One of the best movies of the past 50 years

Rating: 10/10 (4 April 2007)

With Martin Scorsese getting a lot of acclaim this past year due to the amazing film "The Departed" its a good time to go back 16 years earlier and revisit his epic masterpiece Goodfellas. This film, which was robbed of the Oscar for Best picture in favor of Dances With Wolves, stands out as a movie that people will be talking about for decades to come. Its not just that the script and every performance by the actors was Oscar worthy, its also the directing by Scorsese that puts this film over the top. Any film school worth its weight will spend many hours taking this film apart frame by frame. The Camera work, the editing, the placement of music- this film stands out as one of the greatest films of all time. Can anybody forget the scene where Hill's character is ushered through the nightclub with his date? Can anybody who hears the chorus from Layla by Eric Clapton ever not think about the amazing scene that accompanies it? The performance by Joe Pesci is one of the greatest of all time. The character is revolting and yet compelling at the same time. Its very hard to get an audience to feel both emotions and when it works, its brilliant.
Now add to this the fact that this story is based on the true life of a real person named Henry Hill and it makes this movie even more interesting to watch. If you have not yet seen this movie, do your self a favor and go rent it. You won't regret it.