I'll never get tired of seeing this movie.

Rating: 10/10 (6 May 2015)

By the time 1990 came around, Martin Scorsese had already made several masterpieces in film, which continue to be praised and talked about to this day. With the likes of 'Raging Bull', 'Taxi Driver', and 'The Last Waltz', we all knew that Scorsese was one of the finest filmmakers and storytellers around. Even with just those three previous films mentioned, you'd know you were in for a treat when Scorsese wanted to show you something. Then 1990 came around and Scorsese once again changed the film community with a movie called 'Goodfellas', which was his big foray into the whole mafia genre.
Like myself, I think that most everyone around would say that 'Goodfellas' is one of the best mafia movie that has ever been put on film. Besides 'The Godfather I and II', I'm willing to bet that 'Goodfellas' can stand side by side with those two films, because it is just that good. However, Scorsese told this mafia drama in such a different way, that it got most filmmakers to start telling their stories on film the same way that Scorsese did with 'Goodfellas'. It's one of those movies that while it may be over 3 hours long, it is completely re-watchable at any time or day, because the characters, dialogue, and story are so compelling and told in such a fantastic and realistic fashion, that you can't help but watch the whole thing all over again, and become entranced by what's transpiring on screen.
In 1986, a writer by the name of Nicholas Pileggi wrote a non-fiction book about a real life mafia guy named Henry Hill. This book called 'Wiseguy' detailed the life of Henry Hill from his childhood through his adulthood, as he joined the Lucchese crime family at an early age. The book talked about all the acts of violence and criminal activity that went on, including the largest heist in American history at the time, which was the Lufthansa heist. Luckily, Scorsese got a hold of the book and decided to make a film with a young Ray Liotta playing Henry Hill, who narrated what went on throughout the film.
Scorsese also got two 'Raging Bull' actors Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci to star in this film, which earned Pesci a numerous amount of awards. Scorsese did something that original with this mafia genre, which was tell this story from a sentimental side from the eyes of these bad guys. Yes, we know that these iconic character are violent criminals who murder, steal, and exploit, but we also got to see the family and vulnerable side to them as well, which is one of the reasons 'Goodfellas' is such an achievement in filmmaking. We virtually get to meet almost everyone in the Lucchese crime family and not only see them commit these heinous acts of crime, but we get to see them being friends with one another, taking care of their families, and sticking up for each other.
As many as there are kills and blood in 'Goodfellas', there is as much laughs and jokes, which makes this realistic. The real life Henry Hill really laid everything out on the table for Scorsese and Pileggi to get acquire the total realness of the story and picture. Each character is based on someone in real life, which is kind of difficult to imagine. Even some of the more iconic dialogue scenes were taken from real instances, such as the "Am I funny to you" scene with Liotta and Pesci. It's a funny scene, but damn is it scary for a moment when you have no idea what Pesci's character Tommy is capable of. That's why this film is so amazing. You get sucked in to feeling for these guys and want to be their friends, because they are all charming and fun, but we are quickly given a wake up call to see just how rotten these "Goodfellas" are.
Still, after 25 years, 'Goodfellas' continues to be one of the best films ever made and paved the way for Scorsese into the mafia genre, as well as this brilliant style of filmmaking. We saw it in 'Casino', 'The Departed', and the recent 'Wolf of Wall Street' film, and never disappoints. But 'Goodfellas' is where it all started and continues to be the foundation for most modern mafia films. I'll never get tired of seeing this movie.