Goodfellas (1990)

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

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers:

Nicholas Pileggi (book), Nicholas Pileggi (screenplay),

Stars:

Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci

Top 250 #15 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 40 wins & 23 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert De Niro	...	James 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 Kessler
Frank DiLeo	...	Tuddy Cicero
Henny Youngman	...	Himself
Gina Mastrogiacomo	...	Janice Rossi
Catherine Scorsese	...	Tommy's Mother
Charles Scorsese	...	Vinnie

Storyline

Henry Hill is a small time gangster, who takes part in a robbery with Jimmy Conway and Tommy De Vito, two other gangsters who have set their sights a bit higher. His two partners kill off everyone else involved in the robbery, and slowly start to climb up through the hierarchy of the Mob. Henry, however, is badly affected by his partners success, but will he stoop low enough to bring about the downfall of Jimmy and Tommy?

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Plot Keywords:

gangster | mafia | robbery | irish italian | cocaine | 

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Taglines:

Murderers come with smiles.

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

19 September 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

GoodFellas

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$46,836,394 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

146 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The last film Martin Scorsese shot in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio for twenty-one years until his return to 1.85:1 with his 3D film Hugo.

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Goofs

During the prison dinner scene, Paulie says, "Freddie, Vinnie, come eat." There was no Freddie; he was talking to Johnnie Dio.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Referenced in The Making of 'Cape Fear' (2001)

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Soundtracks

"Sincerely"
Written by Harvey Fuqua and Alan Freed
Performed by The Moonglows
Courtesy of MCA Records

User Reviews

A masterpiece exposing misguided loyalties and greed

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.