For me, GoodFellas is the greatest mob movie of all time. A lot of people like to point to The Godfather as the best ever. I love Part 1 and Part 2, but I really do believe that it can't hold a candle to that of Goodfellas. There is so much to like about this one from the acting (duh) to the cinematography (duh) to the directing (duh). But I think the thing that really drives it up a notch is the story that is being told and how it is being told. From the very first scene it just reels you in and doesn't let go until the credits roll. It's one of the films that just changed the landscape, spawning countless imitators that have never been able to match it.

So, who's the star of this one? Well, both Ray Liotta and Robert De Niro were amazing in this one, but lets be honest here, the guy that everyone wants to watch on screen is Joe Pesci who OWNED the movie. He was electrifying to watch and scary as hell too. He would of course end up playing the same type of character 5 years later in  C a s i n o . More or less.

It's funny, but I have seen this so many times I know every scene backwards and forward and yet, I always forget that Samuel L. Jackson is in this. It's a small role and but it's his part that starts the chain reaction that topples the house of cards. That's the great thing about watching movies like this and  C a s i n o . It follows a certain blueprint where you follow a guy who is reaching for the American dream, climbs his way up the ladder, achieves the dream, gets greedy and then everyone in his inner circle turns on each other bringing down the house of cards. You would think they would learn. I guess those that ignore history are doomed.........

A handful of actors with blink-and-you'll-miss-roles from this film would eventually go on to make their own mark in the Mob genre and make a big name for themselves in a little show called The Sopranos. Lorraine Bracco, Michael Imperioli, Frank Vincent, Vincent Pastore, Tony Sirico. Not bad transition from the film to TV, huh? There were a handful of other actors that appeared in the TV series, but these cats got the prime roles.

Another thing I love about this movie is the soundtrack. Martin Scorsese did a fantastic job selecting choice music and songs peppered throughout the film that it's kind of hard to separate from now. They are so intertwined they are forever linked. I highly recommend this as a Buy. It belongs in everybody's personal film library. If you are a film lover you probably already own this. If you're one of the rare few to have never seen this one, but it sight unseen.

It's been a long time since I've seen this baby. Only remember a few characters.
Need to check it out again.

Happened to flip through the cable channels and caught this just as it started. I was surprised my wife was good with it. I guess the long narration by Henry (Ray Liotta) in the beginning really sucked me in. I remembered some scenes, others not so much, but still a very entertaining film. Ya, Samuel Jackson was pretty much a blur. I think he had about 3 seconds of face time.

Wait, the heist wasn't actually IN the movie though, was it?  I remember that glaring out at me.  THey just talk about it before and after it happened.