Brilliant narration

Rating: 10/10 (9 February 2006)

Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci--their names say it all. De Niro and Pesci were iconography for 1980s gangster genre.
Liotta plays Henry Hill--the main protagonist--who is seduced by life in the mafia; The film traces his humble beginnings as a runner-boy to his eventual rise to power. Guts, glory and power summarize the first half of the film.
However, as it the film progress's, it gets bleaker and bleaker for Henry Hill as the price to pay for being in the mafia takes a toll on him.
Clearly, Scorsese challenges the ideology that life in the mafia grants one power and glory--it sets up a direct contrast between mafia-power and the price to pay for that power. If the Godfather Trilogy glamorized the mafia, Goodfellas certainly deconstructs that glamor as the film progresses.
The iconography is fantastic as it plays upon the usual mafia codes: flashy suits, cigars, nice cars and the actors themselves all serve to enhance the beautiful visual display of the gangster stereotypes used in the film.
Brilliant, insightful and factual Goodfellas is a must see for any gangster-genre fan !