I think that the real value of Goodfellas isn't so much that it's an account of Henry Hill's career (as you say, he's far from totally reliable), it's that in addition to being an extremely compelling and entertaining movie, it provides a very authentic and realistic portrayal of the larger Mafia world (at the level of many soldiers and associates, at least) during the time period it's set in. While this or that incident involving Hill may or may not have happened as depicted, everything that's shown does greatly resemble things that happened in the real world.

There's a risk in attacking the postman? I used to work at the post office and 90% of these guys were absolute pussies. You could've scared any one of them into submission.

Interesting interview clip on the scene with Marty's mother. He says that the entire scene was improvised. There was nothing in the script except "Did you see my painting?"

Just goes to show how brilliant these actors were.

Frank DeLeo was a schoolmate of mine. My sister knew him though quite well and better than I did. He just died last week. He got in to the music business after high school with Epic Records. He ended up managing careers of REO, Michael Jackson, Ozzie, Meatloaf, Vandross, and many others. You may know him as Tuddy from Goodfellas or Mr. Big in Wayne's World.

He was short and stout in highschool and never lost the weight. I guess it's no surprise that his death was heart related. He was a good guy and I'm glad he had the success he had.

Well said Pizzaboy...Hill has turned into a paraody of himself.

On Christmas Day I felt like Henry Hill at the end of "Goodfellas"... I had to pick up my parents at 5:00, I still had to roll and fry the meatballs, stir the gravy, finish simmering the braciole, make the salad, boil off and prepare the penne, scoop out and simmer the sausage, make sure everyone got along... Wow what a day but everything turned out delicious!

"I'm stirrin' it, I'm stirrin' it..."

I'm a bit late with this but I think Jimmy was gonna kill or maybe kidnap Karen (likely kill), if he just wanted her to get a few dresses he wouldn't have tryed so hard to get her to go into that joint, I personally would have never went into that place - Dark, boxes piled up everywhere and 2 unknown guys in there, especially with Henry getting arrested for the dope, fuck that - something was gonna happen for sure, and I agree 100% hill is a lying piece of shit who comes up with another story every time his dumb ass gets drunk, Would love a book or Doc on Jimmy Burke, Tommy Desimone - cant believe nobody's made a documentary based on Jimmy

"Remember - from the bottom!"

Just finished watching Goodfellas, i've lost count the amount of times i've watched this film. It's one of those films i could watched two/three times a year and still love.. This film is the one i've watch the most..

They kill dicknose in that movie (Michael Impereoli or however u spell it

same here man! i love how u can always pick lil shit out in the background out! like i don't how many times i watched it until i heard "fucked em right in the ass, kids like that in the can" always great stuff goin on in that movie!

After many viewings, i still am unsure as to why Tommy D is shooting the gun just before the credits role, does anybody know the meaning to that.

The way i took it was that now everything was over, Henry was out of the life in witness protection, Tommy was dead, Jimmy was in Jail, it was over for the lot of them.

i researched it and some say its a reference to the great train robbery i guess that short early american film had an identical scene at the end

some lil things i found out about goodfellas
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Factual error: In one scene we are introduced to Idlewild Airport in 1963. We're shown a couple of aircraft in flight and one of the aircraft is a Boeing 747 in the livery of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. The Boeing 747 didn't enter commercial service until 1969.
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Revealing: In the scene where Karen is too afraid to accept free clothes from Jimmy and speeds off, the yellow NY state license plate falls from the parked car to reveal the modern white one underneath.
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Continuity: When Henry Hill is in jail and talking with his wife, the child is playing with a stack of coloured toy blocks. The order the blocks are stacked in change in different shots.
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Continuity: The scene in the restaurant where Joe Pesci messes with Ray Liotta saying, "What, am I funny, am I a funny guy to you?" watch the drinking glasses on the table. The drink levels are going up and down with and then without ice.
When Henry is being followed by the helicopter, he almost slams into another car. Henry's car has a brake light in the back window, but they didn't start that until the mid 80's at the earliest.

When Maury jumps into the pool in his wig commercial, his head presumably goes underwater, but when the next shot shows him standing in the pool, his wig is dry. [Of course it is. It's a commercial - he is showing how water resistant his ridiculous wigs are by putting a dry one on for his close up shots. It's called advertising.]
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In the scene where Tommy shoots Spider in the foot we hear 7 gunshots from what appears to be a 6 shot .38 revolver. [Tommy is shooting a 1911 colt 45 pause the scene its a semi-auto 45 not a revolver.]
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In the scene where the guys go to Florida to "feed the guy to the lions," the lion first shown is a male with a huge mane. When seen upside down the 1st time it's the male, but the second time it's a female, no mane, slightly smaller, lion. They never show more than 1 lion in the pen, either. [Like they say, they are feeding him to the lions (plural). Just because we never see more than one lion at the time, it does not mean there are not two (or more) of them. We never get to see the entire lion's pen, so the others could have been just off screen.]
1st scene when Ray Liotta has grown up and he is front of the impala in the year 1963 at Ldylwind airport. A large plane goes over his head and if you look at the plane its a boeing 747. The problem is that the first boeing 747 to fly was in February 9 1969.
During the early scene where DeNerio & Pesci hijack the truck. you can see modern day graffiti\tag
In the scene where Jimmy and Henry are trying to get the money owed to them from Maury (The Wig Guy). Jimmy is beating Maury with the phone, and while the phone is off the hook, it rings.
Spider, with his foot in a cast, is being taunted by Tommy. At this point he is standing behind a bar. Yet when Tommy shoots him dead, he has suddenly swithched to the middle of the floor, several feet in front of the bar.
In the scene where Karen pulls the gun on the sleeping Henry Hill the gun changes model numbers multiple times.
As the camera pans and changes from front to rear view the gun changes from a blue steel Model 36 to a stainless steel model 60.
The tip off was on the close up of the hammer. A model 36 is case hardened (a blue merle in color) where as the Model 60 has a stainless (silver color) hammer.
Joe Pesci shoots Spider in the foot. Ray Liotta gets up to help Spider. A couple other guys join Liotta as they carry Spider off to the emergency room. Liotta is helping the limping Spider, and in the next cut, Liotta is magically back at the poker table!
When they re-show Joe Pesci shooting Sam Jackson the blood is already on the wall in the background
When Henry picks up Karen for their second date, Henry was dressed up casualy and was Karen (she had some kind of pink dress with flowers or something). In the next scene when they got out of the car, Henry had a dark suit and a tie and Karen was dressed in a black dress

Oli, I read that DeLeo had managed Michael Jackson. I thought he did a great job in "Goodfellas." Did he do anything after that?

I agree. I can't tell you how many times I've watched it. I could be channel surfing and if I happen to come across it I will say that I am only going to watch this scene and before I know it I've watched the whole movie. The only time that I will not watch this movie is when they show the edited version. They kill it.

Well, that's the great thing about "Goodfellas": Not only is it a terrific movie overall, but the way it's constructed--a series of relatively short but intense scenes--keeps it moving right along despite its great length. And you can always zero in on one of your favorite scenes without having to see the entire movie. No doubt about it: the best movie of th Nineties.

Absolutely agree. It is one of the very few movies that I can watch no matter what time it started or what scene is currently showing. It is a channel surfing "speed bump" for sure! One of the funniest scenes is when Karen and her parents are waiting up all night for Henry. When he finally pulls up with Joe Pesci, the dialogue that ensues cracks me up every time! "Henry!!!"

Ditto

I've not seen this version as i've only ever watched it on Video/DVD. Do they cut much out?

they cut a shit ton out

amazing love goodfellas... I didn't realize until recently that Martin Scorsese's father is also in it ...Vinny the "too many onions in the sauce guy" fuck knows how I missed this as I also have seen this movie a crazy amount of times...

Martins mum is in Goodfellas as well,she plays Tommy's mum..

Goodfellas is a movie that you watch one scene you end up watching the whole movie. The music that brings in each scene keeps you hooked from start to finish.

If i listen to any of the songs from the soundtrack i can almost remember the whole movie just about from quotes lol.

Was i the only one who wasn't convinced by Pesci in Goodfellas. What i mean by this is that from what i have read of the book Tommy was a large framed man 6,2 in height and pyschopathic. I didn't really get that feel from Pesci in Goodfellas, although i feel he was definitley the right choice for the role and what was right for the movie.

Anyone bigger would have gave the movie an even darker tone which probably wouldn't have worked. For me Pesci lightened the scenes for me, ok he came across as unpredictable but i never really felt it, like portrayed elsewhere. Still amazing. I thought Pesci came off scarier in Casino. I think its the fact many of Tommys/Pesci's scenes in Goodfellas are telling wiseguy jokes and the high pitched voice reminds me too much of Lethal Weapon lol.

For me Paul Sorvino as Paulie was very under-rated. That look he gives Sonny when he says they should just whack Tommy is better than words.

Pesci is perfect for the role, can't think of anybody else who could have played the part so well.

Don't get me wrong like i say he was perfect for the role and the movie wouldn't have had the same feel to it without him.

But i just wasn't feeling it, reading the reviews it is usually Pesci's perfomance that is picked out as the unpredictable pyschopath but i just wasn't feeling it on Goodfellas.

I watched the Batts scene on a big screen last night at a friends and it changed my opinion of Pesci's performance totally.

I guess for me the 2nd joke scene wasn't needed and toned Tommy down for me abit other than the start of the movie, Spider and Batts.