Goodfellas

by Robbo

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Posted on 24 April 2021

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Rating -

Goodfellas (stylized GoodFellas) is a 1990 American biographical crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Nicholas Pileggi and Scorsese, and produced by Irwin Winkler.

It is a film adaptation of the 1985 nonfiction book Wiseguy by Pileggi, starring Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco and Paul Sorvino.

The film is based on true events and covers the rise and fall of mob associate Henry Hill (Liotta) between 1955 and 1980.

The film is narrated by Henry and opens with him, James “Jimmy” Conway (DeNiro) and Tommy DeVito (Pesci) driving to Upstate New York to bury a body.

The film then flashes back to Henry as a child becoming enamored with the criminal life and Mafia presence in his working class Italian-American neighborhood in Brooklyn, and how he comes to work for caporegime Paul “Paulie” Cicero (Sorvino) and his associates: Jimmy Conway, an Irish truck hijacker and gangster, and Tommy DeVito, a fellow juvenile delinquent.

Henry initially is involved in petty crimes, slowly working his way up to more serious crimes including the 1978 Lufthansa heist where an estimated $5.875 million was stolen.

Against Paulie’s advice, Henry becomes involved in drug smuggling and is finally arrested by the FBI leading Paulie to end their association. After a suspicious meeting with Jimmy at a diner, Henry realises Jimmy is planning to kill him.

Goodfellas is hard hitting and stylish, arguably one of the best films of Scorsese’s career.

It is a big, rich and powerful film with good performances from all involved, although Pesci does stand out.

As you would expect with a film involving the mafia, GoodFellas contains a good bit of violence.

I really enjoyed this film and it is on my top 10 list of favourite films of all time.

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