Goodfellas (1990) (4K Ultra HD)

A timeless classic!

Own this A+ film. This is a top 10 all time favorite!Do yourself a favor and own this movie. Replay value for a lifetime.

For as far back as I can remember, I wanted "GoodFellas" to look great on Blu-Ray. The 2007 Blu-Ray release, while a steady improvement over its DVD counterparts, disappointed in its failure to capture the movie's clarity, sharpness and densities. The contrast was uneven, the image looked too bright, the blackness too cumbersome and distracting, the colors looked relatively dim and, worst of all, there was a haziness that made the tiniest of all details unnoticeable. Whoever was in charge in putting "GoodFellas" on Blu-Ray deserved a good pistol whip to the face.But now comes the 25th anniversary edition of "GoodFellas", in which the movie has been given a 4K resolution from the original camera negative. The results? "GoodFellas" doesn't look great; it looks absolutely phenomenal! The image has a fine, naturally grain quality that gives the movie a documentary feel (which is appropriate since that was the filmmakers' intentions), there is greater detail in even the extreme long shots that weren't noticed in the previous versions (just watch Karen's wedding scene and the famous Copacabana long take in both this version and the 2007 one and the difference in quality is staggering), there are various shades of blackness and color that give the picture more depth (the burial and subsequent digging of Billy Batts, for example, looks even more detailed than before) and contrast, unbalanced in the previous version, is excellent. At long last, "GoodFellas" has come out in a presentation that would make the even stoic Paul Cicero crack a smile."GoodFellas" is a film that needs no explanation or even a sentence of exultation, but I'll do it anyway. It is a film that changed the way we look at gangster movies. "The Godfather", as brilliant of a film it is, was pure gangster mythology. "GoodFellas", however, went the opposite direction by depicting the life of organized crime as if it was real. These were people you could have met in the street; seemingly nice, likable people that just happen to be criminals.Scorsese's dramatization of Henry Hill's life as a gangster shows us the seduction, the allure and ultimately the sickness and fatalistic consequences of living the life as a somebody in a world of nobodies. By revealing the skulls behind the smiles, Scorsese shows us the dark side of corruption under such facile smiles. Rarely has violence been portrayed less glamorously, with more moral effectiveness and absolute repulsion. Rather it's the brutal murder of an innocent waiter, the slaying of a made man in the trunk of a car, the strangulation of a whiny but harmless hair wig owner or the senseless murder of all involved in a heist out of fear of being caught, these are senseless killings by senseless people - the work of scared, inadequate men.And yet, and what makes this film great, is that Scorsese makes us care for these characters. As demonic of a psychopath that Joe Pesci is, we are still shocked to see him gunned down. We sense Liotta's paranoia when he rightly feels that he is being chased around by a surveillance helicopter during his drug hubris. We feel De Niro and Sorvino's sense of betrayal when Liotta testifies in court. All this is a testament to the magnificent acting and Scorsese's flawless direction that shows us a group of human beings who become intoxicated in the glamour of gangsterism, only to be destroyed by it.Gangster movies make us admire such vile people because they go against the norm of what society dictates, functioning like outlaws who rebel against authority and do things their own way. The triumph of Scorsese's "GoodFellas", and the horrific irony, is that as much as we don't want to admit, we want to live that lifestyle too. We want to go to airports and make off with a couple of hundred thousands of dollars without taking hostages. We want to park in front of fire hydrant and not get tickets. We want to hijack trucks and use them for personal goods. We want go to restaurants without having to wait on line. We want to beat people up and make them stop complaining. In short, we want to rule. Maybe that's why some people prefer "GoodFellas" over "The Godfather".But is the life of a criminal worth taking? Scorsese clearly doesn't, but he shows us that criminality is a temptation for ordinary people. Lorraine Bracco's performance as the naive Karen is a perfect example of how anyone could be enticed into criminality. Karen doesn't understand the world she is getting herself into and only looks at the surface. It's only by the movie's third act when everything falls apart for her and her husband that she realizes the consequences of this deadly lifestyle.Having watched "GoodFellas" hundreds of times, I continue to marvel at the film's superb direction, outstanding performances, rich visuals and themes, moral ambiguity and its seamless blend of horror, drama and black humor. It's a film that 25 years after its release in 1990 continues to affect me as much as it does to everyone in my generation. Most movies grow dated after numerous viewings; not "GoodFellas". Now on a spellbinding 25th anniversary Blu-Ray set that restores the film to its original form, the movie's power has been enriched. You don't know "GoodFellas" until you've watched this set. Get it now while you stand can.

Great acting, cinematography pacing, and humor, absolutely love it! Held my attention to the end, I got lost in the world (and by "world" I mean Ray Liotta's eyes lol. He's super hot in this, and his acting is excellent) The performances really sell it. The themes are timeless: those closest to you are your greatest weakness, and true evil comes with a smile. Nobody has true friends when everybody has a price, all you can really trust is yourself in the end.I watched this movie because I was told it was one of the greatest movies ever made. I was not disappointed, can't recommend it enough.

For 'Goodfellas' the focus on the life of the character Henry Hill is critical to the story. There is a piercing recognition deep within 'Goodfellas', complimented by "Layla", a tuneful melody playing over the catharsis of tragedy. As Henry Hill is consumed by the responsibilities of earning for his caporegina family, the "Layla" episode is another break-off motiff of murder in a discrepancy framework which dictates who must be killed.How is it that themes are worked out in the mind at length? Henry Hill's (young Henry played by Christopher Serrone) interesting and confluent relationships are based off a real person named Henry Hill, and the biography about him called 'Wiseguy'. It is much easier to relate a series of actions within a drome of interconnected ideas. Recollections cast in the panacea of a love affair, or the disclosure of laughter attached with new inventiveness, are intoxicating. The expansive profligacy of a gang member such as Jimmy Conway(Robert Deniro) has mystery attached to its reasonings, but passes into pragmatic chance taking in the name of power. The exchanges described between Jimmy, Henry, and Tommy Devito finalized in a motion towards a plush outcome are prophetic of similar identifications, by other observers, especially in a chromatic hazy summer storm cast of a big dénoument.In the reading of Nicholas Pileggi's book, 'Wiseguy', Martin Scorsese(Director and co-writer with Pileggi) has specific knowledge based on real life experience. These contemplations are applied to a singular source-Henry's life-and feeds many veins of relative states. A sense of temperament and outcome remains consistent. The first part of 'Goodfellas' relates Henry Hill's teenage life in East Brooklyn, New York. Across the street from Henry's apartment house is the Cabstand, a niche front in a row of town houses. Henry watches mobsters carouse congenially in the outside air. The sleek and tense profiles of the members are colorful themes in a biographical narrative.Henry knows these are gangsters and he wants to live the lifestyle. Henry, like other people in this film raise their dexterity and wit in straits of danger and in settings with precasts of larger socially oriented intrigue. Henry Hill(adult Henry played by Ray Liotta) is practical minded and has a glib distinctness in a communal fraternity. Although Henry does not attend school and is truant, he is not a killer and quite smart. Galavanting gentlemanly in protocols of caperville Henry shares a mystique with the other men whose motivations preserve the clauses of secretive industry. With these mobsters any action could have exponential meanings.It is hard to explain the predeliction towards violence, but one can concieve in his/her imagination that the real persons portrayed in 'Goodfellas' do not throw off the hardships of crime or live this experience with cinematic casualness and impertinence. Henry is debonair-hip and excels in the pedestrian, chain link fenced, street blocks with tree track sidings, neighborhood transit of physically paced cash making schemes. Henry and his friend Tommy Devito(Joe Pesci) steal commercial trucks, and corrupt other small industry, such as gambling. Henry Hill meets Karen Friedman(Lorraine Bracco), and they fall into legitimate love. James "Jimmy" Conway(Robert Deniro) is older than Henry and is a known hit-man. Romanced in a berth of generous tip giving and suave and mild mannered conversation, Jimmy is the symbol of syndicated high-style decor making. His deviations from sanity are of a special kind. Joe Pesci plays Tommy Devito, a short, physically immune from pain, ostentatious personality elevated in polarities from savagery to inclusion into private powers of brashness. Pesci 's performance as Tommy is well known and a classic interpretation of a psychopath's character. Like many of the other portrayals in 'Goodfellas' these caricatures are identifiable to so many non visual ideas of a real person. Paul Sorvino is Paul Cicero, the Capo(head of a family, crew: 'captain') and a part of the larger Gambino crime family. Paul Sorvino is exemplary in modeling a mob boss family man, silent in stolid down to earth quaintness. There is Frankie Carbone(Frank Sivero), Billy Batts(Frank Vincent), Frenchy(Mike Starr), and Buddy Cicero(Frank DiLeo), brother of Paulie.Eventually from the rite of passage drama the account flourishes in side pockets of trouble. When the crew is violent, they are intense. This narrative takes over. Many anecdotes originate from Henry's philanderings with other women as he is unfaithful to his wife, Karen. Also, debtors to the crew are bullied and roughed up until they pay the money they borrowed. Here to, scenes are densely loaded. A confrontation between Tommy and Billy Batts is not just a bar fight; the situation is uniform in involving empathies and suggestion. Within the exotic pacing these lives are densified with truths. The big heist of the Lufthansa vault at JFK Airport is a new beginning.

Great story. Watch the movie! You won’t be let down.