"I want people to get infuriated by it," Martin Scorsese said of his initial impulse in making "Goodfellas." "I wanted to seduce everyone into the movie and into the style. And then just take them apart with it."
In fact, some people were appalled and repulsed at the early screenings of "Goodfellas," which opened 25 years ago this week (on Sept. 19, 1990). At one test preview, there were mass walkouts within the first 10 minutes. But Scorsese's angry gesture soon backfired. Viewers did get seduced by the lowlife mobsters (taken from Nicholas Pileggi's 1985 true-crime book "Wiseguy") and the director's own adrenalized filmmaking style. Instead of an assault on the audience, "Goodfellas" became one of the most influential and beloved movies of the past quarter century.
In honor of "Goodfellas" turning 25 this week, here are 25 things you need to know about Scorsese's masterpiece. Don't let that red sauce burn on the stove while you're reading.
In fact, some people were appalled and repulsed at the early screenings of "Goodfellas," which opened 25 years ago this week (on Sept. 19, 1990). At one test preview, there were mass walkouts within the first 10 minutes. But Scorsese's angry gesture soon backfired. Viewers did get seduced by the lowlife mobsters (taken from Nicholas Pileggi's 1985 true-crime book "Wiseguy") and the director's own adrenalized filmmaking style. Instead of an assault on the audience, "Goodfellas" became one of the most influential and beloved movies of the past quarter century.
In honor of "Goodfellas" turning 25 this week, here are 25 things you need to know about Scorsese's masterpiece. Don't let that red sauce burn on the stove while you're reading.
- 9/14/2015
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
These nifty little Bluray books beat cardboard slipcovers any day of the week for attractiveness but the real proof lies in the picture transfer. My unpracticed eye tells me this isn't a reference quality disc but it is easily the best Goodfellas has ever looked. That and the book and the extensive number of quality extras here virtually demand a rebuy. There is some room for improvement here but Scorcese has always gone a little grainy anyway.
Goodfellas didn't just redefine the gangster film it recast the gangster in a critique of the American dream. What is it we really want out of life and will it be worth spending our lives for it in the end? Martin Scorcese made a film worthy of watching by anyone who has been tempted to gain some little corner of the world by trading in their soul. Of course that doesn't guarantee it will be easy to watch.
Goodfellas didn't just redefine the gangster film it recast the gangster in a critique of the American dream. What is it we really want out of life and will it be worth spending our lives for it in the end? Martin Scorcese made a film worthy of watching by anyone who has been tempted to gain some little corner of the world by trading in their soul. Of course that doesn't guarantee it will be easy to watch.
- 3/6/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Chicago – Very, very few movies are as immensely rewatchable as Martin Scorsese’s masterful “GoodFellas,” now released on Blu-ray in a twentieth anniversary edition timed to coincide with the theatrical release of “Shutter Island” this Friday. One of the most influential films of the ’90s is one of those rare works that has lost absolutely none of its power.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
Can you believe it’s been twenty years since “GoodFellas”? Jon Favreau says it best in one of the special features about the influence of the film on the new Blu-ray release: when you stumble across arguably Scorsese’s best work on cable, it’s almost impossible not to watch the rest of it in its entirety. More than arguably any other film from its era, “GoodFellas” looks like it could have come out in 2010. It’s timeless.
GoodFellas: 20th Anniversary Edition was released on Blu-ray on February 16th,...
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
Can you believe it’s been twenty years since “GoodFellas”? Jon Favreau says it best in one of the special features about the influence of the film on the new Blu-ray release: when you stumble across arguably Scorsese’s best work on cable, it’s almost impossible not to watch the rest of it in its entirety. More than arguably any other film from its era, “GoodFellas” looks like it could have come out in 2010. It’s timeless.
GoodFellas: 20th Anniversary Edition was released on Blu-ray on February 16th,...
- 2/18/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
You can help celebrate Martin Scorsese's classic 1990 film when it gets a brand new Blu-ray edition this coming February. Goodfellas will be released in a brand new 20th Anniversary DigiBook Blu-ray edition on February 16. This new edition will be priced at $34.99 Srp, but we don't have any cover art as of yet. It was also said that this new edition will include a 34-page book with photos and facts from the film. The film stars Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci and Lorraine Brocco.
Based on Nicholas Pileggi's book Wiseguy, Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas is a wry, violent, and exhilarating film about the life of Henry Hill, an aspiring criminal who ends up in the FBI?s witness protection program after testifying against his former partners. As a poor Irish-Italian growing up in 1950s New York City, Hill rises through the ranks of his Brooklyn neighborhood's organized crime branch,...
Based on Nicholas Pileggi's book Wiseguy, Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas is a wry, violent, and exhilarating film about the life of Henry Hill, an aspiring criminal who ends up in the FBI?s witness protection program after testifying against his former partners. As a poor Irish-Italian growing up in 1950s New York City, Hill rises through the ranks of his Brooklyn neighborhood's organized crime branch,...
- 10/26/2009
- MovieWeb
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