Scorsese's brilliant masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (30 July 2004)

Spoilers((( Martin Scorsese created this brilliant masterwork in 1990 and made a new important chapter in gangster movie history. Starring the top-notch actors Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci this movie is based on the true story of Henry Hill and his gangster career that stands as one of history's most magnificent mob stories.
Henry Hill is a local boy who's been working for the mob since early days, now being an adult he still serves for them. His since-school-days (although they never went to school) friend Tommy DeVito is a pre Italian maniac. And there's Jimmy Conway, the man who puts these two fellas up together, and is doing some of the worst crimes New York City has ever seen. But soon Henry is put in jail and everything that has always been so bright and okay, suddenly goes upside-down and things starts looking bad for the guy, who's always wanted to be a gangster...
GOODFELLAS isn't just one of the definitive movies ever made, it makes its march brutally right on the spot, leaving everything that's been earlier made of mafia movies too old to stand up to it when it was released. It's challenger's are few; but there are two (maybe three if you set up the sequel) heavyweighters doing their thing too; THE GODFATHER and ONCE UPON A TIME IN America (last one also starring De Niro). Martin Scorsese had already showed the world that he was one of the most impressing director's to be in Hollywood at the time, and this settled his march once and for all as one of cinema history's biggest. Soon after this gangster installment Scorsese made another mob-movie with De Niro and Pesci, named CASINO, also a great achievement, but it can't stand against this. GOODFELLAS doesn't just have the perfect timing of drama, suspense, violence and pure Italian anger, the soundtrack playing fabulously along with great tracks as "Gimme Shelter", "Stardust", "Bells Of St.Marys" and "Memo From Turner". The actors are all amazing, and if I had to pick a favourite among the trio I had to say Liotta, although he didn't achieve an Oscar for his performance (Pesci did) his character simply fixes everything, going threw pissed-wife-happenings, drug-related-cases, killings and emotionally disturbance.
The violence of the movie just let us see the real brutality inside mob business, Pesci striking a knife, De Niro kicking face, Liotta punching guy's face apart with a gun, Pesci sticking a knife into a guy's backhead...I mean, it's a pretty messed up brutal movie, and that simply sets the mood right. You know this is brutal business, it's illegal with capitol I, people get killed and business that's so freaking wrong for the law are done - and it's pure mafia. Seeing Ray Liotta stepping out of the car after he gets to know that the friendly-neighbourhood-(Spider is the bartender)man has been touching and offending his wife, is a sight simply making the hair rise. It reminds a bit off Caan in THE GODFATHER when he heads to kick his sister's husband's ass, well, I gotta say; Liotta isn't just three steps more violent, he is also three steps more calm and cool. GOODFELLAS is an amazing movie, and it really gives Coppola's 1972 mafia movie a real breather in the neck. STARS: 5/5