino,

I can only imagine just how many films and TV series that this film inspired.

One of the best films ever made, 10/10.

The Criminal Mindset

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 15 February 2007]

The gangster film has been redefined so many times in cinema history it will be interesting to see how it is redefined once again. Goodfellas is a milestone film in that regard because just as Public Enemy and Little Caesar defined it in the Thirties, The Godfather trilogy in the seventies and eighties, Goodfellas set the standard that all other films including Martin Scorsese similar Casino try to meet. The interesting thing is that Martin Scorsese is young enough to redefine it again with another work.

With Ray Liotta narrating his own life in crime in a flashback as real life criminal Henry Hill, Martin Scorsese offers us one fascinating glimpse of the criminal life in the Eisenhower to Reagan era. Henry Hill even as a child got sucked into the criminal life as a kid, as he said all he ever wanted to be was a gangster. Tutored by both Robert DeNiro and Paul Sorvino, Liotta takes part in one of the biggest heists of all time of Lufthansa Airlines at JFK Airport during the seventies. Goodfellas is the story of the events from Henry Hill's perspective leading up to the heist and the aftermath.

For myself I've never seen the gangster mentality better expressed on screen except maybe by Sean Connery in Family Business. Liotta and Connery operate from the same mindset. If you work hard and hope it pays off in success, you're a dope. If you want something, just take it. When you come right down to it, that's how criminals think, it's the rest of us who are fools.

Goodfellas was nominated for several Oscars, but came away with only one winner, Joe Pesci in the role of crazy Tommy DeVito. He's another criminal type, one who's driven by a terrible inferiority complex due to his short stature and does terrible things even to his own peers. And those peers don't forget as you see what happens to Pesci in Goodfellas. This turned out to be a career role for Pesci. He's a multi-talented man who's got an incredible range and can play everything from the Home Alone comedies to stone killers like here in Goodfellas or in Casino.

There's usually a contest in which Scorsese fans argue whether Casino or Goodfellas is better. I happen to like Casino, but without the success of Goodfellas, Casino would not have been made.

For a fascinating look at the criminal mindset, Goodfellas is an absolute must.

not so good as it's imdb ranking

[dcousquer · 7/10 · 9 July 2003]

Watching this good movie, you feel like watching the Sopranos,moving from one casual killing to another, with an italian family meal or two. Scorsese is so clever you're not bored any minute : situations are funny, suspense is there, both characters and actors are good. But you cannot go as far as liking the "hero" or feeling anything for him except a mild sympathy. so, all in all I give this movie a 7 mark but do not really understand its ranking, except if some have mistaken it for the godfather...

Not a bad movie, but not that great either

[KubricksRube · 4/10 · 27 February 2007]

Typical Scorsese effort: average crime movie script dressed up with great acting and pretentious, way overly stylish camera-work.

I'm amazed this movie holds anyone's attention, let alone earns the "best movie ever!" praise you hear about this one. As I said, I didn't think it was bad, it was just wasn't that good. I had to force myself to keep watching, trying once again to see what other people see in Scorsese. I get the feeling all the praise and accolades heaped on him are just a big prank being played on me.

At least the Godfather was an actual good movie, although certainly no masterpiece.

A far, far better movie than this that came out around the same time would be Miller's Crossing. It's actually entertaining--you don't feel like killing yourself after watching it for just a few minutes, which is another thing about Scorsese I don't like. His slickness, bleak subject matter, unredeeming violence all combine to create an effect like a low-frequency earthquake hum or day-old shellfish--it's nauseating and depressing. I honestly spend the rest of the day depressed and joyless after watching a Scorsese film. You may say that's the power of the film maker, but I say that's simply the power of the subject matter. Manos: the Hands of Fate is pretty depressing for much the same reason.

Art shouldn't always be uplifting (I love Bicycle Thief and the Year of Living Dangerously) but if it's going to put such misery on the screen then it should have a good reason for doing it and it should teach me something.

A good example of how hollow the praise for Scorsese and his works rings is the famous Copacabana scene, a two or three minute steadicam shot following two characters from the outside of a nightclub as they wind through the kitchens and so forth and end up at their table. Scorsese's fans call this "the best shot ever." As I said, it's a long shot of a fellow getting a table. Kubrick did great tracking shots too, but the key to a great tracking shot, like any shot, is that it communicates something significant to us, puts us in the state of mind of the characters, etc. But this was just some people walking to their table. The difference is contextual and often subtle, but it's there.

A classic mobster film.

[shanfloyd · 8/10 · 29 March 2005]

This is one hell of a film about the mobsters, based on a true story and coming from one of the great directors of all time. This is about Henry Hill, the narrator of the story, an Irish simple person who gets involved with the Mafia at a very young age and continues his life through it. There is no major plot in this film, just isolated incidents one of which was the turning point of Hill's life. Scorsese, as brilliant as he ever was, shows violence, sex and drugs etc in his own trademark style. And his actors helps him to make this film one of the classics.

Robert DeNiro is not present in much of the film, nor his acting leaves too much impression. The three actors who really did their best job here are Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci and Lorraine Bracco. I hate to say that most youngsters today don't know too much about Liotta or how talented he was. I asked my younger brother about him and he said, "The man who did the voice on GTA: Vice City?". This is partly because Liotta did not get too many big roles after that, especially in recent years. But here he is just brilliant as Hill. It's Pesci's one of the best too. Playing a mad mobster with dark sense of humor wasn't his usual type. And Lorraine Bracco becomes the perfect lead female in such type of films.

The film's got smart screenplay and excellent cinematography. And I don't know how many times Scorsese will be denied his Academy recognition. I hate to see a lifetime achievement award as his first Oscar. But things are going like that.

Slightly disappointed but still very good

[muamba_eats_toast · 8/10 · 25 April 2020]

Having never seen it before but heard so much about it I was expecting it to be one of the best films I've ever seen instead it was just very good in my eyes. Potentially it has lost some originality by so many other films copying features of it that it just didn't seem new anymore but whilst nothing was wrong with it and like I said it was very good with some fantastic performances it just didn't stand out against so many others of this genre for me.