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- 1990
- R
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- 2 h 26 m
- 1990
- R
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- 2 h 26 m
SummaryBased on the bestselling book "Wiseguy" by Nicholas Pileggi, Scorsese's film profiles nearly 30 years of mob life in New York City.
Directed By: Martin Scorsese
Written By: Nicholas Pileggi, Martin Scorsese
- 1990
- R
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- 2 h 26 m
- 1990
- R
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- 2 h 26 m
Goodfellas
9.0
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SummaryBased on the bestselling book "Wiseguy" by Nicholas Pileggi, Scorsese's film profiles nearly 30 years of mob life in New York City.
Directed By: Martin Scorsese
Written By: Nicholas Pileggi, Martin Scorsese
Where to Watch
Coming Soon
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal AcclaimBased on 21 Critic Reviews
92
95% Positive
20 Reviews
20 Reviews
5% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
- All Reviews
- Positive Reviews
- Mixed Reviews
- Negative Reviews
Metascore
Universal AcclaimBased on 21 Critic Reviews
92
95% Positive
20 Reviews
20 Reviews
5% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
- All Reviews
- Positive Reviews
- Mixed Reviews
- Negative Reviews
Although Goodfellas doesn’t aspire to the grandeur of Coppola’s mob, Scorsese’s New Yorkers have their own vitality, even if – or perhaps because – the threat of violence is never far away.
User Score
Universal AcclaimBased on 1,259 User Ratings
9.0
95% Positive
1196 Ratings
1196 Ratings
3% Mixed
39 Ratings
39 Ratings
2% Negative
24 Ratings
24 Ratings
- All Reviews
- Positive Reviews
- Mixed Reviews
- Negative Reviews
User Score
Universal AcclaimBased on 1,259 User Ratings
9.0
95% Positive
1196 Ratings
1196 Ratings
3% Mixed
39 Ratings
39 Ratings
2% Negative
24 Ratings
24 Ratings
- All Reviews
- Positive Reviews
- Mixed Reviews
- Negative Reviews
Nov 11, 2025
Why are so many mafia movies so good? Is it the intrinsic drama of a hard-and-fast way of life? That potent mix of secret dealings and violent repercussions? The allure of big spending, exorbitant lifestyles and loud personalities? The mere wish fulfillment of doing something selfish, swinging your balls around and getting away with it? Whatever the reason, the organized crime subgenre has a disproportionate number of bangers. Goodfellas, Martin Scorsese’s fast-paced take on the rise to riches and fall from grace of a real-life crook, slots in right alongside the greats. I might even say it’s better than The Godfather, although it almost certainly wouldn’t have been the same film without Coppola’s influence. In some ways, it’s almost a counter-point to that 1972 standard-bearer. Where The Godfather immerses itself in the machinations of running a criminal empire, the necessary maneuvers and backstabs behind the curtain, Goodfellas leans more into the superficial, gratifying image the families present to the public. It’s most interested in exploring the seductive power of the mafia lifestyle, all the showy fringe benefits that would make a kid in 1950s New York gaze out his greasy bedroom window and proclaim “I wanna be a gangster.” We’re swept away by the romance of that dreamland, led on a swirling tour of VIP entrances and private tables and first-name relationships with celebrities; living the high life while also being taught the pecking order that makes it possible. If you want to spend big, we can definitely make that possible, but you’ve also got to earn big. And honor a rigid code of conduct. Scorsese essentially wraps his arm around the viewer’s shoulder and takes us into that fold. We meet all the big players, a blur of names and faces, but settle down with an ambitious trio of go-getters. Jimmy (Robert De Niro, whose notoriety and connections make them viable), Tommy (Joe Pesci, a thin-skinned instigator whose impulsive nature pushes them forward) and Henry (Ray Liotta, the never-enough protagonist who balances the others’ fire and ice) form a tight-knit bond, spend most every waking moment together and work the ladder for all it’s worth. As time passes in big, colorful chunks, we stick to these guys and see how their game changes to match the world around it. The rewards increase, but so do the risks, and that’s not necessarily such a great thing as success goes to their heads and their unsightly little tics blossom in the spotlight. These guys never met a pair of britches they didn’t think they could fit. The director once said he shot Goodfellas to play like “a two-and-a-half-hour trailer,” and that’s exactly how it’s paced. Everything is a rich, quick peek through the window: a busy city childhood; a lavish stay in the clink; workplace disagreements; fence-swinging scores; unrecognized mutual tailspins. Like a life quickly lived, the plot races past in a string of highlights, but that’s not to say it lacks for depth or substance. Scorsese delivers those, too, equally saturated and at a breakneck pace. An easy ten out of ten.
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Sep 7, 2025
Goodfellas is basically a perfectly written and executed film. Simple as that.The characters are so well-written and even though some of them are bad people, the movie was successful at making me root for them. Everyone is so different from one another and all characters have arcs throughout which are subtle, but visible. Every person here is flawed, but there are ones that you can see are better than others and this is why this film works perfectly. There are a few characters that you like even though they are gangsters. The story is shaped around it's characters and the fact that much of it happened is wild. The dialogues are realistic, fun and they perfectly reflect character.All that wouldn't be this way if not for Martin Scorsese, who directed the hell out of this film. The framing, lighting and camera movement is just perfect and they create tension perfectly, when necessary. The production design is just so fitting. The score adds a lot to the tone and when there's a lack of score, you feel it and the tension rises to great heights. The casting and the acting performances are what make this film iconic. Everyone is perfectly cast, while Ray Liotta, Robert de Niro and Joe Pesci deliver legendary performances.Goodfellas is iconic mainly because of it's perfect writing, directing and acting.
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No finer film has ever been made about organized crime - not even "The Godfather."
By Carmel Dagan
Scorsese's rich tapestry is both broader in scope and more detailed than a mere recounting of the events in the trio's life of crime.
By Staff (Not Credited)FULL REVIEW
Scorsese's style, fierce as it is, doesn't accomplish what he clearly expected of it. Often, in many arts, fresh treatment can redeem familiar subjects, but it doesn't happen here. [Oct 22, 1990]
Aug 7, 2025
Wow. I can't believe this movie came out the same year I was born and I have never seen it until 2025. What a brilliant, unhinged, driven masterpiece. The pacing of this film is beautiful and never gets old, even with it's longer runtime. Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, and Joe Pesci are an absolute masterclass of gangsters portrayed by actors. I have always loved those three as actors, but you can really see how this movie iconized them to be the superstars they turned into. I also loved seeing Samuel L. Jackson in this as more of a side character. All in all, this is a brilliant film based on a true story about real life gangsters. Something I would never want to be in a million years.
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Nov 4, 2021
Both the first time I saw it, and seeing it again after many years, I find this film decidedly unpleasant. Thelma Schoonemaker's masterful editing doesn't make up for a story that gets extremely repetitive and boring in the second part. Definitely unpleasant characters. The violence in this film is never measured and finalized but always over the top for the sole purpose of entertaining the audience. The movie remains full of skilled directing but it turns out to be a barely watchable movie for my tastes.
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Mar 19, 2020
Goodfellas is the ultimate mob/gangster/crime film from 1990 and directed by Martin Scorsese. The director named Scorsese has gone on to make many movies including Casino which may follow on from Goodfellas but that may be highly controversial and I may be wrong. Casino has some of the same actors like De Niro and Pesci and the same director so it's similar to Goodfellas and so how it was made too. ..... The main actor in Goodfellas is a guy named quite politely Henry Hill played by Ray Liotta, other characters are Jimmy Conway played by Robert De Niro and whatever Pesci's character was called, Tommy I think. The film revolves mainly around violence and family issues aswell as a few gangster scenes, a scene where an old friend insults Tommy (Joe Pesci) at a bar, says sorry and Tommy comes back later and with his friend Jimmy Conway (De Niro) beats the **** out of him on the floor after he insulted Tommy to the point where he's a bloody mess then dump him in the boot of a car then later stab him is genuinely one of the best scenes in this movie. There are many well made violent scenes but there's a few problems with Goodfellas and one is Lorraine Bracco who plays Henry Hill's wife because all she does is moan, cry, whinge, shout, yell and be absolutely annoying and you just want to knock her out. The other problem is that Goodfellas centres too much around family involvement and family issues which makes the film more boring than is necessary for a 18 rated violent movie, some of the characters are silly and even unlikeable. I thought drug use in the movie was a good idea but being mainly centred around family and family issues weakened it for me and having kids and babies star in an adult, graphic violent movie shot the director in the leg on this masterpiece. It just didn't work and Lorraine Bracco is unlikeable as Henry Hill's wife and even Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) is a bit dull or over the top at times. Joe Pesci was excellent in Goodfellas, Robert De Niro could of been much better but the violent scenes were good with plenty of blood. However mostly I found Goodfellas to be boring, bit too long with annoying Lorraine Bracco in it which is just absolute torture to sit through and experience and that annoying kid at the beginning of the movie who played a young Henry Hill putting petrol or gasoline over cars and setting them alight so all the cars explode into a ball of fire then running away was totally unnecessary. Mostly a bland, dull, boring movie with some annoying characters, some good characters, some horrible songs played throughout the film, some good violent scenes but nothing special and a bit gloomy.... Could of been much better a film.
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Production Company
- Warner Bros.
Release DateSep 1, 1990
Duration2 h 26 m
RatingR
Tagline"As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a gangster." -- Henry Hill, Brooklyn, N.Y. 1955.