Joe Pesci

I think that Joe Pesci is one of the best
"Mob players" of all time.

What do you think?

I agree that Pesci is a great "mob actor". What's kind of strange about this argument is that he's been in four major mob movies, and of those, two have been very small roles ("A Bronx Tale" and "Once Upon a Time in America"). The other two roles ("Goodfellas" and "Casino") are classics, though.

He's talented enough to be able to pull off comedy as well ("My Cousin Vinnie" comes to mind).

Casino is absolutely one of the best motion pictures about the mob and "vegas".
I guess it's one of the best roles from Pesci, specialy the part he beats up that man with a pen at the start of the movie.

I saw a film ones where Pesci played a phographer don't know what picture that was.

Definatley a good actor, in those films he was priceless. Also I thought he was very funny in the Lethal Weapon films.

Oh and dont forget the Home Alone's....Hehe. I still laugh at those.

Beth -

The movie to which you're referring is "8 Heads in a Duffel Bag".

I have a file on napster of prank calls where recordings of Joe Pesci are played to the people who are being pranked. It has lines from Casino mainly, but also some from My Cousin Vinny. I think it is one of the funniest things Ive ever heard, but that is just me. Anyway, I know there is really no point to this post but I just thought I would mention it.

Speaking of lines said by Joe Pesci, here's a few from "Goodfellas" (when he was ragging on Ray Liotta):

(Joe Pesci): "But, I'm funny how? Funny like a clown? I amuse you? I make you laugh? I'm here to f*ckin' amuse you?"

This single scene stands out most vividly (for me) because it truly portrays how "whacked out" some wiseguys really are.


(Joe Pesci)


[ July 24, 2001: Message edited by: SC ]

Yeah, he is very good, i loved him in 'my cousin Vinnie' that film is very under rated (and by the way, whatever happened to Ralph 'Karate Kid' Macchio from that movie).

I have watched the first half of Once upon a time in america where pesci first appears and it is a great film so far.

Also does anyone know when the film with pesci starring as salvatore 'sammy the bull' gravano comes out?

I'll guess that nobody can play that role better then Pesci, i hope the movie comes out tomorrow

I absolute agree with SC, Pesci can play a total "whacked out" and paranoid man very believeable.

I thought that he had performed his best performance in the Raging Bull until I saw that movie (Goodfellas). Simply put, Joe was outstanding.

Pesci really was outstanding in "Goodfellas". He captured that "loose cannon" quality, and (in my opinion) upstaged DeNiro in the scenes in which they appeared together.

The scene in which Pesci shoots (and kills) Spider (the kid who was slow in serving drinks) blew me away.

BTW - That kid (Spider) was portrayed by the same actor who plays "Christopher" on "The Sopranos" (Michael Imperioli).

Pesci is a fine actor, and probably underated. I think it's rather a shame that he seems to have been type cast a little. I'd like to see him get the lead in a film rather than the kind of 'sidekick' roles he often (not always) gets. Casino and Goodfellas have rightly been pointed out as highlights of his filmography. I particularly like the scene in Casino when he meets Ace (De Niro) in the desert: "You only exist out here because of me!".
He gave a brilliantly understated performance in Raging Bull. He explodes into rage only once (to beat up Frank Vincent's charactor) making it all the more shocking. He looks genuinely scared during the "did you F*@K my wife" scene and played the short reunion with Jake at the end of the film beautifully. He actually lost weight to play this scene in contrast to De Niro's near four stone gain.
To anyone who hasn't seen Raging Bull, buy it now, it's a true masterpiece.

Thanx for the tip. I'll hire it this weekend

Wow I havnt heard any news of a Gravano film, but yeah I think Pesci would be able to play the part brilliantly. So is it rumour or is this actual fact that...
1 - Theres gonna be a film, and
2 - Pesci will play Gravano.

Sounds good!

I did'nt no about that film either. But when it comes out i'll be one of the first who's ganna see it

I'm looking forward to it, but i guess we are all doing that

I heard about pesci playing that role on this message board first, and then read it in a magazine somewhere.

Not a "gangster" movie, but I'd recommend "With Honors", a relatively unknown flick starring Pesci (as a homeless man near Harvard University) and Brendan Fraser (the guy from "The Mummy") as a student who befriends Pesci.

You'll get a whole new appreciation of Pesci's acting talents from this movie.

I didn't quite appreciate neither Deniro's nor Pesci's performances when Spider is killed. However, I thought that Pesci's performance when he shoots Spider's foot was magnificent.

I think i like this qoute below the most from the Casino movie.

"I think that you got the wrong impression about me. I think in all fairness, I should explain to you exactly what it is that I do. For instance, tomorrow morning I'll get up nice and early, take a walk down over to the bank, walk in and see ya and aaa.....if you don't have my money for me I'll, crack your fuckin' head wide open in front of everybody in the bank. And just about the time I'm comin' out of jail....hopefully, you'll be coming out of your coma. And guess what? I split your fuckin' head open again, cause I'm fuckin' stupid. I don't give a fuck about jail...that's my business...that's what I do. And we know what you do, don't we Charlie? You fuck people out of money and get away with it.

Ah Casino - truly excellent

An effective way to do business don't you agree?

I agree that it is an effective way to do business but.....................i wonder that it is the right way.

I run several businesses my self but i think that my relations and customers won't be very pleased if i'll do business the so-called "effective" way.

I think Joe Pesci is one of the best "mob" actors of all time. The greatest is probably Robert DeNiro. I think Casino was a great movie not only because of the great acting by DeNiro and Pesci but also because my favorite comedian Don Rickles was in the movie.

Also another funny movie by Pesci is "Gone Fishin" with Danny Glover.

A great quote!

I knew that there are some people out there that are agree with that quote. I think that i'm not the only one who likes Joe Pesci.

Pesci's darkest moment was that "Gone Fishin'" film he did with Danny Glover. I like to laugh like the next guy, and I couldn't even pretend anything was funny. Not a thing. I shot myself after I watched it and made a full recovery, to my dismay. That movie is made for kids who are thrown out of Special Education.

Ever seen "the super" where joe pesci plays a ruthless building landlord in a harlem slum? It's hilarious, go watch the trailer at IMDB. com

Joe Pesci is great always, whether he is Nicky, Carmine or Tommy (Casino, Bronx Tale, Goodfellas...)he plays those roles like they are real.

The guy you love to hate - you cant help it...

"...my mother is gonna make some fried peppers and sausage for us...oh here Henry, here's an arm!" haha!!

Joe Pesci can almost always steal the show in all the great movies hes been in.

What is the big deal about Pesci in "Goodfellas"? I will admit he did a good job but anyone could have done just as good as he did, Just pull someone out of bed when they haven't gotten any sleep and they could do just as good as Pesci did. Don't get me wrong I love Pesci's work but it just pisses me off when people compare him to Pacino in "Scarface" and other movie roles that are so much different than the actors that play them.

Sorry Josh, but that's the biggest bullshit i've ever read. No one could play Tommy DeVito. No one. Except Pesci. And how he did the "I'm funny how?" dialogue and how he was callous and brutal with spider after shooting him in the foot - no one could repeat that. Sorry you're so one eyed but I guess you're entitled to an opinion in this free country of ours.

Im not saying he didn't do a good job but comparing him to Pacino in "Scarface" is just ridiculous.

This post is a late reply, but there was a movie on "Sammy the Bull", earlier this year, made for cable I think; anyway, it starred the guy that played Martinez on NYPDBlue as Sammy. Nicholas Turturro, spelling?