Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) and his friends, Jimmy Conway (De Niro) and Tommy DeVito (Pesci), work their way up through the mob hierarchy.

CRITIQUE

Hey, what can I say about Goodfellas? It's a mob movie classic along the very lines of the first two The Godfather films. There is plenty of great material and rewarding factors in Goodfellas, and I really don't think I need to explain them to you. If you've never seen the film, just go buy it right now. It's that good. But anyone who dislikes violence or bad language, or is squeamish, might want to look elsewhere.

Goodfellas is an excellent achievement by director Martin Scorsese, provided by a serious and well-documented account of the life of former mobster Henry Hill, played perfectly by Ray Liotta in the film. The other actors in the film, and there a lot of recognizable faces here, are just terrific, especially Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro, Lorraine Bracco (Hill's wife), and Paul Sorvino (the boss).

"That's the way it is with a wiseguy partner. He gets his money no matter what. You got no business? Fuck you, pay me. You had a fire? Fuck you, pay me. The place got hit by lightning and World War Three started in the lounge? Fuck you, pay me." - Henry Hill

THE VIDEO

Warner presents GoodFellas in a 1.85:1/1080p transfer encoded with AVC on a 50GB disc. Colors are bright and well saturated, and color balance achieves a smooth and warm picture quality. Edge enhancement or compression artifacts aren’t visible. Black levels and dark tones look great. Tiny bits of grain also persist. This is the same transfer as the initial Blu-ray release from several years ago. Optional English, French and Spanish subtitles are offered.

"But, I'm funny how? Funny like a clown? I amuse you? I make you laugh? I'm here to fuckin' amuse you?" - Tommy

THE AUDIO

GoodFellas in presented in English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, unfortunately the same as the first BD, so no upgrade to speak of. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand, with the front speakers handling a lot of the action. The surrounds become active from time to time, but when they do the sound is terrific. The rear speakers, as well as the front channels, present the music and sound effects with clarity. A Spanish 2.0 dub track is featured as well.

"I'm not mad, I'm proud of you. You took your first pinch like a man and you learn two great things in your life. Look at me, never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut." – Jimmy

THE EXTRAS

All of the extras are repurposed from the initial Blu-ray release and presented in standard definition.

The first commentary is not full-length, but rather it lasts a little under two hours; in effect, this is more of a select-scene commentary that skips forward twice in the film. The various participants, including director Martin Scorsese, co-screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi, Ray Liotta, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino, Frank Vincent, producers Irwin Winkler and Barbara De Fina, cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, and editor Thelma Schoonmaker, offer their thoughts and give comments here and there. The information is interesting and offers some new insights into the film and the process. This track is obviously edited and culled from a variety of interviews, though some of the participants probably sat down to watch scenes of the film for the commentary.

The second is a commentary by Henry Hill and Edward McDonald (former FBI Agent); it feels quite authentic, and is also a little more interesting than the former track. Both men discuss the film, the actual events, and other stories. Hill's observations and comments, such as "this is how it happened," as well as McDonald's analysis of various scenes and elements, are interesting to listen to. Hill's advice to youngsters as the end credits roll is well intentioned, but somehow I have a feeling it will go unnoticed.

Getting Made (29:35, SD) is the film's making-of documentary. The background information of the project, how Scorsese read the book while making The Color of Money in Chicago, is repeated from the first commentary. The documentary covers the casting, and features (apparently new) interviews with Ray Liotta, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino, Frank Vincent, Henry Hill, Nicholas Pileggi, producers Irwin Winkler and Barbara De Fina, cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, and editor Thelma Schoonmaker. Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, and Joe Pesci appear in interview snippets from 1990, which is kind of weak. The docu also discusses, for nearly twenty minutes, the filmmaking genius of Scorsese.

The Workaday Gangster (7:57, SD) focuses on Henry Hill's discussion and reflection about his life in the mob. It’s interesting stuff, and also a bit scary.

Made Men: The Goodfellas Legacy (13:32, SD) is kind of a mixed featurette in my view. Directors such as Joe Carnahan (Narc), Jon Favreau (Elf), Antoine Fuqua (Training Day), The Hughes Brothers (In Hell), Richard Linklater (School of Rock), and Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption) comment on the film's influence and point out the film's importance and greatness, as well as the film's depiction of violence, cinematography, and editing. Frankly, I don't need other directors telling me how good Goodfellas is and that Scorsese is a great/influential director, although some of the discussions here are good; such as Darabont watched Goodfellas once every weekend for inspiration while filming Shawshank Redemption.

Paper is Cheaper than Film (4:28, SD) is a storyboard-to-screen comparison featurette. Rough storyboard drawings by Scorsese float towards the bottom of the respective scene from the film.

Rounding out the extras is the film's theatrical trailer presented in standard definition. The 145-minute feature is organized into forty-six chapters.

This being the 20th anniversary of the movie, Warner has released Goodfellas in their Blu-ray book packaging, which includes a 34-page book consisting of photos, film facts and more.

A second disc houses the feature-length documentary Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film, directed by Constantine Nasr and narrated by Alec Baldwin, previously released on the DVD release of Warner Gangsters Collection Volume 4. The documentary uses plenty of clips and interview footage, and spans many films up to Goodfellas.

For fun, a “mob of classic gangster-themed cartoons” are also featured on that disc, and they are: I Like Moutain Music, She Was an Acrobat’s Daughter, Racketeer Rabbit and Bugs and Thugs.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Goodfellas is a great film, and it belongs in your collection.

If you don’t own the previous high-def release, pick up this Blu-ray book edition immediately! How come you don't already own it?

However, if you have the first Blu-ray, there’s no real reason to upgrade to this new edition.