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Amazon.co.uk Review
Martin Scorsese's 1990 masterpiece GoodFellas immortalises the hilarious, horrifying life of actual gangster Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), from his teen years on the streets of New York to his anonymous exile under the Witness Protection Program. The director's kinetic style is perfect for recounting Hill's ruthless rise to power in the 1950s as well as his drugged-out fall in the late 1970s; in fact, no one has ever rendered the mental dislocation of cocaine better than Scorsese. Scorsese uses period music perfectly, not just to summon a particular time but to set a precise mood. GoodFellas is at least as good as The Godfather without being in the least derivative of it. Joe Pesci's psycho improvisation of Mobster Tommy DeVito ignited Pesci as a star; Lorraine Bracco achieves a career-defining performance as the love of Hill's life; and every supporting role, from Paul Sorvino to Robert De Niro, is a miracle.
Amazon.co.uk Review
Given the number of truly great Mafia movies over the years it would be a brave soul who classed GoodFellas as the best. But surely we can all agree that it is, at the very least, first among equals. Martin Scorsese took the factual details of mobster Henry Hill's life, as written by author Nicholas Pileggi, and turned it into a cinematic experience that has burnt itself indelibly into the consciousness of every viewer, and which now forms a touchstone in the lexicon of film and TV-making (what is The Sopranos if not GoodFellas: The Soap?) For aficionados it's a virtuoso exercise in filmmaking, showcasing remarkable and innovative use of steadicam shots, freeze-frame, voice-over narration, editing and incidental music (you'll never be able to listen to "Layla" the same way again). Every would-be hotshot director from Quentin Tarantino to Doug Liman to Jon Favreau has paid homage to it.
But above all that, it's an extraordinarily visceral, gripping and thoroughly enjoyable piece of storytelling as we witness the glory days of organised crime from the protagonist's viewpoint; then, abruptly after one bloody murder too far, we see him decline in a spiral of drugs, violence and paranoia. The principal triumvirate of Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci ("You think I'm funny? I'm here to amuse you?") and Robert DeNiro are utterly convincing as the three wiseguys. If you haven't seen it for a while, watch out for many familiar Sopranos faces in the rest of the cast, not least of course the wonderful Lorraine Bracco.
On the DVD: Finally, GoodFellas gets a worthy DVD release, with the feature presented in a new anamorphic 16:9 digital transfer, accompanied by two separate commentary tracks. Scorsese, Pileggi and other collaborators are present on a patchwork and partial track which is too disjointed to be really satisfying; fortunately on the second track, Henry Hill himself is joined by ex-FBI agent Edward McDonald to chat about their own memories of the events depicted in the movie. On the second disc there are four new documentaries which look back at the making of the picture, at its effect on other filmmakers, at Scorsese's creative process, and the true-life background to the film. A gold-plated essential item for every DVD collection. --Mark Walker
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
89 of 96 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
105 Reviews Duplicated over 3 Different Releases,
By Praxision (Cambridge, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Goodfellas (2 Disc Special Edition) [1990] [DVD] (DVD)
Has anyone noticed that these 105 reviews (so far) are used by Amazon against 3 different versions of this movie? The 1999 & 2004 DVD releases and the 2007 Blueray release all share the same 105 reviews. How is one supposed to determine whether the 2004 version is better quality or no longer split on A and B sides of the disc? What is Amazon doing?
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truly Amazing, a must see,
By A Customer
This review is from: Goodfellas [1990] [DVD] (DVD)
Before you start reading, I have to say this is definatley worth buying - essential viewing!The film with its all star cast, great performances, 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. It's about a teenager who starts to help out the local 'gangsters' do errands and jobs. Like delivering things and giving messages to people. He grew up with them, they were like a second family - he saw nothing wrong with it. He grew up to be one of them and the film is about a 30 year period (1955 to 1985) of his life. He was happy, with friends, protected, what could possibly go wrong? You'll have to buy it to find out, its too difficult and great to explain - other reviewers may cover more of the story. I could go writing pages about this film and why its so good. This is simply a great mob movie, it goes down with the classics such as Godfather. It is a film that the viewer will watch again and again. I have viewed this epic many a time, and each time is as if it were the first. One of the best movies ever made.
23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray Bliss!,
By Kenneth F. Mcara "Kenneth F. McAra" (Dundee, Scotland) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Goodfellas [Blu-ray] [1990][Region Free] (Blu-ray)
In response to the previous reviewer, this is an extremely good transfer on Blu-ray. The colours are vibrant, the detail is excellent (particularly apparent in close-ups such as the shot of young Henry's face as he looks out of his bedroom window across the street to the cafe) and the lighting is gorgeous. The sound also is as good as you could expect it to be. In summary, the film looks like it was filmed this year, rather than 20 years ago.
Extras provided include 2 commentaries (one with cast - not including de Niro or Pesci - & crew, the other with Henry Hill himself and Edward McDonald, FBI), 3 documentaries, storyboard to screen comparisons and the theatrical trailer. Excellent!
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