Goodfellas

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

CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION

90	METASCORE Universal acclaim based on 21 Critic Reviews

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

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Critic Reviews

Critic score Publication By date

100

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

Mr. ShowbizCarmel Dagan

Director Martin Scorsese's spectacular, irreverent picture.

100

David Sterritt

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

100

Roger Ebert

No finer film has ever been made about organized crime - not even "The Godfather." Read full review

100

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

Mike Clark

Great cinema - and also a whopping good time. [19 September 1990, Life, p.1D]

100

Jay Scott

No so-called serious gangster film has ever been more fun, or less dangerous, or more intrinsically feminist, than GoodFellas. Even "I Married the Mob" was scarier. Read full review

100

James Berardinelli

With patience, care, and strict attention to detail, Scorsese has staked out an impregnable position in the history of motion pictures. Read full review

100

Richard Corliss

So it is Scorsese's triumph that GoodFellas offers the fastest, sharpest 2 1/2-hr. ride in recent film history. [Sept 24, 1990]

100

Sheila Benson

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

100

The GuardianPeter Bradshaw

Goodfellas is a compelling, black-comic nightmare. Read full review

100

John Bleasdale

Although Goodfellas doesn’t aspire to the grandeur of Coppola’s mob, Scorsese’s New Yorkers have their own vitality, even if – or perhaps because – the threat of violence is never far away. Read full review

100

Josh Larsen

The movie’s morality lies in its form. Read full review

Desson Thomson

One of Martin Scorsese's most brutal but stunning movies, an incredible, relentless experience about the singleminded pursuit of crime. Read full review

Film.comJohn Hartl

An appalling masterpiece.

Jeremy Beday

Martin Scorsese scores again with his gritty, kinetic adaptation of Nicolas Pileggi's best-selling "Wiseguy." Read full review

TV Guide MagazineStaff (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

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Stylistically, it's a remarkable effort -- with a continuous sense of gliding motion -- and the film is entertaining and gripping throughout. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Simultaneously fascinating and repellent, Goodfellas is Martin Scorsese's colorful but dramatically unsatisfying inside look at Mafia life in 1955-1980 New York City. Read full review

Pauline Kael

Is it a great movie? I don't think so. But it's a triumphant piece of filmmaking -- journalism presented with the brio of drama. [24 Sept 1990]

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]