Rating: 
Summary: The glamour and the brutality of the Mob
Review: No-one can portray American gangsters quite as vividly and realistically as Scorsese. He shows us the appeal of their glamour; but doesn't flinch at their violence; which is brutal, bloody, very often pointlessness, and always totally amoral. The film follows the rise of a Henry Hill, played by Ray Liotta, through the criminal ranks - loan sharking, hijacking trucks, killing - until he ends up as a close and trusted associate of the 'Goodfellas' - a term that gangsters use for themselves: it means someone who can be trusted. It all turns sour when he feels that they have let him down and he turns to drug-smuggling behind the backs of his bosses, an unforgivable crime in their eyes. The film is gripping. Scene after scene holds the eye. Despite the film's length, the pace never relents. Liotta and De Niro are excellent, but it is Joe Pesci who steals the film. Not since James Cagney in 'Public Enemy No 1' has a portrayal of a completely amoral thug been so frightening. The sense of violence bubbling under the surface of Pesci is never far away, and when it does erupt, it is quick, horrifying, but predictable. The period of time that Goodfellas covers, 1950s to the 1980s, means that the story tends to lurch from decade to decade, creating an episodic narrative rather than the more continues flow of 'Mean Streets'. However, this is a minor criticism. The film is still a classic study of the Italian-American underworld and a great piece of film-making.
Rating: 
Summary: Made Men rule
Review: This film is a culmination of Martin Scorcese film work. The director of such classic films as TAXI DRIVER and RAGING BULL, journeys to an area he would touch upon with MEAN STREETS, CASINO and in GANGS OF NEW YORK. Ah, yes, the mobster film. Whereas the GODFATHER films romanticized life in the mafia, GOODFELLAS brought the family down to earth, each member as human as the couple living next door. Scorcese builds the story around that premise. Themeatically we see a story that stresses corruption as all corrupting. Where nobody can be trusted and what you have today will be gone tomorrow. The cast is superb. Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) is the voice of the story, a young goodfella who grew up hanging around the gang hideout. The gang itself is filled with colorful characters with fun nicknames such as Frankie the Wop. Freddie No Nose, Nicky Two Times on to Johnny Roast Beef. In both of those elements can be seen a strong influence on DeNiro's film BRONX TALE a few years later. The always-reliable Robert DeNiro is Jimmy Conway who exhibits the largest internal character arc in the film. He begins as a confident and pleasant man with a trip-hammer temper, but later he is taken in by his own paranoia. The mob boss Paul Cicero is wonderfully played by Paul Sorvino who starts out as a omniscient presence but in the end, just an old mobster going to prison. But, it is the breakout roles of Lorraine Bracco and Joe Pesci that make this ensemble glitter. Bracco wonderfully plays 30 years as Henry's wife Karen, a woman who is at first obsessed with her husband's power. Later she is a partner in and finally a victim of it. She could use a few sessions with her psychiatrist character from THE SOPRANOS. Pesci is insane as Tommy DeVito, a wild mobster with a dangerous duality of character; either the class clown or he's on a rampage. Allover great casting helps deliver a strong statement based on Nicholas Pileggi's best selling novel. The DVD has a good audio transfer, which is important to the film as musical trends help define each era in the film. The video is a bit dark and since this is an early DVD release, needs to be flipped over halfway through. Watch for other members Tony Sirico and Michael Imperioli of THE SOPRANOS in supporting roles. And that is Samuel L Jackson as Stacks Edwards. This film is very violent and so my Aunt Joyce should avoid it but if that and constant harsh language don't bother you... Should you go on the lam from this film? Fuhgeddaboudit.
Rating: 
Summary: Need to flip over the DVD
Review: The 2 reasons I buy my favorite movies on DVD are that they don't wear out and that long movies don't need to be interupted by putting in the other video tape. Well, on Goodfellas one half the movie is on each side! What a waste of DVD technology! They need to correct this and rerelease. That I would of course rate 5/5.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible Movie
Review: no need to explain the movie to yous, but it is without a doubt one of the best mob movies of all time. but the way the dvd is set up is enough to [tick] off the pope on easter sunday. you have to flip the thing a little over halfway into the movie. which doesn't make any sence. saving private ryan is all on one side, heat- one side, casino- one side, and all of those movies are longer than this one. i dont get it. plus the whole movie is on just one vhs tape. real wierd.
Rating: 
Summary: Goodfellas
Review: One of the greatest movies of all time. Unfortunately the disc does not do it justice. I think it's time for WHV to re-release this one. This was one of the first DVD's to be released ever. The Dual-layer disc had not become a reality yet. Today, having to flip the disc seems very 90's. I also think the compression can be improved upon. This is a title worthy of a Special Edition (if they can do it for Kevin Costner's The Postman, I think they can do it for Goodfellas). So hopefully our friends at the WB will work on a re-release real soon. I'll definitely pre-order it as soon as it's announced.
Rating:
Summary: A very violent, very gritty film...
Review: Martin Scorcese delivers one of the best movies about organized crime ever made in "Goodfellas," due in large part to the intense portrayals by an excellent cast. Ray Liotta is completely believable as Henry Hill, an Irish-Italian who becomes a key player in the New York mob. He is befriended by other mob insiders -- Jimmy (Robert DeNiro) and Tommy (Joe Pesci), both of whom give Oscar-caliber performances. The pace of the movie is so frenetic that you may begin to feel your pulse rise, particularly during the climactic buildup near the end. In addition to gritty performances, the groundbreaking cinematography in "Goodfellas" makes this a visual treat for the eyes. The only negatives are the sometimes overwhelming violence and language, which are realistically and graphically portrayed but still sometimes hard to watch. Even so, this is one of the best movies to be released in the past half-century.
Rating:
Summary: What is this? A laserdisc?
Review: No one will question the brilliance of this film. BUT WHY DO WE HAVE TO FLIP OVER A DVD? Isn't that why we moved from laserdiscs to DVDs?
Rating:
Summary: The life
Review: The of Henry Hill come to life here. Based on the book Wise guy. Shows the rise and fall of Henry Hill. Form the young Hill to the Mob Hill. The scams the tricks the jobs it's all here. De Niro Pesci Sorvino as Paulie. They all make the best crew. So many great secnes. A must seen just don't want to give anything away. See it now.
Rating:
Summary: Warning - DVD is double sided!
Review: There is simply no excuse for having to flip over a DVD half way through to watch a movie. Plenty of longer movies than Goodfellas have been able to fit on ONE SIDE of a DVD. Without a doubt, this is an excellent movie (as the other reviews concerning the movie itself make evident), which is why I bought the DVD. If I had known in advance that I was required to flip it over half way through the movie, I never would have bought it in DVD format.
Rating:
Summary: FOR HE'S A JOLLY GOODFELLA...
Review: This is simply a great mob movie. Based upon the best selling book, "Wiseguy", by Nicholas Pileggi, it traces the rise and fall of "gansta" wannabe turned government informant, Henry Hill. Skillfully directed by Martin Scorsese, this film with its all star cast, megawatt performances, and period music soundtrack packs quite a wallop to the senses. Named 1990's best film by the Los Angeles, New York, and National Society of Film Critics, it garnered six Academy Award nominations and earned Joe Pesci an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In the 1950s, a preteen Henry Hill (Christopher Serrone) began his career as a "gansta" wannabe on the mean streets of East New York, where a small Italian American community thrived. Working with Paul Cicero's (Paul Sorvino's) crew, he worked his way up, doing the penny ante, gofer stuff, until he began more heavy duty involvement. As a young man, Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) took to his life in the underworld like a fish takes to water. He married a nice, jewish girl whom he turned into a shrewish girl, as he lived the life he wanted. His wife, Karen (Lorraine Bracco), also became entranced by the perks available to a mobster Henry teamed up with Jimmy "The Gent" Conway (Robert DeNiro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci). Together they stole, lied, cheated, and killed their way through life, until they got wacked or got caught. When Henry, against the express advice of Paul Cicero, got involved with Jimmy in the 1970s cocaine drug trade, it was the beginning of the end for him and Jimmy. The film skillfully chronicles the rise and fall of Henry Hill from wiseguy to goverment informant in the witness protection program.. It is amazing that the actor playing young Henry Hill, Christopher Serrone, resembles Ray Liotta so much, right down to the piercing hazel eyes. He gives a terrific performance as young Henry, expressing all the joie de vivre that young Henry had over being associated with mobsters. Ray Liotta, as the adult Henry Hill, gives an outstanding performance. The viewer senses his absolute love for the life that he lives. He clearly enjoys all the perks of a mobster, his only regret being that he could never be a "made" guy, because he was not fully Italian, as his mother was Sicilian but his father was Irish. Robert DeNiro is wonderful as Jimmy Conway, low key yet powerful. Joe Pesci gives an over the top performance as the wild, volatile, and totally crazy Tommy DeVito, an out of control wiseguy who has no redeeming value as a human being. He is a guy who does not think twice about killing someone over something trivial. Paul Sorvino is excellent as the mob boss who is all about the family and plays it the old fashioned way. Lorraine Bracco gives the performance of her life as Karen Hill, a woman besotted by the life of a mobster's wife, until she realizes that girlfriends are an expected part of that life. She is sensational. This is simply a great mob movie. It is a film that the viewer will watch again and again. I, myself , have seen it at least three or four times, and each time is as if it were the first. Vastly entertaining, this film is a worthy addition to one's collection.
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