GoodFellas DVD. VIEWED ONCE
Martin Scorsese explores the life of organized
crime with his gritty, kinetic adaptation of Nicolas Pileggi's
best-selling Wiseguy, the true-life account of mobster and FBI informant
Henry Hill. Set to a true-to-period rock soundtrack, the story details
the rise and fall of Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian New York kid who
grows up idolizing the "wise guys" in his impoverished Brooklyn
neighborhood. He begins hanging around the mobsters, running errands and
doing odd jobs until he gains the notice of local chieftain Paulie
Cicero (Paul Sorvino), who takes him in as a surrogate son. As he
reaches his teens, Hill (Ray Liotta) is inducted into the world of petty
crime, where he distinguishes himself as a "stand-up guy" by choosing
jail time over ratting on his accomplices. From that moment on, he is a
part of the family. Along with his psychotic partner Tommy (Joe Pesci),
he rises through the ranks to become Paulie's lieutenant; however, he
quickly learns that, like his mentor Jimmy (Robert DeNiro), his
ethnicity prevents him from ever becoming a "made guy," an actual member
of the crime family. Soon he finds himself the target of both the feds
and the mobsters, who feel that he has become a threat to their security
with his reckless dealings. Goodfellas was rewarded with six Academy
Award nominations including Best Picture; Pesci would walk away with
Best Supporting Actor for his work. ~ Jeremy Beday, Rovi