GoodFellas (1990)
Three decades of life in the mafia.
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.
| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 12 September 1990 |
| Genre | Drama, Crime |
| Director | Martin Scorsese |
| Starring | Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci |
| Runtime | 145 min |
| Rated | R |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 9/10 · Metacritic 92/100 · Rotten Tomatoes 93% · IMDb 8.7/10 · TMDB users 8.4/10 |
| Budget | $25 million |
| Box office | $47 million worldwide |
Where to watch GoodFellas
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What kind of watch this is
Martin Scorsese directs a 145-minute crime drama that treats the Mafia less like a myth and more like a grueling, high-stakes job with terrible dental benefits. The film tracks Henry Hill’s ascent through the ranks, finding the real horror not in the violence, but in the mundane, grinding reality of a life lived in fear. It is a relentless, buzzing portrait of a man who wanted to be a gangster but ended up as a victim of the system. The energy is exhausting in the best way.
What the critics said
The scores are high. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 93% as of 2026, with an average of 9.00/10. Metacritic lands on 92/100, a range it labels universal acclaim. Audiences gave it an A-. Roger Ebert called it the finest film about organized crime, not even The Godfather. Gene Siskel agreed, praising the cast. Both named it the best film of 1990. It is a consensus so strong it borders on the boring.
How it did with audiences
The budget was $25 million. It grossed $47 million in the United States, a figure that appears identical to the worldwide total. That leaves little room for international expansion, a quiet arithmetic curiosity. On TMDB, users rate it 8.4 out of 10. IMDb audiences gave it an 8.7/10 as of March 2026. It opened strong, topping the charts, before dipping slightly in its second weekend.
What came next for the cast
Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Ray Liotta all had established careers before Goodfellas, with credits like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Field of Dreams. After 1990, the paths diverged. De Niro returned to leading roles in Silver Linings Playbook and Joker. Pesci leaned into family comedies like Home Alone 2 before returning to crime in Casino. Liotta found steady work in Hannibal and Marriage Story. The film did not cause these shifts. It marked a pivot point where their subsequent choices became distinct.
Where it left its mark
The Copa shot, a 2.5-minute Steadicam move through a nightclub, is widely cited as one of cinema’s most identifiable sequences. It helped normalize long tracking shots in films like Pulp Fiction and Boogie Nights. Critics and institutions have repeatedly ranked it high: AFI placed it No. 2 among gangster films, Roger Ebert called it the best mob movie ever, and Time included it in their All-Time 100. The screenplay landed at No. 41 on the WGA’s list.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched GoodFellas.
Sources
- GoodFellas on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q42047 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Goodfellas” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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