GoodFellas

Rating:
Summary: Ray Liotta's Oscar-Caliber Performance
Review: This movie has got to be one of Martin Scorsese's best. It ranks right up there with "Taxi Driver" and "Raging Bull". I have always thought of Martin Scorsese as of the best directors we have today. He always seems to a have a great attention to detail and always directs his actors/actresses into giving tour-de-force performances. The film won both Best Picture and Best Director awards from the New York Film Critics as well as numerous Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Pesci) and Best Supporting Actress (Bracco).

The entire cast is exceptional, including Joe Pesci in his Oscar-winning role. I was very surprised that Ray Liotta never received an Oscar nomination for his performance. I thought he turned in one the best performances of that year. And Robert DeNiro.......what can I say except that he's Robert DeNiro, one of the finest actors working today. He has such a great scene towards the end of the film where he just finds out that Joe Pesci's character has been killed. He is devastated and in such pain that he tries to hold it all inside. Watching him try not to cry in that scene is remarkable. And Oscar-nominee Lorraine Bracco has many great moments in the film including angrily confronting her husband's mistress through an apartment lobby phone and holding a loaded gun to her husband's face over his infidelity. The soundtrack is another wonderful aspect of the film. Every single song was probably specifically chosen for a particular scene in the film. One of the disappointing things about this DVD is that it's not packed with extra's such as documentaries, director's commentary, deleted scenes, etc. It hardly has anything. In the future I hope they produce a Special Collector's Edition. If you haven't seen this film then you don't know what you're missing. It is a must-see !!

Rating:
Summary: FORGET THE GODFATHER!!!!!!
Review: This ONE film was able to pull off what The Godfather took 3 films to do! I love the story-telling of this film. It is gritty and violent and nasty. It covers the career of a young wanna be wise guy from the age of 12 to his early 30's. If you love good mafia stories in film and have never seen this one...You are missing a BIG one here! The bonus features on the second disc are fantastic! At this price what are you waiting for??

Rating:
Summary: Best Mob Movie EVER
Review: -better than the godfather and scarface, goodfellas incorporates the evils and sorrows of the mob life, but with added humor and witty performances
-goodfellas is fun and unforgetable and unique with its narrative approach.......a must-see

Rating:
Summary: No Spanish 2.0 Soundtrack !!!
Review: Even though the packaging states not once, but twice, that this 2-Disc set includes a spanish language soundtrack, guess again,IT DOES NOT!!! The packaging is misleading. I own previous versions of this classic flick(VHS,LASERDISC, and yes,the 1997 DVD release which states (correctly) a FRENCH soundtrack) The only reason I bought this new 2-Disc set was so that I could enjoy the film in my native language (spanish).

I went as far as contacting Warner Home Video to get the lowdown on this problem or get my money back. A representaive in the legal department informed me that,just as I had asssumed, the packaging was in fact wrong. THERE WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE A SPANISH SOUNDTRACK IN THE FIRST PLACE!! I asked why and the representative kindly explained that "90% of Warner Home Video titles are for the U.S and Canadian markets, and therefore only include english and french soundtracks" Really? You mean hispanics don't live in Canada? She was kind enough to offer me a DVD from their catalog of my choice as an apology. Now that to me is great customer service. I chose another great Scorsese/DeNiro title.

So anyone out there considering buying this great 2-Disk set, be forewarned: THERE IS NO SPANISH SOUNDTRACK!!

P.S. Amazon, be sure to update your advertsing on this as well.
List the soundracks as ENGLISH 5.1 and FRENCH 5.1 so as to avoid any irrate customer complaints such as mine.

Rating:
Summary: Arguably Pesci and Liotta's finest hour
Review: I can't believe Goodfellas is 15 years old.
Goodfellas came out in the fall of 1990. The movie is the story of Henry Hill whom worked for the mafia. He then stabbed his friends in the back when he went into the witness protection program.
The movie tells us the story of Hill from from his days as a kid in the Bronx up until his last days as a gangster.
I just love watching this movie and do not ever get sick of it. This movie has it all, comedy, action, drama and suspense all in one movie.
Ray Liotta gives his best performance ever as Henry Hill yet wasn't a big name at the time the movie was made. Robert DeNiro was great and played the character of Jimmy Conway perfectly(he was no stranger to playing crime lords, he played Al Capone a few years before in The Untouchables). Joe Pesci however is the one who steals the show here and he plays the crazy, psychotic, out of control (but very hilarious) mobster Tommy. He has most of the funny lines in the movie, and his character just eats up every scene he is in. No matter who he is acting with, my favorite was when he flipped out on the guy who told him to get his shoeshine box. Paul Sorvino plays the crime boss Paulie and hardly ever speaks in the movie, but did a good job. Lorraine Bracco plays Henry Hill's wife Karen and because of her great performance in Goodfellas, she is now on The Sopranos.
I remember back when I saw this movie, I knew who Martin Scorcese was(he directed Taxi Driver, Mean Streets, The Last Waltz, The Color of Money(The Hustler sequel) and Casino amongst other great films) and he is one of the best movie directors ever!
The original DVD from the late 90s was a waste, you had to flip the movie over to watch both halves but now the movie is on one disc and there is a second disc with extras.
The first disc is the full two plus hour movie uninterrupted with two commentaries. One with Scorcese and some of the cast & crew and the other is with Henry Hill himself and Edward McDonald, a former FBI agent. Both are excellent.
On disc 2, you get a very good documentary on the making of the film.
Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Goodfellas
Review: This is easily the best gangster film you can watch. Ray Liotta is just superb, the role seems to have been made for him. Pesci is great too demonstrating that you don't have to be a big guy to be threatening (Pesci is only 5'5"..165cm tall). De Niro portrays his role in a very understated way, and I personally felt like he could have injected a little more energy and craziness into it, bearing in mind the development of his character towards the end.

Rating:
Summary: Superb, Stunning.....but
Review: An absolutely great film with absolutely great acting and the stunning realization that everybody loses, for all their bravado and all the big bucks that flowed thru their hands, the 'goodfellas' and their families lose in the end. An overlooked cameo in this film is the portrayal of the wives of the mobster-goodfellas - shallow, crude,gaudily made-up and dressed..the wondrous Lorraine Bracco excepted (her character is Jewish). Almost an insult to ltalian-American women, but we have to keep in mind that the film portrays a very small percentage of them.

And now the "but": as cited by movie critics, the 'f' word is used at least 199 times in this film and, even tho this is the way the mobsters talked,it can become tedious and a strain on the sensibilities, so be prepared. Me? l'm hardly a prude and l'd love to see it again, but the constant use of the 'f' word was a turn-off for me, it being both used and abused brutally in this otherwise-marvelous film. One viewing was enough for me, and, admittedly, it's my loss.

Rating:
Summary: A Contemporary American Masterpiece
Review: Few films ever express a wider range of emotions than Goodfellas, a contemporary American classic directed by Martin Scorsese. Goodfellas, based off of the book Wiseguys, depicts the life of half-Irish Henry Hill, a member of a notorious mafia clan that makes money by stealing from the local airport, among other things. Beginning when he enters the mob at fifteen and ending when he ruins it at forty, Goodfellas, which is based on a true story, will entertain you from start to finish, and you'll find yourself wanting to watch it again and again. However, the films gets very violent at times, and it may be hard to watch for those with a weak stomach or a non-violent demeanor. Still, I'd reccommend this to anybody above the age of thirteen, and since, as stated above, the movie is filled with all sorts of emotions, there is truly something for everyone. At times a thriller, a romance, a comedy, or a violent crime drama, Goodfellas never ceases to amaze me with its astounding nature, and it is truly an American masterpiece worthy of the highest praise.

Rating:
Summary: THE GREATEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME
Review: The honesty and reality of this movie is unparalelled. (did I spell that right?) Everyone turns in a performance of a lifetime. Including Ray Liotta, who needs to work more. Martin, please call this gentleman again. This movie established me as Liotta fan for life. Who didn't want to pistol-whip some guy for checking out their lady after watching this movie? An attention-grabber from begining to end, this film will live forever.

Rating:
Summary: Cannot top this movie but the DVD extras are lacking
Review: Well as far as the movie itself goes it is my all time favorite. Its the best mob film ever and all the people who disagree and say the Godfather is does not appreciate the honesty of this movie. The Godfather is excellent but it is not Goodfellas. For one thing it is a true story and really exposes the sleezy side of the mob but it is also very cool. I have read Wiseguy by Nicholas Peliggi many times, from which this movie is based, but this is one instance where the movie is better than the book. Usually it is not that way. Martin Scorcese did a masterpiece in shooting this film. Just that long drawn out scene when Henry and Karen go into the restaurant the back way on their first date is just amazing because it is done in all one shot! The cast is amazing! In fact it was so amazing I guess that is why 7 of the actors have shown up in the best TV show of all time;The Sopranos, either as lead or supporting cast or extras! I can honestly say I have seen this movie well over 80 times, maybe a hundred and it is always entertaining. The dialogue, especially Joe Pesci's (Tommy) part is great. DeNiro (Jimmy the Gent) really shows why he is an all time favorite and Ray Liotta (Henry) is great as a newcomer which he was in this movie and I have always wondered why he didn't go on to great things after this. Obviously this was his role of a lifetime to date! This movie is a drama but it also has a lot of humor in it too. This movie is almost 15 years old but when you watch it you would never know it. Its so precise on detail it could have been made 6 months ago.

The way Scorcese covers all 3 decades is awesome. He gets every single detail right with clothing, sets, and cars! The soundtrack fits as well and the soundtrack is awesome too!

Now as far as the Special Edition DVD goes I really wish this DVD had a little more and now I have the original and now this as well as my OLD VHS!! Although the picture quality is awesome and the movie will never be anything but, I think it could have been done a little better. I did enjoy the Henry Hill commentary and thats about it. The documentary where filmmakers gave their viewpoints I could care less about and the commentary with the cast is dated! All in all I rate this DVD a 4 and thats only because the movie makes up for the extras!