Goodfellas (1990)

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers (WGA):

Nicholas Pileggi (book)
Nicholas Pileggi (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

19 September 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

"As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a gangster." -- Henry Hill, Brooklyn, N.Y. 1955.

Plot:

Henry Hill and his friends work their way up through the mob hierarchy.

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Mafia | Robbery | New York | Organized Crime

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 34 wins & 18 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Nov. 22	8:00 AM	BRAVO
Sun. Nov. 22	6:00 PM	BRAVO

Cast

Robert De Niro	...	James 'Jimmy' Conway
Ray Liotta	...	Henry Hill
Joe Pesci	...	Tommy DeVito
Lorraine Bracco	...	Karen Hill
Paul Sorvino	...	Paul Cicero
Frank Sivero	...	Frankie Carbone
Tony Darrow	...	Sonny Bunz
Mike Starr	...	Frenchy
Frank Vincent	...	Billy Batts
Chuck Low	...	Morris 'Morrie' Kessler
Frank DiLeo	...	Tuddy Cicero
Henny Youngman	...	Himself
Gina Mastrogiacomo	...	Janice Rossi
Catherine Scorsese	...	Tommy's Mother
Charles Scorsese	...	Vinnie

Also Known As:

Good Fellas (USA) (original script title)
GoodFellas (USA) (promotional title (video box title) (poster title))
Wiseguy (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

146 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Brazil:14 | USA:R (certificate #30613) | Israel:16 | India:A | Poland:18 | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-16 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Italy:VM14 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Bern) | UK:18

Filming Locations:

2409 Thirty Second Street, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

It was claimed that at the time the real life gangster Jimmy Burke was so happy to have Robert De Niro play him that he phoned him from prison to give him a few pointers. Author/screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi denies this, saying De Niro and Burke had never spoken, but admitting that there were men around the set all the time who had known all of the principal characters very well.

Goofs:

Continuity: The same truck is used in 3 hijacking scenes: the diner, the guy that they take his drivers licenses away and possibly one other. It's the truck with the red cab in the front.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Henry Hill: The fuck is that?

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 100 Greatest Scary Moments (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Frosty the Snow Man

One word: priceless

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.