contender for best gangster movie ever

Rating: Null/10 (31 August 2004)

*WARNING* REVIEW CONTAINS ONE CASE OF BAD LANGUAGE *WARNING*
'As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a gangster,' says Henry Hill, who opens his true story of 30 years in the mob in Scorsese's epic
There has never been an adequate explanation as to why this superb gangster epic didn't win 1990's Best Picture Academy Award. And why a film featuring 20 minutes of buffaloes stampeding and Kevin Costner with a 'tache (Dances With Wolves) was considered more worthy than one that featured Pesci's memorable 'How the f**k am I funny?' tirade is anyone's guess.
Glaring goofs by the Academy aside, GoodFellas is one of the best gangster movies ever. The tale of 30 years of life in the Mob, as seen through the eyes of real-life gangster Henry Hill (Liotta), was based on Nicolas Pileggi's gripping book (which he and Martin Scorsese adapted for the screen) and directed with skill by Scorsese.
There are so many things about this movie that are great - the casting of De Niro as Hill's mentor and Pesci (who won an Oscar) as the psychotic Tommy, that infamous tracking shot as Henry and his date (Bracco) walk into the Copacabana restaurant, the soundtrack featuring everything from Tony Bennett to The Who - it's no real surprise that the movie regularly appears on critics' Top Ten lists. Gripping, beautifully written, brilliantly directed, funny and tragic all in one - it certainly deserves to be right up there.