Review of GoodFellas (1990) by Grayson S — 24 Feb 2013

The very first time I watched Goodfellas was quite a few years back, when it was airing on AMC one night. I liked it, but it was very distracting because of all the dubbing that was done to hide the curse words. Eventually, I checked it out at Family Video, and I've been in love with it ever since. I now own it, and make it a point to watch it at least once every month.

The story is that of Henry Hill's (Ray Liotta) life, specifically from the 50's to the 80's. Everything about the mafia is included in detail in this film, including murder, robbery, extortion, violence in every sense of the word, drugs, and family.

The acting is excellent. Ray Liotta is very good in the lead role, and his equally good narration moves the plot along. Of course, the diamond mine in this film is Joe Pesci, who plays the psychopathic funny-guy who is very entertaining. THe way Pesci acts, you would think that his whole part is unscripted and that he is improvising. Robert De Niro is also very good as Jimmy Conway, the big shot in the mob. Also, Lorraine Bracco is excellent as Karen Hill, Henry's wife. I didn't think she would be believable as a mob wife after seeing her play a psychiatrist on The Sopranos for so long, but she is very good in the part.

Martin Scorsese's directing is the best part of this film. There are many iconic and memorable shots in this film, including the tracking shot into the Copa. The way the movie flows along very quickly is entertaining, and never gets boring. Scorsese shoots the film in a fashion that it feels like the film trailer instead of the actual film because it is always moving and never lingers in one scene. There are numerous cuts that move the film right along, with the music accenting the flowing narrative. The music in the film is very exciting. The songs playing at any given moment always fit with the action going on, and give the movie a lighter feel to it.

Many people say that The Godfather films are the best mafia movies in history. I would agree to that. They are the best ones, but I would rather watch Goodfellas. I enjoy The Godfather very much, but I have to be in a dark mood to watch it, where Goodfellas I can watch anytime and be very entertained and not bored. I would recommend this film to anybody, even non-gangster film fans because the film moves along so quickly that you don't even realize that it is over two hours long. I'm trying to thing of a negative criticism I could give on this film, but I am glad that I can not think of one.