Goodfellas

1990.
#94 / #92
Winner of 1 Academy Award.

Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) rises from a blue collar background to the heights of the mafia underworld. Along the way, he becomes responsible for two of the largest heists in American history before his life unravels when he becomes a major drug dealer.

Eddie: I'd safely notch GOODFELLAS as the second best gangster movie of all time, behind only THE GODFATHER. Robert De Niro turns in one of the more nuanced performances of his career, and Joe Pesci performs the role he was born to play (and for which he won an Oscar), but Ray Liotta takes absolute command of the movie. Playing Liotta's wife, Lorraine Bracco brings a ray of humanity to the movie (although that's quickly lost once Karen Hill becomes a drug addict). She holds her own among an all-star cast in the same way that Vera Farmiga shows her acting chops in THE DEPARTED.

Even though I consider GOODFELLAS the runner-up to THE GODFATHER, I think THE GODFATHER surpasses GOODFELLAS by leaps and bounds. GOODFELLAS, ultimately, is a movie about gangsters. They rise. They fall. They kill each other. They go to prison. What makes THE GODFATHER stand out is its focus on family - something that every other gangster movie (including both THE GODFATHER PART II and GOODFELLAS) lack.

Sarah: This is a very long movie, and it is made longer by the fact that we, the audience, don't have a single person to root for. There is nothing redeeming about any of the characters. Of course, this is an intentional choice of the film. The lack of a hero tells the audience that crime may look glamorous, but the glamour fades.

However, I did love the way the film was shot. Long tracking shots, freeze frames, and fast cuts as Henry Hill gets lost in his drugged out haze. I also thought they got a lot right about Italian culture (even though they were showing the darker side of it). The dialect, the trays of cold cuts and meatballs, the gaudy furniture, and putting large purchases under mothers-in-law's names, all received nods of recognition from me.

Why You Should See It: For Sarah, it's the dinner scene at Tommy DeVito's (Joe Pesci) mother's house. For Eddie, it's the scene where Karen yells at Henry mercilessly, causing him to fall in love with her. Eddie might be partial to that scene because it reminds him so much of Sarah's adorable rage.