GoodFellas
Three decades of life in the mafia.
Country
Production
Budget
$25 000 000
Box office
$46 836 394
Director
Actors
Scenario
Producer
Irwin Winkler, Barbara De Fina
Camera operator
Composer
Artist
Kristi Zea
Audition
Ellen Lewis
Editing
Short description
The true story of Henry Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian Brooklyn kid who is adopted by neighbourhood gangsters at an early age and climbs the ranks of a Mafia family under the guidance of Jimmy Conway.
What's left behind the scenes
- Robert De Niro helped Scorsese by suggesting Ray Liotta for the role of Henry Hill. Liotta, as it turned out, had already read the Pillegi book and quickly got into the role.
- Rumors circulated that the real Jimmy Conway (whose real name was Jimmy Burke) was so thrilled that De Niro was playing him that he called him from prison to give him a few valuable tips. However, Nicholas Pileggi denied this repeatedly, claiming that Conway and De Niro never spoke. Nevertheless, he did not deny that people who knew the real protagonists quite well were involved in the project.
- The real Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) once moved to Redmond, where he opened an Italian restaurant. However, after the film's release, he returned. One of his daughters appears in the wedding scene.
- The word "fuck" is used 246 times in the film; in most cases, it is used by Joe Pesci's character. Including various variations, the total comes to 275 times, which averages out to one swear word every 28 seconds.
- The project had to be postponed for several years due to Scorsese's commitments on the sets of other planned films. After this period, the director began to wonder if he should return to gangster movies. Around that time, he gave the final version of the script to the renowned director and screenwriter Michael Powell. At the time, Powell was married to editor Thelma Schoonmaker, one of Scorsese's own muses. After reading the script, the couple convinced the director of the necessity of making the film.
- For the role of screenwriter, Scorsese had intended the author of the book, Nicholas Pileggi, from the very beginning. The writer knew little about screenwriting, but the director taught him the basics of the craft.
- Scorsese envisioned the author of the book, Nicholas Pileggi, as the screenwriter from the very beginning. The writer knew little about scriptwriting, but the director taught him the basics.
- At Scorsese's request, Joe Pesci improvised and filmed the scene where his character, Tommy DeVito, loses his temper over the favorite phrase, "Funny, how?"
- Tommy’s final shot into the camera is considered a kind of quote from “The Great Train Robbery” (1903), where, after all the action, a bandit also shoots a revolver as if into the audience.
- After four years of preparation, Scorsese could finally admit to himself that he was ready to shoot. The first thing he wanted to do was change the working title of the future film. Since "Wiseguy" was already the name of both a television series and a Brian De Palma comedy, Scorsese decided to call the movie "Goodfellas."
- In early script drafts, the story was told in chronological order, but later Scorsese had the idea that the scene with the murder of Billy Batts absolutely had to be placed at the beginning of the film.
- The film is based on Nicholas Pileggi's book "Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family" (1985).
- Warner Bros. refused to produce the film unless one of the leading roles was played by a Hollywood superstar. Scorsese then remembered his close friend Robert De Niro, showed him the script, and asked who he would like to see in the role of Jimmy Conway. De Niro read it and replied, "Myself." Shortly thereafter, Warner Bros. agreed to finance the film.
- Tommy's final shot into the camera is considered a nod to "The Great Train Robbery" (1903), where, after all the action, a bandit also fires a revolver as if toward the audience.
- After four years of preparation, Scorsese could finally admit to himself that he was ready to film. The first thing he wanted to do was change the working title of the future film. Since “Wise Guys” had already been used for both a television series and Brian De Palma’s comedy, Scorsese decided to call the film “Goodfellas.”
- Filming took place in the spring and summer of 1989, partly in Queens, a district of New York, and partly on Long Island.
- Martin Scorsese's father and mother appear in small cameos in the film.
- The real Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) eventually moved to Redmond, where he opened an Italian restaurant. However, he returned after the film was released. One of his daughters appears in the wedding scene.
- For the role of Karen Hill, Henry’s wife, Scorsese considered Lorraine Bracco. At the time, she was married to actor and close friend of Scorsese, Harvey Keitel, and had already auditioned for a role in the director’s black comedy “After Hours.” Scorsese invited her and Ray Liotta to his apartment for a three-hour conversation. After it ended, the director approved her for the role of Karen.
- The real Hill said that the filmmakers captured the image of the real Tommy De Vito almost 99% accurately, with only one "but" — Tommy was huge, which contrasts sharply with the short stature of Joe Pesci.
- In early script drafts, the story was told in chronological order, but Scorsese later had the idea that the film absolutely had to begin with a scene of Billy Batts' murder.
- The real Hill said that the filmmakers captured the image of the real Tommy DeVito with 99% accuracy, with one 'but' – Tommy was enormous, which stands in stark contrast to the short stature of Joe Pesci.
- As soon as the director began reading Pileggi's book, he immediately realized it had magnificent potential for a film adaptation. Scorsese was pleasantly surprised to find that the locations described in the book were very familiar to him, as he grew up in Little Italy, a neighborhood in New York. Captivated by the idea, Scorsese called Pileggi at his office at New York magazine. The writer was not in the building, so the director told his secretary that Pileggi must call him back. Upon arriving at the office, Pileggi did not find his secretary at their desk, but found a note stating that Scorsese himself had called. The writer didn't believe it and threw the note in the trash, thinking it was just another prank by a colleague. Having not received a return call, Scorsese went to Pileggi's home and told him that he had been searching for his book for years. Unexpecting such an admission, Pileggi said he had waited his whole life to meet him and had considered only Scorsese as the director to adapt his novel.
- As soon as the director began reading Pileggi’s book, he immediately understood that it had excellent potential for adaptation. Scorsese was pleasantly surprised to discover that the places described in the book were also very familiar to him, as he grew up in Little Italy – a district of New York. Enchanted by this idea, Scorsese called Pileggi himself at his office at New York magazine. The writer was not in the building, and the director told his secretary to make sure Pileggi called him back. Upon arriving at the office, Pileggi did not find his secretary at her desk, but found a note saying that Scorsese himself had called. The writer didn't believe it and threw it in the trash, thinking it was another prank from a colleague. Not receiving the call, Scorsese went to Pileggi's house and told him that he had been searching for his book for years. Not expecting such a confession, Pileggi said he had been waiting to meet him all his life, and had only considered Scorsese as the director for the adaptation of his novel.
- The word "fuck" is used 246 times in the film; in most cases, it is used by Joe Pesci's character. Including various variations, it appears 275 times, or one swear word every 28 seconds.
- After Joe Pesci's mother watched the movie, she called her son and told him that the film was good, but it was a shame that he swore so often.
- At Scorsese's request, Joe Pesci himself devised and filmed the scene where his character Tommy DeVito loses his temper, repeating the line 'Do you think I'm funny?'
- Robert De Niro helped Scorsese by suggesting Ray Liotta for the role of Henry Hill. As it turned out, Liotta had already read Pileggi's book and stepped into the role very quickly.
- Warner Bros. refused to produce the film unless one of the leading roles was played by a Hollywood superstar. Scorsese then remembered his close friend Robert De Niro, showed him the script, and asked him who he wanted to see in the role of Jimmy Conway. De Niro read it and replied, "Myself." Soon after, Warner Bros. agreed to finance the film.
- Rumors circulated that the real Jimmy Conway (born James Burke) was so thrilled that De Niro would be playing him that he called him from prison and gave him some valuable advice. However, Nicholas Pileggi vehemently denied this, claiming that Conway and De Niro never communicated. Nevertheless, he did not deny that people who knew the real main characters quite well were involved in the project.
- For the role of Karen Hill, Henry's wife, Scorsese intended to cast Lorraine Bracco. At the time, she was married to actor and close friend of Scorsese, Harvey Keitel, and had already auditioned for a role in the director's black comedy "After Hours." Scorsese invited her and Ray Liotta to his apartment, where they had a three-hour conversation. After it ended, the director cast her as Karen.
- The project had to be postponed for several years due to Scorsese’s commitments on the sets of other planned films. After that period, the director began to wonder if he should return to gangster films. It was then that he gave the final version of the script to the renowned film director and screenwriter Michael Powell. At that time, Powell was married to editor Thelma Schoonmaker, one of Scorsese’s muses. After reading the script, the couple convinced the director of the necessity of making the film.
- The film is based on the book 'Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family' (1985) by Nicholas Pileggi.
- After Joe Pesci's mother watched the film, she called her son and said the movie was good, but she didn't like how often he swore.
- Martin Scorsese's father and mother appeared in small roles in the film.
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