Goodfellas

Directed by Martin Scorcese
Based on the novel
by Nicholas Pileggi

Scorcese's work, based on the novel by Nicholas Pileggi, was a highly-stylized rendition of the memoirs of Henry Hill, a 'wiseguy' connected with the NYC Lucchese Mafia Family in the 60's. GoodFellas was a milestone in the genre, far exceeding its predecessor, The Godfather, with its sheer dynamism while overshadowing Scarface with superior acting and overall filmmaking technique. It brought the 'crime movie' to a new level exceeding all standards previously set in earlier decades.

The Book

Pileggi's biography was a powerful work which, identically, brought the crime genre in literature to a new level along with such books as The Life and Times of Lucky Luciano, Goombata, and Donnie Brasco with their lucid narratives and dynamic style. Henry Hill was a protege of the Vario crew in the Lucchese Family, a 'mechanic' familiar with all facets of cons, scams and rackets in the underworld. His mentor, Jimmy Burke, was a connected wiseguy who was an underworld legend as a top earner within the Family. Together they took part in the Lufthansa heist at JFK Airport (nee Idlewild), the biggest robbery in US history. Only greed caused the eventual disintegration of their relationship, which led to their arrest on a narcotics charge. With his life in danger, Hill turned State's witness and was a major factor in the arrest and conviction of a large number of figures within the Lucchese hierarchy.

The Movie

Like Apocalypse Now and Schindler's List, GoodFellas was a triumph by a triple-threat acting team catapulted into cinema history by a brilliant director and a landmark literary work. Ray Liotta hit the jackpot with his role as Henry, backed by Robert De Niro's Oscar-nominated performance as Jimmy and Joe Pesci's Award-winning performance as Tommy De Vito. De Vito, a takeoff on real-life Mob psychopath Tommy De Simone, completed a triangular perspective on Mob life that was unique within the genre. The soundtrack itself was superb with its motif emphasizing the changing of the guard within the Mob that was thematic throughout the movie. 50's crooner hits were liberally sprinkled alongside 60's pop and Motown tunes reflecting the tastes of both the older mobsters like Jimmy, and the new breed, which Henry and Tommy represented. It succeeded The Godfather as the crime movie of all time, inspiring a new genre of Mob movies that included the highly-successful Tarantino satirizations and the dynamic (though highly underrated) Donnie Brasco.

For further information on this topic:

The Goodfellas Multimedia Page

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