Goodfellas is the ultimate and best Mafia movie made in recent years. Primarily due to the film being based upon the book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi which as we all know was about Henry Hill’s three decades in Paul Vario’s crew. Why Scorsese and Pileggi changed the names (other than Henry’s) is beyond me. The events were altered somewhat for storytelling purposes since the truth can be rather unpalatable with general audiences. Given some pieces I discovered during some quick research for this post, I will definitely make plans to read Pileggi’s book; Vario had an affair with Hill’s wife at one time, it might explain why Hill testified against his former capo other than a death threat.
Despite the artistic license taken in Goodfellas, it remains great due to how gritty and violent the story is. Namely what organized crime does, true thuggery and it’s a grind. Donnie Brasco did a good job showing this too. Personally, I always found The Godfather “saga” to be crap. It had an unnecessary, flat third movie and the “good” two were just a lame Greek tragedy romanticizing the Mafia. The acts in Coppola’s flicks also inspired dumb mobsters to emulate those actions.
I chose to see the 25th anniversary screening at Alamo Lakeline for several reasons. Firstly, I was in the middle of trying to graduate from Marquette, seeing new movies wasn’t an easy accomplishment, I always wanted to see it on the big screen. Secondly, this was a new digitally restored 4K copy. Lastly, the ticket came with a four-course, Italian-inspired meal. See click on the menu below to see it up close! I did enjoy it. I’m not a very good Italian though, I couldn’t eat anything based upon olives. Blech!
I won’t go on a limb to say this is Scorsese’s best film though. I haven’t seen enough of his work to make an informed judgment. Yes, I’m part Italian and I’ve only watched Taxi Driver, Kundun, The Age of Innocence and Goodfellas. I will gamble on this being in the director’s top three.
The movie and story continue to hold up. Great performances from everybody, from the leads to the minor supporting characters. New revelations:
- I didn’t know Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Corrigan were in this.
- Scorsese modeled elements of Goodfellas after The Great Train Robbery, primarily the ending with Pesci shooting the camera/audience.
- Paul Sorvino didn’t want to do this movie until his agent convinced him to reconsider for a day.
- Scorsese originally didn’t want to make another Mafia movie when someone gave him a copy of Wiseguy in 1986-7. He changed his mind after reading the book, then called Pileggi directly. The two went on to make Casino years later.
Other things? Well, the famous walk through the kitchen entrance of the Copa Cabana is a signature move by Scorsese many have imitated (Swingers, Jon Stewart’s last The Daily Show with Scorses making a cameo in it). Did he invent it? No idea. I’m going to guess, he probably didn’t. I did acquire a book on Marty by his close friend Roger Ebert. I stupidly thought it was a bio, nope, it’s a collection of essays/reviews. Still going to read it. Scorsese will receive his due on my site next year. Plus, I continue to replay the “Layla” piano coda in my memory to the montage of dead associates being found.
If you haven’t seen Goodfellas in a while, I think it’s time to check it out again. All the principal players have passed away except Hill’s wife Karen.
Alamo Extras: Scenes from The Great Train Robbery set to the Rolling Stones live; a little interview with Scorses on AFI; Trailers for Westerns Red River and Shane; Trailer for The Tales of Hoffmann (inspiration is my guess); a Fellini movie trailer (no idea what, it wasn’t 8 1/2); clips of the Animaniacs’ “Good Feathers” cartoons; Joe Pesci’s appearance on David Letter when David didn’t have gray hair yet; Young Russians dancing in a park; the “do you think I’m funny” scene played to animated animal heads; and SNL‘s The Joe Pesci Show when Alec Baldwin did his spot-on DeNiro caricature.