I have watched Goodfellas one more time the other day. It was the first time since I finished the novel Wiseguy. I have to say that I felt terribly disappointed.

Before I read the novel I always thought that the movie absolutely Rocked and was one of my favourite three movies of all time...

I thought the novel was fantastic, I enjoyed it to an extent that I can't remember having (even when I was reading the Godfather). I thought that the movie was still good, but compared to the novel, it is really isn't as good...

I just wanted to tell everyone that they wouldn't regret their time when they read it, it is certainly next to (if not as good as) The Godfather in my list of books.....

I to enjoyed the book but was a little set back by
the movie,once again they make one of these wiseguys out to be a hero,henry hill is and was just as much a rat as sammy was, they made jimmy burke out to be a dunski,when in fact hill was always jacked up on coke and booze,dont get me wrong,burke was bad and had a terrible temper,but
he was the mastermind behind the jfk robbery,there
is a book out called the HEIST,pretty good,all about jimmy burke and the vario crew(lucchese family)I think 1987 paperback.ABOVE AVG.

[ November 03, 2001: Message edited by: eddietheplumber ]

I couldn't agree more Sonny, I to was also disapointed with Goodfellas when I first watched it, and still am...

I just don't like the film as a whole, although it has good writng and acting, i just don't like the way it spins off into drugs and sluts etc, rather than sticking with proper gansgters like those in The Godfather...

I know that its based on a true story, but I just don't like feel anything really for it...

I really don't know how Goodfellas was voted above The Godfather in Empire in 1999, but in my view, Goodfellas is a good film, but The Godfather and Casino are much better...

noledge

I have to also agree with Sonny on one point, once you read Wiseguy, you realize that the film was centred too much on irrelevent characters like Tommy DeSimmone and Frenchy. There wasn't enough emphasis on Vario, he was just a mean pitbull who slowly moved around in life confident that things would bend to his will - this is not at all like the real-life/book Vario, who operated out of a trailer and who actually organized drug deals instead of forbidding them ala the film.
Furthermore, there are problems with the characters' ages in the film, they're off some as many as 5+ years, especially in Burke's case. Paulie died in Springfield, MO, not Forth Worth, Texas. Dont get me wrong, the film is still some of Scorcese's best work but it seems more centred on Liotta's performance and thoughts about his work than on the actual heists themselves, or on the bugs that the FBI picked up which indicated Jimmy's intent to kill Henry at the end (many viewers have often posted they had no idea if this was paranoia or what not).
As a sideline, another film I saw, Gotti - starring Armand Assante, seems ridiculously fabulated after reading Gotti: Rise and Fall. Now I remember Sonny mentioning he didn't like some parts of the book... well I dont like Capeci or Mustain, but the book was excellent. It was honestly the best one on Gotti I ever read, and there was so much in there that was never revealed. I wont spoil it for those who haven't gone through it, but believe me once you've flicked through the first 60 or so pages you'll watch Armand Assante with a big grin. For one, the film completely demonized Gravano, making him out to be the actual murderer of his brother-in-law, neighbour John Favara, and scores of the others. The truth is that he only took part in one killing, and it was to earn his Cosa Nostra stripes. Another disturbing feature of the film is how all the characters around Gotti appear either horrible or angelic based on their relation with the real-life gangster. Aniello Dellacroche is made out to be a sweet, kind old grandfather type who has complete and utter serviance to John. BS. He was a sadistic killer in real life, who had no qualms about strangling anyone regardless of his 70 years and his relationship with Gotti, he'd have popped his head any moment he felt it necessary. Another odd feature is Castellano, who is played by a grotesquely overweight and unpleasant looking fellow. The real-life Castellano looked more or less like Abe Vigoda, who coincidentally played him in a film called Witness To The Mob. He was neither overweight nor did he carry a 24hr grimace on his face. And contrary to the film Paul, the real-life one hesitated to take any action against Gotti and his friends, and it was this carelessness which got him whacked.
Furthermore, there is the ridiculous idea that John is a family man... it is well detailed that he had a long and passionate relationship with Neil Dellacroche's daughter, and also with a model named Lisa Gastineau. He was too shy to talk to her on the phone personally (awww) so he had his little whipping boy, Jackie D'Amico, call her up and get her to meet him in various popular clubs that were way beneath his age-range. Finally, there's the distorted way the murders are described, such as Gravano begging Gotti to kill off Robert "DB" Dibernado, a long time associate and good friend to the Gambinos. In real life, motor-mouth Angelo Ruggerio ordered Gravano to orchestrate the whacking, on the direct orders of then-incarcerated John Gotti. Second, there are other bizarre aspects like Gotti not being credited with fixing the 1986 jury for his RICO trial. Instead he just springs out of the courtroom, showered with attention for his amazing ducking abilities in the courtroom. You'll get a laugh out of it all once you've read the real-deal on Johnny Boy, and for that I have to tip my hat to Capeci, for writing such an excellent book.

Because the movie was based on a book which was based on real life events.

What is a proper gangster? The mafia makes its money on drugs and sluts. They aren't made up of lawyers, briefcases, and executive types like The Godfather portrays.

Goodfellas was a real life look into the mafia. It showed the good life (food, women, etc) but at the same time, showed the bad side (fights, murder, drugs, betrayal).

It's also worth remembering that Scorsese and Pilleggi (the guy who wrote Wiseguy) purposefully made it about low level thugs, or else it would have been a Godfather ripoff.

The Godfather was my favorite movie but for a real life look into the mob, Goodfellas is it.

PEOPLE have a hard time dealing w/reality,the life
portrayed in the book is real,to many people take
a romantic view of the GODFATHER and think that the"life"is like that,when in all reality,murder,
drugs,whores,gambling and jail is what it is all about.