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That's right. The film that's central focus is around the rise and fall of three gangsters. The film was based off of the book Wiseguy which was based off of the real life events surrounding Henry Hill, Jimmy Burke, and Thomas DeSimone.
The Facts
When you are making a movie based on true life events, you can't simply deviate from what happened too much. There were a few switches to what happened, such as Frank Carbone (based on Angelo Sepe) being switched with Richard Eaton in the movie, and the fact that Tommy DeSimone was around 6’2 200lbs and Joe Pesci is his short self. They stuck with the major facts, mostly regarding Jimmy and Tommy being cold heartless bastards and killing whoever they wanted whenever they wanted. Henry goes down the rabbit hole of the drug trade, which gets him caught and put into Witness Protection for testifying against Jimmy and Paul Cicero (Vario in real life).
Cast
To have a great movie, you need a great cast. Look at the top three billed in this movie. Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Ray Liotta. What is there to say about Robert De Niro for his career? For his role in this movie, he was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Actor. Joe Pesci stole the show for me as Tommy DeVito, and he also won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Ray Liotta didn't get anything for this excellent performance, which may be a shame, but he was competing with Pesci and De Niro, so you can't say he didn't do a great job.
Recognition
GoodFellas is #94 on the American Film Institute's list of 100 Years, 100 Movies and #92 on its updated version from 2007. In June 2008, the AFI revealed its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. Goodfellas was acknowledged as the second best in the gangster film genre (after The Godfather).[35] In 2000, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Roger Ebert, a friend and supporter of Scorsese, named Goodfellas the "best mob movie ever" and placed it among the best films of the nineties.[36] Premiere magazine listed Joe Pesci's Tommy DeVito as #96 on its list of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time, calling him "perhaps the single most irredeemable character ever put on film".[37] Channel 4 placed Goodfellas at #10 in their 2002 poll The 100 Greatest Films. In 2005, Total Film, named Goodfellas as the greatest film of all time. In December 2002, a UK film critics poll in Sight and Sound ranked the film #4 on their list of the 10 Best Films of the Last 25 Years.[38] Empire magazine ranked Tommy DeVito #59 in their "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters" poll.[39] Time included Goodfellas in their list of 100 all-time best films.[40]
Roger Ebert, a friend and supporter of Scorsese, named Goodfellas the "best mob movie ever" and placed it among the best films of the nineties.[36] Premiere magazine listed Joe Pesci's Tommy DeVito as #96 on its list of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time, calling him "perhaps the single most irredeemable character ever put on film".[37] Channel 4 placed Goodfellas at #10 in their 2002 poll The 100 Greatest Films. In 2005, Total Film, named Goodfellas as the greatest film of all time. In December 2002, a UK film critics poll in Sight and Sound ranked the film #4 on their list of the 10 Best Films of the Last 25 Years.[38] Empire magazine ranked Tommy DeVito #59 in their "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters" poll.[39] Time included Goodfellas in their list of 100 all-time best films.[40]
You want some quotes or good scenes? Here's a memorable scene for you.
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That was a very popular scene in theaters, and still is for anyone who watches the movie.
Not A Regular Gangster Movie
Goodfellas isn't just a regular mafia movie about someone becoming a made man and taking over for the family. With the focus on Henry Hill, it is about how he wanted to become a gangster at a young age. It was an idolization. It was a very real situation back in the '50s, '60s, and '70s that any time you mess with a gangster in New York, you could get whacked. You see what happened in life after Tommy DeVito killed the made man, and the consequences of it. You see just exactly how far Henry had fallen by the end of his days in the gangster life.
The events in this movie actually started to take place before The Godfather even came out, so Tenta's assertion that Goodfellas is just a take off of that is complete bullshit. Goodfellas is one of those true life movies that is hard hitting and real. Like I said above, you can't really deviate from what has happened, and Martin Scorsese didn't. He brought back his genius that was last seen 14 years prior to Goodfellas.
Goodfellas is one of those movies that you can't go with the money it makes. Hannah Montana, blah, etc. You feel the cold hearts of Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito. You see what it was like for a young man like Henry growing up in that kind of environment and wanting to be a part of it. You watch the growth and demise of three men who were living life the only way they knew how. You watch greatness.