Goodfellas. Mafiosi. Gangsters. Hoodlums. Swellguys. Da Mob. Whatever you choose to call them, Hollywood has long been fascinated with their ilk: the frighteningly well-organised crims operating behind closed doors, seemingly above the law. As far back as 1931, Mervyn LeRoys Little Caesar a tale of one mans career aspirations within an Italian-American mob – was being released into US cinemas. From there, to the original Scarface, to Angels With Dirty Faces, to Bonnie and Clyde to The Godfather trilogy, audience appetite for a good ol gangster flick has seldom waned. And then, in 1990, came Goodfellas for this reviewers money, the best of the lot.
Based on screenwriter Nicholas Pileggis best-selling book Wiseguy, in which he interviewed and chronicled the life story of one-time Mafioso Henry Hill, this marathon Martin Scorsese epic presents arguably the most engrossing and shockingly-realistic gangland tale ever put to celluloid. Ray Liotta plays Hill through the lions share of three decades, from his gradual acceptance into the mobs local branch, through his addictions to both the lifestyle and the stuff that can be bought with it, right up until what eventually looks like an inescapable demise. This isnt a film so much about the crimes he and his pals (among them Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci) commit, but about the way he lives his life and the feeling of importance he revels in along the way.
Goodfellas received six name-checks at the 1991 Oscars (it won one, a Best Supporting Actor gong for Pesci), and its not difficult to see why. This is Scorseses best work, both violent and frightening but also thoughtful, considered and intelligent. It also features the performance of a lifetime from Liotta: his career seems to have gone off-the-rails a bit of late, but anyone in any doubt of his ability to hold an audience in his grasp need look no further than this film. Do that and youll never question the guy again: youll be too scared to.