When gangster films are considered it usually comes down to two – the Godfather and Goodfellas. Goodfellas is also considered legendary director’s Martin Scorsese finest work, up there with Raging Bull and Taxi Driver. In my opinion, yes it’s really that good.
The Set-up
Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) wanted to be a gangster his whole life. As a teen he gets a part- time job for local mobster 
Pauly (Paul Sorvino). While working for the mafia he meets another teen Tommy (Joe Pesci), a hothead who he ends up working alongside. He also meets Jimmy the Gent (Robert DeNiro), an infamous mafia hit man. As he grows up he becomes more and more involved in the mob until he’s a full-fledged member of Pauly’s crew by the time he’s 21.
The movie follows Henry’s rise and fall as a gangster. It also follows his romance and marriage to Karen (Lorraine Bracco), a nice Jewish girl whose parents belong to a country club. From the outside Karen and Henry appear to be a normal couple, despite all the illegal activities and violence that is really going on.
Why It’s Great
There’s a vibrancy to the storytelling of this movie that is not present in other movies. The camera is almost constantly moving and each frame is packed to the gills with interesting details. The audience feels like it’s being given more information every second.
Scorsese bends cinema’s rules. Characters directly address the camera. At one point in the movie Karen is narrating, despite the fact that Henry narrates the rest of the movie. There’s not a logical explanation but it is a great expression of her character’s mental state.
All the dynamic shots and editing and “rule-breaking” draw the audience into the story. Even though Henry is not a good guy, the audience feels invested in his plight.
Every scene is interesting, and keeps you wondering what happens next.
The cast is amazing. There are so many great characters in the movie and their interactions are always intriguing. Joe Pesci is both funny and terrifying as Tommy. This is one of DeNiro’s last great performances before he turned into a parody of himself.
This is my favorite movie of all time. I’m having some difficulty explaining why. There are just not other movies where I want to know more about every single character and I am entertained by every single scene.
If you haven’t seen this movie you really should watch it. See for yourself why it’s so great and why so many other movies copy it.