LONDON (Reuters) - Mobsters in the 1990 film "Goodfellas" have beaten a fear of heights in "Vertigo" and the great white shark of "Jaws" to help the Martin Scorsese film clench the mantle of greatest movie of all time in a survey of UK film experts.

Goodfellas, which featured Ray Liotta, Robert de Niro and an Oscar winning supporting role from Joe Pesci, topped the list of 100 movies in a survey of film critics by Total Film.

"Goodfellas has everything, in terms of its technical brilliance, its huge influence on modern film-making and its spikiness and rewatchability," Total Film features editor Jamie Graham told Reuters.

Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 classic "Vertigo" took second place, while third went to Steven Spielberg's 1975 classic "Jaws," the tale of a coastal town terrorised by a great white shark.

Goodfellas, which was based on the story of real-life mobster Henry Hill, also beat Citizen Kane, the 1941 Orson Welles film that tops many critics lists but which finished in sixth position in the Total Film poll.

The 10 ten films in the list included two made in the last decade, the 1999 film "Fight Club," starring Brad Pitt, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy directed by Peter Jackson.

Fight Club took fourth position ahead of other classics such as "Tokyo Story" and "Taxi Driver."

"By no means were we trying to be perverse, but we were setting out to make a list that was a bit more modern," Graham said.


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Don Cardi

I should show this to all the goodfella's detractors on IMDB.com. Sort of sick of reading threads on there bashing the film. This is my favorite movie of all time, I watch almost every week and never get sick of it.

Most definitely one of the top 25 greatest movies of all time.

Without a doubt. I love that movie. You can't get sick of it.

Top 25? I'm not even sure if Goodfellas is top 100.

It's a great story, has great acting and directing, and is very entertaining, but it has no cinematic significance whatsoever and is overrated tremendously by almost everybody.

The King of Comedy, Mean Streets, Taxi Driver and Raging Bull are all better Scorsese films.

Well that's your opinion there's no movie that everyone likes. If you look on the imdb message boards almost every good movie has an overrated thread.

Who said I didn't like the movie? I just think it's overrated.

I love Goodfellas of course, but any list that has Fight Club :rolleyes: rated as the fourth best movie of all-time has zero credibility with me.

Well then scratch the first part of my post and just go with this "If you look on the imdb message boards almost every good movie has an overrated thread."
I really don't see how you can think all those films are better than Goodfella's. Maybe they have more meaning and more depth in the character's, but as better movies I don't agree. You really think Mean Streets and the King of Comedy are better?

I think Fight Club somewhat deserves its position on this list. While I'm thoroughly surprised that some films arent on there, I don't think Fight Club is a horrible choice. It is technically very dazzling, good direction, good editing, creative shots and camera movements.

It also has a very good idea behind it, a powerful message, but still retains a vicious sense of humor, sarcastic and cynical throughout. It also has strong central characters, and it is able to comment on society as a whole, which I think is a very important aspect of a great film.

I definetly feel as though some movies don't receive the credit they deserve simply because of how new they are. I feel as though 20 years from now, films such as Goodfellas, Casino, Fight Club, American Beauty, Heat, and Traffic will all be more highly considered then they currently are, simply because they will gain respect with age.

All true Mista Mista, but the fourth greatest film of all-time?

Let's not get carried away here.

Yea, like I said, I think its good, but I agree with you it shouldn't be that high. I personally rank it as my 20th favorite of all time, and I havent seen about 75% of that list where its 4th.

An excellent movie indeed, but definitely not the best of all!!!!

Come on, Goodfellas better then Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, or Mean Streets? And then the non-Scorsese films like The Godfather or Citizen Kane.

I can name many films better.

What makes Goodfella's my favorite movie is the fact that it's one of the few movies I can watch regularly and not get sick of. Which would make sense right, your favorite movie being the one you can watch the most. That's what makes a film good in my opinion the desire to watch it again and again. I don't see how people can really watch movies like Taxi Driver or Citizen Kane over and over. I know they are great films but what puts Goodfella's over the top of any film for me is the desire to watch it regularly. The acting is great, the story is interesting, (to me it really puts you in the shoes of a gangster) where the Godfather is a much more fictious glimpse of mob life. You also have great acting and directing (the camera work was great). And I absolutely loved how Scorsese incorporated music into this movie. The movie also sort of could fit a lot of different categories. It has good mix of comedy, drama, and action.That's what makes this movie so complete to me it has such a great mix of those elements. Maybe it's not the best of all time but I'd say it's at least top 10

Off topic, but at least its a picture named #1 that doesn't involve a tragic tycoon named Mr. Kane or some bar in Vichy France-held North Africa or Hitchcock or whatever...a nice change of pace. Not that I really think GOODFELLAS is the greatest, but sometimes variety is good for the mind.

I was just happy to see something post-1975 or so.

I believe that you could make a case for Raging Bull or Taxi Driver as being better than Goodfellas but not Mean Streets. Mean Streets is a great film but it is certainly not in the same category as Goodfellas, Raging Bull, Casino or even Gangs of New York.

That's ridiculous. Raging Bull Taxi Driver and Mean Streets are FAR AND AWAY Scorsese's top 3 films.

That's why I said that you could make a case for Raging Bull and Taxi Driver being better than Goodfellas. However, Mean Streets does not compare (imo) to most of Scorcese's other work. Of course people will have different opinions and that is great because it spurs debate. Some may think that Mean Streets is Scorcese's greatest movie, some may think it is his worst. I don't belong to either extreme, but I don't think that it is as good as Casino, Gangs of New York, Goodfellas, Raging Bull or Taxi Driver.

I don't know about Taxi Driver itself being a better film than Goodfellas. While DeNiro is great in Taxi Driver, I think overall Taxi Driver has more of a cult following and is not a better all around film than Goodfellas. Not to say that Taxi Driver is not a fantastic movie, but IMHO Goodfellas is better.

As for Raging Bull, well probably DeNiro's Best part ever. Outrageous acting on his part. Raging Bull as a whole? Well I love Goodfellas, but I think that Raging Bull is a tad better.

Mean Streets? Good movie, entertaining. But nowhere in the category of Raging Bull or Goodfellas.

This is my personal opinion of course.


Don Cardi

On my list of my favorite movies of all time...

3. Goodfellas
14. Raging Bull
Taxi Driver and Mean Streets not ranked

Hell, there is a reason why GOODFELLAS kicks so much f*cking ass. There is a rock n roll storytelling to it, a vibe that is insanely great. Hell, it keeps itself fresh with every viewing. If that isn't a masterpiece, what is then?

I agree completely. Citizen Kane, most film critics consider this the greatest movie of all time. I don't see how this movie can't get old. I don't see why someone would be able to watch movies like that repeatedly.

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Don't know about Citizen Kane being the best, but it is at least endurable, and rewatchable, and evolving with each viewing, and a masterpiece.

As is GoodFellas.

Would I be sounding pretentiously pedantic if I claimed therew as no such thing as "best"?

Mick

Yes.

Really, I don't see why a case CAN'T be made for GoodFellas being Scorsese's best.

Many people would say that about GoodFellas.