Goodfellas (1990)

The story of Henry Hill and his life in the mob, covering his relationship with his wife Karen Hill and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito in the Italian-American crime syndicate.

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers:

Nicholas Pileggi (book), Nicholas Pileggi (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci

Top Rated Movies #18 | Won 1 Oscar. Another 43 wins & 37 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	...	Henny Youngman
Gina Mastrogiacomo	...	Janice Rossi
Catherine Scorsese	...	Tommy's Mother
Charles Scorsese	...	Vinnie

Storyline

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

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Plot Keywords:

gangster | organized crime | sadistic psychopath | rise and fall | gang violence | 

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Taglines:

Shooting people was 'No big deal'.

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

21 September 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Good Fellas

Filming Locations:

19 Alfred Lane, New Rochelle, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,368,901, 21 September 1990, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$46,836,394

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

Legend has it, "Never rat on your friends and keep your mouth shut" is part of a secret Mafia pledge recited by members of the criminal organization at the beginning of their meetings.

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Goofs

In May of 1980, when Henry and Karen hide guns at Karen's mother's house, a G-Body GM car is parked in the driveway. They were introduced in 1982.

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Quotes

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

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Alternate Versions

A television version of the film was prepared by director Martin Scorsese, which retained a good portion of the film's graphic violence. It also retained much of the profanity, minus the F- and S-words, which were dubbed over. Scorsese did a televised introduction upon the film's network premiere.

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Connections

Spoofed in Gary Unmarried: Gary Tries to Find Something for Mitch (2010)

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Soundtracks

Layla
Written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon
Performed by Derek & The Dominos (as Derek and The Dominos)
Courtesy of PolyGram Special Products, a Division of PolyGram Records, Inc.

User Reviews

Classic modern day gangster film

Starting with the 1950's, we follow Henry Hill from a teen who tries to realise his dream of `always wanting to be a gangster'. He goes from running errands for Paulie Cicero to become a trusted man within his organisation. Working with James Conway and Tommy De Vito, Henry navigates his violent lifestyle where death is never more than a few steps away.

For my generation this was one of our first introductions to Scorsese doing a real tour-de-force of a film - I was too young to appreciate Raging Bull and his 70's work when it first came out and the eighties were a quiet period (except the brilliant king of comedy). So here was a great introduction to a fanatastic director. The plot is spread over such a long time (in terms of story years) that it's hard to get beneath the surface events, but this is a very minor problem given that it's such a great ride. The focus is on events and the culture rather than a deep story and as such Scorsese works with set pieces and events rather than too much characterisation. However the story moves so effectively through the action - Scorsese uses long tracking shots, pumping soundtracks and scenes of building tension and sudden violence to create a masterful experience.

The weakness with lack of depth is really put to the back of your mind by the action, the direction and the performances. The story is well held together by Hill's narrative and the shallowness is easily over looked. Liotta is excellent as the aspiring gangster and is full of self seeking menace. De Niro does what he does best in terms of the Irish gangster role but the standout is Pesci. Pesci gives a strong role as the vicious Tommy and deserved his Oscar. The rest of the cast are all excellent whether it's major roles (Paul Sorvino, Lorraine Bracco) or minor characters (Frank Vincent, Sivero).

The real star here is Scorsese - he uses the camera and the soundtrack to great effect and gets great performances from his cast. A modern gangster feast.