Reviews - Goodfellas (1990)

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Based on 772 158 Ratings

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Genres: Biography, Crime, Drama

Taglines: In a world that's powered by violence, on the streets where the violent have power, a new generation carries on an old tradition.

Writers: Nicholas Pileggi, Martin Scorsese

Stars: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, ...

Henry Hill might be a small time gangster, who may have taken part in a robbery with Jimmy Conway and Tommy De Vito, two other gangsters who might have set their sights a bit higher. His two partners could kill off everyone else involved in the robbery, and slowly start to think about climbing up through the hierarchy of the Mob. Henry, however, might be badly affected by his partners' success, but will he consider stooping low enough to bring about the downfall of Jimmy and Tommy?

100

All of the performances are first-rate; Pesci stands out, though, with his seemingly unscripted manner. GoodFellas is easily one of the year's best films. [21 September 1990, Friday, p.C]

100 | Roger Ebert

No finer film has ever been made about organized crime - not even "The Godfather."

100 | Jay Scott

No so-called serious gangster film has ever been more fun, or less dangerous, or more intrinsically feminist, than GoodFellas. Even "I Married the Mob" was scarier.

100 | James Berardinelli

With patience, care, and strict attention to detail, Scorsese has staked out an impregnable position in the history of motion pictures.

90 | Desson Thomson

One of Martin Scorsese's most brutal but stunning movies, an incredible, relentless experience about the singleminded pursuit of crime.

80 | Jeremy Beday

Martin Scorsese scores again with his gritty, kinetic adaptation of Nicolas Pileggi's best-selling "Wiseguy."

80 | Staff (Not credited)

Scorsese's rich tapestry is both broader in scope and more detailed than a mere recounting of the events in the trio's life of crime.

80 | Jonathan Rosenbaum

Stylistically, it's a remarkable effort -- with a continuous sense of gliding motion -- and the film is entertaining and gripping throughout.

70 | Staff (Not credited)

Simultaneously fascinating and repellent, Goodfellas is Martin Scorsese's colorful but dramatically unsatisfying inside look at Mafia life in 1955-1980 New York City.