Product Description

When Martin Scorsese one of the world's most skillful and respected directors reunited with two-time Oscar-winner Robert De Niro in GoodFellas the result was one of the most powerful films of the year. Based on the true-life best seller Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi and backed by a dynamic pop/rock oldies soundtrack critics and filmgoers alike declared GoodFellas great. It was named 1990's best film by the New York Los Angeles and National Society of Film Critics. And it earned six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Director. Robert De Niro received wide recognition for his performance as veteran criminal Jimmy "The Gent" Conway. And as the volatile Tommy DeVito Joe Pesci walked off with the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Academy Award nominee Lorraine Bracco Ray Liotta and Paul Sorvino also turned in electrifying performance. You have to see it to believe it-then watch again. GoodFellas explores the criminal life like no other movie.Running Time: 146 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/MAFIA UPC: 085391912224 Manufacturer No: 19122

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5754 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2004-08-17
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: AC-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 145 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
Martin Scorsese's 1990 masterpiece GoodFellas immortalizes 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 scores the performance of her life as Hill's love interest, and every supporting role, from Paul Sorvino to Robert De Niro, is a miracle.

Amazon.com
Martin Scorsese's 1990 masterpiece GoodFellas immortalizes 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 scores the performance of her life as the love of Hill's life, and every supporting role, from Paul Sorvino to Robert De Niro, is a miracle.

DVD features
Finally, GoodFellas gets a worthy DVD release, with the feature presented in a new anamorphic digital transfer, accompanied by two separate commentary tracks. (The first DVD release was a two-sided "flipper.") Scorsese, Pileggi, and other collaborators are present on a patchwork and partial track that's 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 that look back at the making of the picture, its effect on other filmmakers, Scorsese's creative process, and the true-life background to the film. A gold-plated essential item for every DVD collection. --Mark Walker

Customer Reviews

The Ultimate Mob Movie!!
This is one of my favorite mob movies of all-time. The acting is great, as well as the direction. Martin Scorsece is a genius! As for the blu-ray release of this movie, I find that the picture and sound have greatly improved from the DVD version. It's also nice to not have to flip the disc over to finish watching the movie. I would definitely recommend this release to any new or old fans of the movie. Enjoy!

Sometimes, you just gotta be a little Crooked.
I've probably seen this movie about five times.

Every time, it gets better and to this day, Goodfellas still reigns as my favorite movie of all time. I've seen quite a bit of movies as well!

First of all, I love Henry's character. Great story. Hardworking kid works his way up and eventually lands with the top dogs Pauly, Jimmy, & Tommy.

As the viewer, we're taken into quite an intense, sometimes laughable, & surreal ride. I loved it when Henry and Jimmy simply rob a truck driver at gun point. The robbery seemed oh too easy. Who knew this type of stuff happens?

I love this movie because it's so beautifully shot and told. I love this movie because of the unique and believable characters. I love this movie because it teaches us something in life: Ya can't always do things the cleanest of ways...

Much better the second time around...
I'll admit that when I first saw `GoodFellas' I was less than impressed. I didn't understand why so many hailed it as the best of Scorsese. In fact, the first thirty minutes or so bored me to such an extent that I turned it off and went on the watch something else.

I know now that I was an idiot.

Martin Scorsese is known for his gritty gangster films (although I much prefer his films like `Taxi Driver' and `Raging Bull') and with that in mind one must come to an appreciation for `GoodFellas', which is in all honestly Scorsese's finest gangster film. The opening sequence, with De Niro, Liotta and Pesci driving out into the woods with a body in the trunk of the car, is priceless; utterly priceless. It classically captures the ruthlessness of these men in their aspirations of power, money and most of all, respect.

`GoodFellas' tells the true story of Henry Hill, an Irish/Italian who rose up in the mafia ranks beginning in the 50's and carrying through to 1980 when he entered the witness protection program. Beginning in his early teens, Hill desired so badly to be a gangster that he found himself running small errands for mob boss Paul Cicero, getting in his good graces. By the time he was twenty-one Hill had made a good name for himself in the mob community and continued to make money for himself and for his boss, Paulie. Hill meets and marries the beautiful Karen and begins to build a life for his newfound family that revolves around murder, extortion and drugs.

But what goes up must come down.

`GoodFellas' takes a little time to establish itself in the beginning (thus the reason that I wrote it off all those years ago when I first saw it) but once it finds its footing it takes off brilliantly. I often see `GoodFellas' compared to `Casino', the large majority standing by `GoodFellas' as the superior film and yet a small yet sturdy group contesting that `Casino' is the finer film. I used to belong to the `Casino' club, but after a recent viewing of both films I must conclude that `GoodFellas' is the stronger film in the end. `Casino' is set up similarly yet it doesn't take as long to get into, and I think that's why I was initially on its side. It flows from beginning to end without any low points but it also doesn't have really any major highs. While `GoodFellas' gets off to a slow start, once it gets going it is flawless and its highs are enormously rewarding.

The one facet of `GoodFellas' that is the strongest to me is the incredible performances by the entire cast, especially the four stars. Ray Liotta delivers his finest performance to date as Henry Hill. I am not a huge fan of Liotta, but his portrayal of wiseguy Hill is flawlessly accurate and dedicated. He's matched by Robert De Niro who beautifully settles into supporting territory as Jimmy Conway. It's nice to see a major star like De Niro allow another actor to take the limelight when you know that he could have easily devoured it for himself. The two major standouts here are Joe Pesci and Lorraine Bracco though, two actors who come into their own in this film and deliver heartfelt and moving performances. Pesci plays Tommy, the hotheaded gangster who often lets his anger override better judgment. His performance is so natural and charismatic it feels as though he isn't even acting. Bracco plays Karen, Hill's wife, and she does so with accurate and realistic intensity. As she struggles to wrap her head around her husband's lifestyle, the drugs, money and women, she creates a woman who is understandable and sympathetic.

Scorsese knows how to capture a mood, an era and most importantly, our interest. He has delivered to us monumental classics and `GoodFellas' rests near the top as one of his finest contributions to American cinema. `GoodFellas' is a smart and engaging film about the highs and lows of the gritty way of life, exposing the emotional and physical damage done to those that engage in this lifestyle. If you find the opening scenes hard to get into I urge you to settle down, take a deep breath and wait it out, for once Scorsese hooks you he never lets you go.