GoodFellas (1990)
CLASSIC FILM REVIEW:
GOODFELLAS - 25th Anniversary Edition:
As far back as I can remember, I've always loved a good gangster movie!
They helped build and establish an empire out of Warner Bros. from the 1930's and such early classics as Public Enemy (1931), "Little Caesar" (1931), Howard Hawks' "Scarface" (1932), "The Roaring '20's" (1939) and "Angels with Dirty Faces" (1938) among others, would go on to entertain and influence for generations to come.
In post WWII the gangster genre continued to boom with such groundbreaking classics as "Brighton Rock" (1947), "White Heat" (1949), Jules Dassin's "Rififi" (1955), "Get Carter" (1971), "The Godfather" (1972) and an even better sequel with "The Godfather: Part II" (1974), followed by Martin Scorsese's "Mean Streets" (1974), "The Long Good Friday" (1980) and Sergio Leone's epic "Once Upon A Time In America" (1984).
These are just a few of the many hundreds which made stars and household names out of such screen greats as James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart, Richard Attenborough, Bob Hoskins, Michael Caine, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and many more.
And just when you may have thought you'd seen it all, and the genre itself beginning to wane into history, along comes Martin Scorsese's gangster saga "Goodfellas" in 1990 with the force and impact of like being hit with a baseball bat.
Oscar winning Director Martin Scorsese's contemporary gangster epic is based on the extraordinary true story of small time hoodlum Henry Hill and his friends who work their way up through a mob hierarchy in New York from 1955 to their downfall in1980.
Based on the best-selling book "Wiseguy" by Nicholas Pileggi with a dynamic screenplay by Scorsese and Pileggi, there's not a false note as "Goodfellas" grabs you by the throat from the opening frame and doesn't let go for a second.
Filmed in almost documentary style, Scorsese has created a ferociously kinetic yet surrealistically fluid experience on organized crime unlike anything else before or since, and that includes Francis Ford Coppola's more romanticized family mob classic "The Godfather."
Stars Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Lorraine Bracco and Paul Sorvino are right at the top of their game, but it is the scene-stealing Joe Pesci that walks away with the honours with an unforgettable Oscar winning performance of shattering intensity and frightening reality.
The Joe Pesci "do you think I'm funny" scene is one of the most darkly comic, compelling and nail-biting moments ever put of film.
Direction, production design, period detail, cinematography by Michael Ballhaus, editing by Thelma Schoonmaker and James Kwei and a spectacular soundtrack all come together with breathtaking precision to create an entertaining, brutally realistic, stylish, thought provoking, and no-nonsense tapestry of mob life.
What Martin Scorsese's 1980 Academy Award winning powerhouse "Raging Bull" is to boxing "Goodfellas" is to the gangster genre, a unmissable masterpiece that remains an exemplary masterstroke of filmmaking and storytelling to this day, and like its predecessors, will entertain and inspire audiences and filmmakers for generations to come!
Stars *****
Ideal for Father's Day - This all-new 25th anniversary release features a spectacular
selection of special features that includes:
Main Disc One:
*Stunning all-new 1080P Remaster from 4K scan of GOODFELLAS.
*Audio commentary by Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, Nicholas Pileggi, Michael Balhaus and Thelma Schoonmaker.
*Audio Commentary by Henry Hill and Ed McDonald.
Disc Two Special Features:
*Scorsese's Goodfellas: an all-new Documentary includes interviews with Martin Scorsese, the cast and some of your all-time favourite movie gangsters including some of Martin Scorsese's greatest gangsters Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Harvey Keitel and Ray Liotta.
*Getting Made: 30 minute documentary.
*Made Men: Featurette.
*The Workaday Gangster: Featurette.
*Paper is Cheaper Than Film: Storyboards.
*Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film: 106 minute documentary.
*Four Warner Bros. Classic Cartoons.
*Original Theatrical Trailer.
*UltraViolet Digital Copy.
*Book: The 36-page book contains a fine collection of film and production stills and an insightful essay entitled "The American Dream Gone Mad: The Legacy of Goodfellas".
*Letter: Scorsese's letter summarizes his artistic goals for the film and acknowledges his collaborators.
*Audio/Languages: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital 2.0 (Czech, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish).
*Subtitles: English SDH, Cantonese, Czech, Dutch, French, German SDH, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian SDH, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Spanish SDH, Thai, Turkish.
*Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1.
*Number of Discs: 2.
*Rating: R18+.
