Martin Scorsese: Goodfellas

Director - Martin Scorsese

Writer - Nicholas Pileggi and Martin Scorsese
Cinematographer - Michael Ballhaus

Robert De Niro ... James Conway
Ray Liotta ... Henry Hill
Joe Pesci ... Tommy DeVito
Lorraine Bracco ... Karen Hill
Paul Sorvino ... Paul Cicero
Frank Sivero ... Frankie Carbone
Tony Darrow ... Sonny Bunz
Mike Starr ... Frenchy
Frank Vincent ... Billy Batts
Chuck Low ... Morris Kessler
Frank DiLeo ... Tuddy Cicero
Henny Youngman ... Henny Youngman
Gina Mastrogiacomo ... Janice Rossi


The film starts out in New York City, 1970. The three (Jimmy, Henry and Tommy) hear something in the trunk. It is a man they didn't fully kill. The red brake lights shining on them is really a vision of hell as these are cold blooded killers. Henry Hill says as far back as he could remember he always wanted to be a gangster. The film backtracks to East New York, Brooklyn 1955. Paul Cicero based on Paul Vario was the capo in the Lucchese Crime Family. Young Henry was doing jobs at Cicero's cabstand parking Cadillacs and selling cigarettes. The gangsters take the postman and warn him to never deliver mail from the school to Hill's house. Paulie Cicero offers protection to people who can't go to the cops like a police department for wiseguys. Henry uses eight aprons to stop the bleeding of a shot guy pissing off the wiseguy owner. Scorsese uses a lot of stop frames in the film like when he describes Jimmy Conway's jobs.

After young Henry Hill gets pinched Jimmy Conway (played by De Niro) told him he learned two greatest things in life: Never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut. Idlewild Airport 1963 - Henry Hill says, "If we wanted something we just took it, if anyone complained twice they got hit so bad believe me they never complained again." When they can't borrow any more money from the banks they torch the Bamboo Lounge and collect on the insurance money. There is a lengthy shot of Henry and Karen entering the Copacabana. It must have taken many rehearsals as it's well done with people coming in and out of the frame. They skip the line and enter downstairs. Henry tips big.

Tommy and Henry rob Air France without using a gun getting $420,000. They give Paulie his tribute. Henry and Karen get married in a Jewish wedding. Money gifts keep coming in and Karen is drunk with emotion. Karen eventually is scared that Henry will go to prison. Henry tells her: "No one goes to jail unless they want to unless they make themselves get caught. They don't have things organized. I know what I'm doing. I got things organized with these guys." Detectives come with a search warrant to search Hill's house. They wanted bribe money. June 11, 1970 Queens, New York - Billy Batts disrespects Tommy by bringing up Tommy's old job of being a show shiner. When everyone leaves the bar Tommy comes back and they beat Billy Batts mercilessly. Tommy makes a stupid mistake in killing a made man - Batts was part of the Gambino crime family. Spider doesn't get his drink fast so Tommy shoots at him trying to make him dance and gets him in the foot. Spider tells him, "why don't you go fuck yourself, Tommy?" Tommy shoots Spider dead. These people are such sociopaths  that Jimmy tells Tommy to dig the hole himself to which Tommy has no problem.

They eat good in prison. When Karen and the two daughters visit Henry in prison she notices on the visitation log Janice Rossi is on the list. Four years later Henry is released from prison. Paulie warns Henry not to sell drugs. He does it anyways big time. The three (Conway, Hill and Tommy) get the news that Paulie is making Tommy a made man. Maury is a pain about his cut of the money. He is killed. After Jimmy's robbery bodies arrive everywhere. Tommy thinks he is becoming a made man but when he enters the room he is shot. It was revenge for Billy Batts. Batts was a made man. This was revenge. Sunday May 11th, 1980, 6:55 am - Henry notices a helicopter on him all day. Michael stirs the sauce diligently. Lois uses the house telephone line as advised not to by Henry and now the Feds probably know about the drugs leaving the house. After getting arrested Karen does a smart thing by flushing all the cocaine down the toilet. Karen bails Henry out of jail. Henry goes ballistic when he finds out $60,000 of cocaine was flushed down the toilet. Paulie gives him $3,200 as a last favor to Henry Hill. Karen hustles to make money and becomes like Henry. Jimmy indirectly threatens Hill by telling him about a rat he used to know. Henry and Karen talk to be in the Witness Protection Program. Hill identifies Conway and Cicero in court, Hill does not want to leave the life. Hill talks to the camera and breaks the fourth wall telling how he got away with everything. He says he is an average nobody now and referencing the Great Train Robbery Tommy shoots at the camera.