Goodfellas (2006, HD DVD)

Let me start by saying that 'Mafia Movies' are my absolute favourite films. Coppola and, in this case, Martin Scorsese is absolutely brilliant. The Godfather, The Godfather II, Casino, and Goodfellas top the list of my all time favourites. Andy Garcia is awfully nice to look at in Godfather III as well, but the movie is essentially flawed in that it was completed in the wrong generation and just cannot compare to the first two.

I am proud to say that we finally joined the land of DVD. I visited Blockbuster recently for the first time in a year and I was shocked to find that most of the rentals are now DVDs. It's not that I never watch movies, I subscribe to digital cable with over 500 channels, and I go to to the movie theatre often. If I want to watch a new release on video, I just pay $3.49 and order it on the digital box. However, I decided to upgrade the XBOX with the DVD remote and I joined Columbia House DVD club to 'get with the times.'

One of the first movies I bought was Goodfellas as I can honestly say it is, in my opinion, one of the all time greatest movies ever created. I know there are already 44 reviews done on this awesome flick, but I feel compelled to write another as it's a movie I never get tired of watching or hearing about.

The Story

Goodfellas is based on a book called Wiseguy by author Nicholas Pigletti, and directed by Martin Scorsese. Pigletti's Wiseguy is based on a real-life mobster who becomes an informer for the FBI. 'Casino' was also a Pigletti-Scorese partnership which also stars Deniro and Pesci, done years later) Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) is a poor Irish-Italian boy growing up in New York City (Brooklyn). He is fascinated with the local gangsters, and becomes an errand boy for them. As he grows up, he becomes more and more involved with the seedy crowd, and finally 'gets his gangster wings' when he gets 'pinched' by the police and doesn't tell the judge anything about who he is working for or what he is doing. Henry becomes completely infested with the local organized crime and begins behaving like a true 'wiseguy,' spending the loads of money he's making and taking the macho-above-the-law attitude.

Jimmy 'the Gent' Conway (Robert Deniro) is a veteran criminal and he takes Henry under his wing. Both Deniro and Liotta give amazing performances, however they are left in the shadows compared to Joe Pesci's portrayal of Tommy DeVito, the brutal enforcer-extortionist bad guy. This role earned him a well deserved Best Supporting Oscar at the 1990 Academy Awards.

The trio of Henry, Tommy and Jimmy as gang kingpins evoke both the intriguing sort of glamour, yet the moral degradation of organized crime. We are completely intrigued by the killing, stealing, money-laundering, drugs and sex involved in the day-to-day mafia life.

Henry narrates the story and as he grows from eager-to-please errand boy to high-rank mafia, we watch his journey. He marries Karen (Lorraine Bracco), and has of course children and a mistress. He woos Karen and then is lectured by senior crime boss Paulie (Paul Sorvino), that he can have a mistress but he must remain faithful to his wife. The Sopranos always comes to mind when I watch this film, as I picture Tony telling Lorraine Bracco about his marital affairs, never dreaming of the possibility of leaving his wife. It's a seemingly natural 'gangster' right-of-passage.

Henry becomes greedy and despite warnings from higher-up mobsters, his inexorable descent into cocaine-mania is inevitable. We are told his story of rise and fall, and then his 'deal' made with the FBI to be immersed in the witness-relocation program in exchange for his help in putting away his higher-ranking friends.

Quotables

I just have to list some of my favourite Goodfellas quotes. If you've not seen the movie, I'm willing to bet you've heard one or two of these before!

Here goes:

Henry: One day the kids from the neighborhood carried my mother's groceries all the way home. You know why? It was outta respect.

Tommy: But, I'm funny how? Funny like a clown? I amuse you? I make you laugh? I'm here to fu*kin' amuse you?

Tommy: Sure, mom, I settle down with a nice girl every night, then I'm free the next morning.

Henry: Whenever we needed money, we'd rob the airport. To us, it was better than Citibank.

Henry: And then there was Jimmy Two Times, who got that nickname because he said everything twice, like: I'm gonna go get the papers, get the papers.

**These have all been taken from the movie directly.**

I could go on and on with quotes, but most of them have a lot of profanity (again, not that I mind but some of you might)

My Thoughts

Why Scorsese did not win an Oscar for this film is beyond me. Then again, Coppola did not win Best Director for The Godfather either. It's absolutely shameful.

Although it's safe to say that of course The Godfather is the 'Daddy' of all mafia movies, Scorsese makes us think once again, as Coppola did, of different generations of mobsters. While the first two Godfathers cover the lives of family mafia as it is passed down from father to son, Goodfellas covers three decades of mob activity as narrated by Henry Hill.

Scorsese also has a knack for showing the audience the violence that we don't want to see..yet we watch, strangely enough, completely mesmerized. There is a very violent scene where Henry, Tommy and Jimmy go to bury a body they've killed, and although the man has been severely beaten and shoved in the trunk of their car, he's not dead yet. We watch intensely as he struggles for air and is of course, killed violently all over again. Scorsese has a way of showing scenes like this which intrigue and repel the audience at the same time. The violence never seems mindless. It's an important part of the story.

Henry's rise to wealth and power and then his fall is a common theme. However, Scorsese makes a fairly unlikable person very likable as well as an ordinary situation very extraordinary. We find ourselves rooting for Henry to get away from the police, and to get away with his crimes. We like Henry just as much as we like Pacino in The Godfather.

This movie is not only violent but it's funny. It's completely engrossing and action packed. It's the ultimate mob movie and it should be in every movie collection, unless of course, the violence and swearing is too much for some to take. This is definitely one of the best movies of all time.

5 Stars. See it if you haven't seen it already.