Goodfellas Review: Scorsese's Gangster Masterclass
9.5/10 — Goodfellas (1990)
Pros
- Virtuoso direction and editing
- Pesci, Liotta and De Niro at their best
- A perfect needle-drop soundtrack
Cons
- Very violent
- Women seen mostly from the sidelines
Based on Nicholas Pileggi’s book Wiseguy, Goodfellas follows Henry Hill from teenage errand boy to made man in the New York Mafia, and his eventual downfall. Martin Scorsese gives us the gangster life from the inside, glamour and horror together.
What works
Scorsese’s camera never stops moving, from the famous Copacabana tracking shot to the frenzied final day, and the editing by Thelma Schoonmaker is dazzling. Ray Liotta is superb as Henry, Robert De Niro is quietly menacing, and Joe Pesci is explosively dangerous. The soundtrack is flawless.
Where it falters
It’s relentlessly brutal, and its female characters, though well played by Lorraine Bracco, spend much of the film as witnesses.
Verdict
Electrifying, funny and chilling. One of the greatest gangster films ever made.
