Goodfellas

Name: Goodfellas
Genre: Biography, Drama, Crime
Released: September 1, 1990
Duration: 146 min
Rating: 89
Cast: Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro

1990

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 18 Critics

See All

USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 868 Ratings

See All

8.9

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

8.9	Your Score
8.9	User Score Universal acclaim based on 868 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

GOODFELLAS

Movie Details & Credits

Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: September 1, 1990

Starring: Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro

Summary: Based on the bestselling book "Wiseguy" by Nicholas Pileggi, Scorsese's film profiles nearly 30 years of mob life in New York City.

Director: Martin Scorsese

Genre(s): Biography, Drama, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 146 min

See All Details and Credits

Awards & Rankings

Watch Now

Buy On

Stream On

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

100

Chicago Tribune - Gene Siskel

All of the performances are first-rate; Pesci stands out, though, with his seemingly unscripted manner. GoodFellas is easily one of the year's best films. [21 September 1990, Friday, p.C]

100

San Francisco Chronicle - Mick LaSalle

Ferocious brutality is presented without commentary or judgment, yet with unmistakable moral understanding and vision. [21 September 1990, Daily Notebook p.E-1]

100

Los Angeles Times - Sheila Benson

GoodFellas is "Raging Bull" squared. [20 September 1990, Calendar, p.F-1]

100

Christian Science Monitor - David Sterritt

Stunningly acted. [21 September 1990, The Arts, p.12]

Film.com - John Hartl

An appalling masterpiece.

TV Guide Magazine - Staff (not credited)

Scorsese's rich tapestry is both broader in scope and more detailed than a mere recounting of the events in the trio's life of crime. Read full review

The New Republic - Stanley Kauffmann

Scorsese's style, fierce as it is, doesn't accomplish what he clearly expected of it. Often, in many arts, fresh treatment can redeem familiar subjects, but it doesn't happen here. [Oct 22, 1990]

SEE ALL 18 REVIEWS

Write a Review

User Reviews

EricR.

Dec 11, 2006

The best gangster movie ever. It's also my second favorite movie of all-time.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

rollingstone82

Aug 13, 2010

An amazing film that shows mob life at its grittiest, goriest, lowest levels.

I loved Goodfellas. Every time I watched it, it still felt great. But one thing really perked me. How is it a classic? It is one of the best movies I ever watched but why is it so revered? I watched it anotherAn amazing film that shows mob life at its grittiest, goriest, lowest levels.

I loved Goodfellas. Every time I watched it, it still felt great. But one thing really perked me. How is it a classic? It is one of the best movies I ever watched but why is it so revered? I watched it another time just to keep my eye out for details.

Now I understand.

It isn't easy. Especially to praise a film with countless violence and seemingly aimless profanity (300 f words total). But Goodfellas isn't about that. It's about the story. It's about the array of characters. It's about the suspense. It's one of the most accurate portraits of mob life, specifically those in the lower end of the food chain.

THe story is narrated by Henry Hill, an ex-mobster who explains his dreams of becoming a gangster. Through Henry's eyes, being a gangster was everything. Money. Cars. Girls. Respect. Nobody would dare talk rough to a gangster. And the cops could care less too. Our main man Henry, narrates his 30-year career as a mob member from parking cars to setting cars on fire to dealing drugs to carrying out dastardly schemes (the infamous Lufthansa heist). In the end, Henry is forced to give up his mob life and expose his fellow gangsters after learning his best friend is going to kill him. Even then, he still misses his old life stating that he is now a regular guy aka a nobody, a "schnook".

Robert De Niro is charming yet cunning as Jimmy Conway. He smiles but behind is a greedy desire. He makes sure he gets what he wants and those who don't follow him get whacked. Joe Pesci, the show stealer, gives a fiery performance as the short-tempered Tommy De Vito. He wants respect and one word is enough to make him go berserk. Ray Liotta and Lorraine Bracco both give fine performances even though they are the most thankless roles in the film.

Dialogue is a highlight even if it is laced with numerous profanity. But the music is something that really adds to the success. The eclectic rock soundtrack fits its scenes like a modern-day orchestra. Scorsese is able to fit a piano version of Layla and a montage of dead bodies so perfectly. That is a rare gift.

Once again my favorite director stuns me with another classic that I now fully realize as a classic. It may not be his best (that would be Taxi Driver) but it definitely is one of them.… Expand

10 of 14 users found this helpful104

AliS.

Feb 3, 2010

Its a very good film that I love it as my best.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

CinemaSins

May 9, 2015

Almost every filmmaker in the history of cinema would be thrilled by the knowledge that a feature of his (or hers) is considered an undisputed classic - a benchmark by which other, similarly themed movies are judged. Director Martin Scorsese, considered by many to be the finest American filmAlmost every filmmaker in the history of cinema would be thrilled by the knowledge that a feature of his (or hers) is considered an undisputed classic - a benchmark by which other, similarly themed movies are judged. Director Martin Scorsese, considered by many to be the finest American film craftsman working today, can claim a unique distinction - he has been responsible for a classic during each of the last three decades of the 20th century. In the '70s, it was Taxi Driver. In the '80s, it was Raging Bull. And in the '90s, it was Goodfellas (the most lauded, at least in terms of official awards and nominations, of the director's features). No one else, not even greats like Ingmar Bergman, Stanley Kubrick, and Eric Rohmer, can make a similar claim. With patience, care, and strict attention to detail, Scorsese has staked out an impregnable position in the history of motion pictures.

It is not a coincidence that Scorsese's three masterpieces all star Robert De Niro. These two men, who have worked together eight times, bring out the best in each other. Even their "lesser" collaborations, such as Casino and The King of Comedy, possess an energy and intensity that shows how well they understand one another. Scorsese is at his best when directing De Niro, and De Niro is at his best when being directed by Scorsese. The pair has become inextricably linked in the public consciousness because of Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas.

There are essentially two kinds of Mafia movies: those that romanticize the life and those that depict it with gut-wrenching clarity. The best known and most accomplished of these films, The Godfather, stakes out its territory firmly in the first area, leaving Goodfellas to stand atop the other. Both pictures have fully realized, three dimensional characters and strong atmospheres, but Francis Ford Coppola's effort embraces the mythos of the gangster, while Scorsese's exploration is more pragmatic. Violence is a key component of each, but it is a more brutal companion in Goodfellas than in The Godfather. Clearly, the different approaches adopted by the directors result in films that, while populating the same genre, are dissimilar in temperament and tone.

Goodfellas is, as we learn at the very beginning, based (however loosely) on a true story. Developing the screenplay's skeleton from the events related in the novel Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi (who also co-wrote the script), Scorsese has used the facts from an infamous '80s case involving an important mob informant to develop a rich and multi-layered study of three characters and the culture that shaped their lives. It's a fascinating exploration of a lifestyle that has beguiled Americans for most of this century, whether in movies, in novels, or on television.

Goodfellas is as compelling and absorbing as any crime drama I have ever seen. The script shows all the facets of these characters; they are all fully developed individuals capable of great good and great evil. The moral ambiguity of their lifestyle is treated with a shrug. Goodfellas is not about Mafia dons, but about those who exist on a lower level. It's about the bonds that are formed between compatriots in crime, and how betrayal is the most heinous offense imaginable. The mob is a fraternity - an all-boys club where everyone looks after each other.

The story, which spans a quarter of a century, has an epic feel despite its intimate perspective. The first forty minutes, which detail Henry's childhood and his acceptance into mob life, is presented almost as a fairy tale, using the same kind of romanticized approach embraced by The Godfather. The purpose of this segment is to forge a bond between the audience and the main character while he is still relatively innocent. Henry does not grow up to be a nice man, but, because of the way Scorsese has structured the early portions of the film, we remain sympathetic to him throughout.

Over the years, few directors have exhibited Scorsese's ability when it comes to using pop music to set a scene or cement the atmosphere. On many occasions, the appropriation of period songs seems like a transparent attempt to sell the movie's soundtrack album. But, in Goodfellas, Scorsese's selection of "Then He Kissed Me", "Ain't That a Kick in the Head", "Gimme Shelter", "Monkey Man", "The Magic Bus", "What Is Life", and dozens of others proves to be invaluable. The songs mesh perfectly with the visuals, successfully taking the place of a strong score.

Film critics will argue over which represents Scorsese at his best - Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, or Goodfellas. Each movie has its fierce advocates, but to single out one at the expense of the other two seems to be a pointless and counterproductive enterprise. Taxi Driver and Raging Bull are more focused on an individual than Goodfellas, which examines how a culture shapes values, life choices, and relationships.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

jAbMaN

Mar 18, 2011

The best mob story ever written by Martin Scorsese and also in the cinema too. Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, and Joe Pesci played the most awesomest performances of a lifetime.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

MartyMcFly

Oct 2, 2018

My score 100
Metascore / User score 89 / 89
Tomatometer / Audience score 96 / 97
IMDB 87
(93)

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

jonslow

Dec 11, 2018

Imported rating from tomato rotten site but I lost my review as Thai language became unreadable text. Some of the movies I totally forgot the story. This is why I comment this. I need to comment this because it won't record my watched-list if I just rate.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

SEE ALL 117 REVIEWS