I'll keep this short and simple:

The Godfather is the best MAFIA movie ever.
Goodfellas is the best MOB movie ever. Period.

This is definately one to add to the collection. Its a classic that ranks up with the Godfather Trilogy

Along with the recent Oscar winner "The Departed", Scorsese has given us 2 great gangster thrillers along with his seminal "Mean Streets". Ray Liotta will probably never have a greater role than this since he has since fallen into doing B-movies or straight to video features. And Joe Pesci's Oscar performance as a psycho hood ranks up there with the best of Cagney. A little long perhaps but filled with juicy details of the mob and of course, DeNiros excellent performance. Also the HD DVD version of this classic adds a certain sheen to it all, though on Casino, it's even better

Martin Scorsese is one of my fav movie directors and Goodfellas is probably my favorite ganster movie (alongside with Godfather Part 1 and 2). Here De Niro delivers one of his best performances as an actor and this kind of character fit him so well. On Joe Pesci, this was the first time I saw him on a movie and I really did enjoy his impersonation as an "beyond good and evil" ganster. His "How Am I funny? Funny how?" Monolog it's one of the best twisted funny moments I have never saw on a movie. Finally, the brand new Ray Liotta as the main character and story teller is simply awesome. Later on he lost himself on some non trascendent movies. But anyway, Goodfellas is a hell of a kind movie. Five stars for sure!

I needed to watch this for a film class, so I just bought the cheapest version amazon had. In hindsight, I wish I'd spent a little more and gotten a decent DVD. This is a double-sided DVD, with the movie split in half over both sides. This means that if you're watching it in your living room, you'll have to get up and flip the disc over in the middle of the movie. In addition, it is not anamorphic widescreen, so on a widescreen tv it shows up as a little box in the center of the screen (though on a fullscreen it should be fine). Finally, it has no special features except for the trailers. If you plan on watching this film more than once, invest the extra bucks and get the newer edition.

Goodfellas is a good movie, destined to stamp its mark on the modern age. It is a sort of ersatz Godfather - tighter, easier, more accessible than the great Coppola Trilogy (or rather, parts I and II). Scorsese uses a fast paced, dialogue heavy, boiler plated filmic style to tell the story (based on the true one) of mob informer Henry Hill. Perhaps because he uses a real story as his base, it has an oddly lopsided narrative structure - the film ascends to a nasty and brilliant climax two thirds of the way through, culminating in the famous 'Layla' scene - the Jim Gordon piano the musical background to a number of 'whacked' bodies turning up all over town. But by the end the pace has fizzled a little, and the last third is fairly thin fare given the explosive might of what has gone before.

The film is gangster lite - the customs, routines, tropes, jargon are explained frequently by a rather intrusive voiceover. None of the dark roiling of the great gangster films - brutal killings with no explanation. Still, it is a great cast and the movie is brilliantly filmed. Liotta looks a little overwhelmed at the role he has landed, but De Niro is sublime, and Lorraine Bracco is beautiful, brash and vulnerable as Hill's no nonsense Jewish wife from the five towns.

Following the progress of gangster Ray Liotta and his relationship with mentors Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, Goodfellas is the kind of film you'll either think is a masterpiece or wonder what all the fuss was about. Performances are all outstanding, Scorsese's direction energetic and innovative, but somewhere around the halfway point you may wonder where it's going and come to the conclusion that great performances and grandstanding direction is all its about. There's no shortage of outstanding scenes but the film becomes increasingly repetitive as it underlines and escalates its variations on a theme until it feels like it's all style with nothing more underneath than a two-and-a-half hour episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous.

Good extras on the two-disc version, but it's hard to buy into all the hype for the film.

Hadn't seen Goodfellas in years, last night's screening reminded me how close to perfect this movie is.
Scorsese and company really hit it out of the park here. I actually think Liotta is better than DeNiro, who is tremendous. As are Pesci and Bracco. Everything feels authentic; these folks clearly grew up amongst real wiseguys and convey the atmosphere perfectly.
What really lifts this flick above, however, is the perfect pacing and editing. The story moves tightly and quickly forward, with few wasted moments despite its length.
It's also quite funny at times, though I always question whether making truly evil folks humorous (some of the real old-school wiseguys were not very funny) is a smart idea, but it's art, so each to his own.
One thing for sure: the Sopranos pulled at least half their cast from this movie! Why mess with success?
I disagree with Amazoon's own reviewer who calls this as good as the Godfather, though. As excellent as Goodfellas is, the first two Godfathers achieve a level of greatness and gravitas that few other movies ever have.
Nonetheless, Goodfellas is a complete classic. If only all movies moved this well and looked this good and had this many memorable performances...

Timeless mob cult-classic brilliantly restored and preserved in highest quality possible today - 5.1 audio and Full HD video. What more can You want?

GoodFellas [Blu-ray]

Well, a little more . . . Take one of the best Gangster movies ever, upgrade the video quality to the newest high definition standard, and the best gets better.

A long film about "Italian" crime in New York in the 1950-1980 period, and a good one at that. It shows the brutality and the extreme male chauvinism of these gangsters who are ready to sell anything, steal anything, kill anyone in order to make money, and as for killing, to satisfy their insatiable thirst for blood, to satisfy their unquenchable hunger for violence. It also shows, rather on the side because it is not the main object, how justice and before it the police are managing their gang-spirit, splitting their unity and getting the weaker ones to become protected witnesses, and it works: these criminals prefer being hidden away by the Justice Department for decades rather than going away in prison for even longer periods of time. The film is well done: Robert de Niro and Joe Pesci are quite acceptable. Ray Liotta on the other hand appears slightly weak when confronted to the other two, and he has to be since he is the side-kick, and an essential one at that, of both of them. One shortcoming though: even if the police managed to more or less bring the Italians back in line, the film is absolutely silent about the fact that the various traffics and particularly drugs were then abandoned to another mafia, probably even more dangerous, i.e. the Blacks and the Porto Ricans and other Latinos.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines

Everyone knows this movie is a classic. Absolutely true. What i want to get into is the Blu-Ray transfer. To sum it up in one word: grainy. It's obvious that the transfer was straight from the original film negative. You see all the lines and pops that would have been present on screen when the movie originally came out in theaters. I'm positive there will eventually be a remastered version coming out but who knows when that will happen. It definitely needs a good digital clean up. Audio quality is also lacking. It is just standard Dolby 5.1. They could've at least made it PCM. Really, if you get this at a good price, there is no reason NOT to buy it. The picture isn't bad. It's just not up to par with other Blu's out there. Still a great addition to add to the collection.

"Good Fellas," I think, is the definitive movie about the Mafia in the U.S. It's beautifully done; the acting and direction superb. The settings and the mise-en-scene were brilliantly prepared. Unfortunately, the subject is so repellant that watching it is about as satisfying as watching a cat torture a bird to death.

Extras are a blast from the past and the film is great. Anyone see the blu-ray version? I bet its better but by how much?

Don't buy it unless you have a Toshiba or regular HD player. It is no longer practical. I gave it 5 stars because, the DVD itself, is very good - nothing to complain about it.

It's a good quality HD DVD. If you have a copy keep it because maybe it will be a collector's item in about 30 years. Give it to your kids. It will play in standard players but will not work in a Blu-Ray HD DVD player and that will be the HD DVD standard player.

This is a film that Scorsese should have won the Oscar for, not "The Departed."

Goodfellas follows the life of Henry Hill through his life with the Mafia. The story is based on the real-life Henry Hill.

This film really established Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta as solid actors. With Robert De Niro and Lorraine Bracco, the cast was just perfect. The acting was great all around and the plot was very entertaining.

Unlike what is seen in "The Godfather," Goodfellas probably more accurately portrays what real life is like in the Mafia, atleast from what I've read. Not that "The Godfather" isn't any good, it's great but it almost glorifies that lifestyle to an extent.

Anyway, as I said, the plot is entertaining and this is a film you could watch more than once. The characters are interesting and the humor is appropriate. There is some graphic violence as to be expected but it is not over the top. There's plenty of foul language but again, it's not over the top.

Overall, this is a film that you must see, if for nothing else to see Joe Pesci's famous "am I a clown" scene.

I wont bother reviewing the movie itself. It has to stand as one of the 100 best films of all time (at least in my list). As far as Blu Ray goes, this is much improved over my original "flipper" 2-sided DVD version. Some reviewers have mentioned the grain in some parts of the film. That's just the stock they made the transfer from. There is another part where there is a vertical line in the scene through De Niro that is part of the negative. But when the film is sharp, the transfer is perfect. I think this is especially obvious at the very beginning of the movie when there is tight close-up of a young Henry Hill looking out the window of his apartment and you can see the details of what looks like a green contact lens (to match Liotta I suppose).
I was disappointed by the audio. It seemes a bit muddy. I need to go back to my "flipper" version to see if it was any better. This may be a case of trying to make Dolby 5.1 out of an old soundtrack.
Overall, Certainly worth the price. Worth replacing an older version (not sure if this applies to the newer "collecters edition" or not.
By the way, one fun part of watching this movie is picking out all the Soprano's characters that were in this film. Christoper, Pauli, "Old" Carmine (Tony Lipp plays "Tony the Wop" or something like that), I think even "Big Pussy", Vincent Pastore has a walk on bit. For "The Wire" fans, I noticed that Isiah Whitlock Jr (the "honorable" Sen Clay Davis) had a bit part playing a Dr when Henry is picking his wheelchair bound brother up from the hospital near the end of the film.

GoodFellas is just a classic gangsta movie and I have nothing bad to say about it.

I don't see the point in writing a long drawn out synopsis of the movie Goodfellas because if you haven't seen it then quite simply you're blowing it big time.

One of the best movies ever created... EVER.

The bonus features for the 2 disc special edition are great. Interviews with everyone involved from the production crew to all the main actors.

Having the standard version of this movie on DVD is okay, but you can't call yourself a true fan of Goodfellas unless you own this edition.

[trivia: Saul Bass is the designer who created the artwork for Goodfellas. He also came up with the opening titles, which are as important to the movie as the rest of it. Bass designed nearly ALL of Alfred Hitchcock's film posters (Vertigo, Rear Window, North by Northwest, The Birds, etc).]

Top 25 of all time. Second best mob movie ever (to Godfather). Love it, love it, love it.

Everyone pretty much agrees that Goodfellas is a classic. No question there. I could only give the HD-DVD three stars though. The video is almost identical to the standard definition version, and the sound quality is nothing to write home about either. The colors were muted and lacked any clarity or "pop" that I look for in HD releases. Even though this is a great piece of film making, I would have been better off buying the standard def version.

A classic movie that will be watched over and over.
Glad to get it ~ now if they would only reissue "A Bronx Tale".

This film is one of my all time favorites BUT the HD DVD transfer is awful,the picture is dark and grainy with little or no 3D pop.
I was also expecting more extras with the HD DVD version but I was sadly mistaken,if you like extras then get the two disc "Special Edition".

The film is one of the great works of the last 20 years and it deserved better than this release. My rating is more a reflection of the product than the movie itself, which we all agree is a classic. The picture quality is scarcely an upgrade over the DVD version.

First of all, the film has not been restored and cleaned up for HD. I understand the movie is about 18 years-old and it won't look as clean as, say, Casino Royale does on Blu-ray, but the scratches and damaged film elements present in this transfer are inexcusable. There are two long film scratches in the movie, one within the first 15 minutes and the other in a scene when Paul and Jimmy see Henry in his apartment, that run in the middle of the frame through the scene. There are also numerous incidents of bad elements, damage, and dust that detract from the experience.

This film deserved better and it should've been properly restored. To see that kind of damage in a transfer in this day and age just speaks to laziness and a desire to put out a popular product because they know people will buy it no matter what. It's an insult to consumers and film fans everywhere.

Buy only if you must have an HD version in your collection but I'd wait for WB to treat this film properly in the future. It has to happen.

The Best Gangster movie of this type ever made. You can watch it over and over and it only gets better>

I saw this film on "Sweetest" Day (a completely useless holiday) with a love interest, and dammit, it was worth pissing her off because I saw a great film. This is my favorite Scorsese picture, one of the best gangster movies ever made, and the film that Marty should have won an Oscar for. It may not have the autumnal darkness of The Godfather films (at least one and two), but it has an exhiliartion and love of the medium that the Godfather films lack. This is Scorsese's most cinematic film, where the camera work (by Michael Ballhus) is quite amazing to behold. The unbroken shot when Ray Liotta and Lorraine Braco walk into the restaurant is as classic as they come. It is one of many classic moments in a film that's filled with them. The 2 1/2 hours fly by, and the film doesn't really sugarcoat the gangster life in any way. No moralizing, no preaching, Marty just shows you how it is. The V.O. narration works brilliantly here, and every performance is perfect. Pesci (who won an Oscar), De Niro, Bracco, and Liotta (whatever happened to him, eh) should be commended for their work here. Forget The Departed, this is Marty's masterpiece, the won he should have won the Oscar for.

The movie is excellent, so lets get that out of the way. Im only writing about the HD quality of the Blu-Ray transfer itself. I guess I was not blown away by this transfer.

Visually, the opening scene was not cleaned up and still has some film noise and white speckles. Color transfer appears fine, although not as vibrant as I would have thought. Audio again is just ok and nothing to get too excited about. I have not viewed the extra content, but it appears to be interesting and most of it may not be available on Special Edition DVD's.

When you spend more money than what you would on a regular DVD, you certainly expect the quality to be much higher. I have a 50inch Samsung FPT-5084 capable of 1080p and I use my PS3's Blu-Ray player, so I dont believe my setup is an issue.

After seeing 2001 on Blu-Ray, I know what kind of a mind blowing transfer is capable when the right people are on the task of doing it. Overall, I recommend sticking to the standard DVD version until a better transfer is available.

Hard to understand why Warner would not release Goodfellas in the full 1.85 to 1 aspect ratio that was originally shown in theaters, instead opting to crop it to 1.78 to 1. No excuses for messing with the original aspect ratio of any movie, let alone a classic one like Goodfellas.

This is one of my all time favorite movies, I owned the VHS, and the dvd, I was excited to buy the blu-ray when it came out, I've seen this blu-ray version about 3 times now, It gets better with each viewing.

I'm not going to talk about the movie in this review, suffice it to say, it is one of the best movies of all time, one of the best gangster movies, and an all around fun movie to watch.

This review is more for those deciding on buying this when they already have the dvd.

This blu-ray has one of the best transfers I have seen, the movie is quite old, but looks much better than the dvd does upconverted. The colors are dark and rich, great contrast and you can see lots of detail. The movie has never looked so good. The movie does have some scenes that show its age, where you can see flecks of dust and marks on the film, but it doesn't detract from the picture, it just adds character.

I have seen some other "classics" put out on HD-DVD and Blu-ray, even some new movies shot within the last 2-3 years. Many of these are very soft, and inconsistent as a transfer. This movie, is perfect, all the way through, the transfer does not disappoint. It is deep, dark, well saturated, and nothing looks soft, light, or bad.

Where this disc shines, is the commentary, you get to hear commentary from Henry Hill (the guy the movie is based on, and FBI agent Edward McDonald) he discusses how the movie really compares to his real life, and he is quite entertaining. The disc also has a few other bonus features, and the movie trailer, which is nice.

All in all, this is an amazing movie, with a fantastic transfer loaded with features. You cant go wrong with this one, It's great, and for Amazon's low price, it's a steal.

This is a classic movie, when I saw AMZN offering this for free along w/ my HD dvd player. I had to get it. You can own and watch it whenever.

This has always been one of my favorites movies and it is even better in HD.

I can watch this over and over and never EVER get sick of it. It is about three decades in the Mafia, Narratted by Hank Hill, a irish/silician wiseguy, who in the end, rats out his crew in order to save him and his family's life. De Niro is incredible and doesn't fool around with his acting in this movie. This is the second movie, that I think that really "made" him (the first is the 1973 classic "Taxi Driver" by Director and long time friend Martin Sorcese.)Pesci is memorizing and Hilarious as Tommy, The silician wiseguy that is up for being "made" by the big wigs of his crew. Director Sorcese made a Mafia Masterpiece, which is now a staple in my DVD and VHS collections. If you like biographies, interested in Mafia History and movies and Love to see some great acting by a slew of incredible actors and actresses, do get this film. This mafia masterpiece will never grow old and stale with film viewers.

If you like a good "Mafia-slaughtering-everybody-film," then you'll discover that this is the very best one ever made to date. I seriously doubt that Hollywood will ever yield a better one.

The story is one of the Mafia glitz and how they were, to a man, ruthless murderers that we love to glorify because they got to do all the stuff we couldn't afford to do, either financially or legally. Only the best for these guys. The setting is the 50s, 60s, and early 70s.

The top character is played by Joe Pesci, who loves to shoot and stab any fool who gives him the slightest bit of verbal guff. He's a diminutive figure who is out to prove that a hunting knife and a .357 Magnum manifest all the equalizer he needs to become a "Made Man".

So this pack of Mafia scoundrels steal from, hijack, rob, and assault all whom are unfortunate enough to enter the circle of their realm and this even includes a number of their own brotherhood when the FBI begins to turn up the heat, generating an insider snitch here and there. The old conflict about some mafia members not wanting to enter the dope business also raises the stakes.

This is a violent and graphic film in terms of language, murder, and darn near everything else.... and I loved it all. The soundtrack is equally incredible. Political correctness be damned!

All I can say about this movie is that it has to be the best Italian Mafia movie ever!! Definitly my favorite. Out of 10 I give it a 10

Go to the bathroom and have your snacks ready BEFORE you pop this disc in, you will not want to leave during this very fast paced and rewarding 2 hours of gripping drama.
Dialogue is great,action served up stylishly and tense mood of ambitious and motivated Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) is captured brilliantly. Hill is a man with a million things on the to-do list, very few of them legal or moral. Even the romantic scenes where he meets his wife (Lorraine Bracco), an area where directors do an obligatory slowdown, have a fast pulse.
If I can criticize anything about this fine film, it would be-
*There is no Harvey Keitel cameo.
*The accuracy of the tales of real life mobster/writer Henry Hill are disputed; after all he did become a government informer, and snitches often have low credibility.
*There is a coke deal scene in a crummy motel-with the windows WIDE open-guess Marty needed the lighting more than the dope dealers needed their privacy!
Regardless of my nitpicks, this is one of my top 20 favorites of all time.