Be warned up front, "GoodFellas" is a rough movie, a hard R-rated insider's look at one New York mobster's life over a 30-year period. The violence is brutal and not the least bit glamorized, there's not a single sympathetic character in the cast and you won't find any of the bigger-than-life operatic overtones of the two "Godfather" movies.

Martin Scorsese, who has given us such other gritty slices of life as "Taxi Driver" and "Raging Bull," is at the peak of his form adapting Nicholas Pileggi's book "Wiseguy" to tell the true story of Henry Hill, who is now a member of the federal witness protection program.

Hill, played to perfection by Ray Liotta as an adult and Christopher Serrone as a youth, begins his story in the 1950s as young Henry observes the "wiseguys," the "goodfellas," the gangsters in his Little Italy neighborhood and longs to be one of them.

Theirs is the good life, Henry decides, with no hassles from local cops because they're paid off and no grief from outsiders since everyone is afraid of them. Besides, you can always get a good table at the Copacabana or park in front of a fire hydrant and not worry about getting a ticket. And there's always plenty of cash in your pocket.

Of course, there's much more to this life of crime than Henry imagines. In the film's early stages Henry gains our sympathy as he slowly ingratiates himself among these neighborhood mobsters and they use him as a gofer. Gradually, he climbs the ranks and eventually becomes one of them, though he's always a mid-level "family" member.

In higher ranks are Jimmy Conway (Robert DeNiro), a hitman who is feared and respected in the organization; the volatile Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci), a loose cannon who may make you laugh one minute and blow your head off the next; and Paul Cicero (Paul Sorvino), the local kingpin, who lets others do his dirty work and to whom respect must always be paid.

Henry also has a tumultuous relationship with a Jewish girl (Lorraine Bracco), whom he eventually marries. She is at first seduced by his lifestyle, not sure of what he really does for a living, and later finds herself an active participant in Henry's wheeling and dealing.

People are killed, or "whacked," for various reasons. It might be that they are enemies who cause the problems, they might be innocent outsiders in the wrong place at the wrong time or they might be friends or relatives who have become tiresome. Maybe they want their share in a big stake and the fellow with the money is too greedy. Or they might have pulled one deceitful trick too many and are finally forced to pay.

The story is both shocking and fascinating as we watch these guys work, and there's also an unexpected amount of humor along the way, albeit gallows humor. No one in this crowd seems to have any kind of conscience, and eventually Henry begins to realize that even his closest friends can't be trusted.

It actually isn't very long before audience sympathy for Henry is lost as well. True, he has no desire to kill anyone, but he doesn't mind a pistol-whipping when it seems necessary. And later he becomes a womanizer, cheating on his wife; he turns on his friends to become a heavy-duty drug dealer; and finally finds himself an uncontrollable cokehead.

It's to the credit of Ray Liotta that we never lose our interest in Henry's story, despite what we may feel about him. Liotta is perfect, a charming anti-hero who never stops to think about what he's doing in terms of right or wrong. (Liotta's versatility may be also seen in "Field of Dreams," "Dominick and Eugene" and "Something Wild.")

All of the other performances are knockouts as well, from the restrained supertalent of DeNiro to the dour authority of Sorvino to the feisty no-nonsense Bracco.

From Deseret News archives:

Goodfellas By Chris Hicks

Deseret News

Published: Monday, Sept. 24, 1990 12:00 a.m. MDT
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< Previous12The story is both shocking and fascinating as we watch these guys work, and there's also an unexpected amount of humor along the way, albeit gallows humor. No one in this crowd seems to have any kind of conscience, and eventually Henry begins to realize that even his closest friends can't be trusted.

It actually isn't very long before audience sympathy for Henry is lost as well. True, he has no desire to kill anyone, but he doesn't mind a pistol-whipping when it seems necessary. And later he becomes a womanizer, cheating on his wife; he turns on his friends to become a heavy-duty drug dealer; and finally finds himself an uncontrollable cokehead.

It's to the credit of Ray Liotta that we never lose our interest in Henry's story, despite what we may feel about him. Liotta is perfect, a charming anti-hero who never stops to think about what he's doing in terms of right or wrong. (Liotta's versatility may be also seen in "Field of Dreams," "Dominick and Eugene" and "Something Wild.")

All of the other performances are knockouts as well, from the restrained supertalent of DeNiro to the dour authority of Sorvino to the feisty no-nonsense Bracco.

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But if there is a sure-thing Oscar nomination in the bunch, it's Joe Pesci, whom you may best remember as the goofy witness protected by Danny Glover and Mel Gibson in "Lethal Weapon II" (he was Oscar-nominated in 1980 for Scorsese's "Raging Bull"). Pesci is nothing short of mesmerizing as the organization's wild card; you never know what he's going to do and he is full of sometimes surprises, many of them startlingly violent.

Director Scorsese does an impeccable job of covering all the ground here in a 21/2-hour film that doesn't seem long at all. His view of the gangster world he's exploring is non-judgmental and his eye for detail is amazing.

In addition he offers numerous examples of how to use film devices that are both overworked and used very badly in other movies, such as freezing frames, fluid single-shot camera use and voice-over narrations. (Compare Liotta and Bracco's seamless narration that furthers the plot with the cumbersome intrusions of Jack Nicholson's attempts in "The Two Jakes.") He never uses technique to show off, it always seems integral to what's going on.

And it should be noted that Scorsese's violence here is repellant, starting with the gruesome opening scene. But that's what violence should be. After a summer full of violence played for laughs and gore piled upon gore for no reason other than to gross out the audience, it's disquieting to have to be reminded that violence is not fun.

Rated R for violence, sex and a lot of profanity, "GoodFellas" is a mob picture sure to go down in movie history books as ranking with the best, from "Public Enemy" to "The Godfather."

A mesmerizing and pivotal piece of cinema . Scorsese is at the top of his game with this one and why he never won the oscar for it I'll never know. Brilliantly made from start to finish from the opening car scene to the backdoor entrance going into the nightclub to Ray Liottas coked out last 15 mins or so. There are only a couple movies that I can watch over and over and back to back and never get sick of it and this is one of them. If I'm watching something on the television and Goodfellas come on I immeadiately turn it right to it. When I rate it a 5 with a perfect beside I really mean perfect. There is nothing wrong with this film. Thank you Martin Scorsese.

"GoodFellas" may be the most important film of the 1990s in the fact that its incredible success led to some of the other great movies of the decade. Films like "The Silence of the Lambs", "The Crying Game", "Pulp Fiction", "The Usual Suspects", "Fargo", and "L.A. Confidential" would have likely never been made as well as they were without the influence of Scorsese's "GoodFellas". The film is an intense study of a Mafia family over a 30-year stretch. Ray Liotta plays the half-Irish, half-Sicilian kid from Brooklyn whose only dream is to be a gangster. Although Liotta's story is at the heart of "GoodFellas", it is the supporting cast that is the film's calling card. Robert DeNiro gives one of his greatest performances, Paul Sorvino is quietly effective, and Lorraine Bracco (in an Oscar-nominated role) does the best work of her career. However, it is Joe Pesci (in his well-deserved Oscar-winning turn) who steals every scene as the one who does the "dirty work". This is probably the definitive film in a decade that produced many film-noir styled classics. 5 stars out of 5.

Goodfellas is based on the true story of one man's life in the New York Mafia. Liotta plays Henry Hill the central character of the film, with De Niro and Pesci making up the other "Goodfellas". As Henry Hill grows up, he progresses from running errands for the local Mafia to become a fully-fledged member of the gang. Henry is half-Italian, half-Irish and as such will never be accepted into the higher echelons of the Mafia as a "name". This, however, does not prevent him from living the good life; status, cars, cash and mistresses are all to be enjoyed. The focus is firmly on the camaraderie however, and the Goodfellas are rarely apart - family parties, gambling and carousing are as much a part of this life as the violence, extortion and robbery. The story really gets interesting when the bonds and loyalty that tie the Goodfellas together start to unravel.

From the director that made such classics as Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, it is high praise to rate Goodfellas as one of Scorsese's finest films, but it is completely justified. Scorsese provides an insight into the mob but without losing the audience's sympathy with, and interest in, the characters. Add to that some outstanding performances from actors such as De Niro, Liotta and especially Pesci, and you have a brilliant movie.

As with many Mafia films there is a fair amount of violence, however, more worthy of note is the tension which Scorsese builds and it is the threat of impending violence that makes this movie stand out. This film also has humor; I challenge anyone watching the "You think I'm funny?" scene not to feel the hairs stand up on the back of their neck before laughing out loud in relief. And if that's not enough, there are a couple of great recipes - just remember to slice your garlic with a razor blade.

This is the gangster film at its finest. Scorsese is on top form as are Pesci and De Niro. Liotta has never bettered the performance he gives here. The film starts as it means to go on - violent, full of profanity, fast paced and very stylish. The story follows Liotta's character from boy to man as he climbs his way up through the ranks of organised crime. We see all the highs and lows of his life and meet a host of very believable and very undesirable characters along the way. It's a film full of memorable scenes whilst remaining much more than the sum of its individual parts at the same time. This is what all movies should be like. It draws you in and won't let you out of its grasp at any point. When it finishes you feel exhausted and exhilarated at the same time. If ever the word 'masterpiece' was meant to be used, it was for this film.

Unlike other American mafia films, Goodfellas presents a somewhat commercialized subject in a realistic manner. Hushed voices and blaring trumpets are replaced by light-hearted banter and a hopping soundtrack. The opening scene sets the tone for the entire movie: Jimmy (Robert DeNiro), Henry (Ray Liotta), and Tommy (Joe Pesci) are in the middle of commiting a felony, yet manage to tell jokes and make light of the situation. The film then goes back to tell Henry's life story: how he first became involved with the wiseguys, how he met his wife, and how his family handled their business. With Liotta narrating the film, the audience really gets to understand Henry's frame of mind and see the mafia world from his eyes. Both the script and acting were fantastic, as every character felt real. From the epic "clown" scene to the closing shot, Goodfellas is a must-see for those who want a down-to-earth look at the American mafia.