'Unforgettable masterpiece' is greatest gangster movie ever and 'better than Godfather'

Pose the question to a hundred cinema-goers about the finest gangster movie ever made and it's likely that a fair number will say The Godfather (with many more likely suggesting The Godfather Part Two).

But there's a rival mob flick which many consider superior to both, emerging roughly two decades after Francis Ford Coppola's classics, which star Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and Robert Duvall.

This 1990s film boasts some of cinema's most memorable moments, delivered by a cast including Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Ray Liotta, Paul Sorvino and Lorraine Bracco. Star turns also come from Michael Imperioli and Tony Sirico - who later gained worldwide fame on The Sopranos - and Samuel L. Jackson before his rise to stardom in Pulp Fiction.

Real-life figures like Louis Eppolito, a former NYPD officer with mafia ties who died in prison, also feature in this epic.

For those still puzzling over the title it is, of course, none other than Goodfellas, the Michael Scorsese masterpiece celebrated with a stellar 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8.7 score on IMDB, as well as glowing reviews on a scale too vast to count.

Goodfellas delves into the lives of Italian-American criminals in New York during the '70s and '80s, focusing on Henry Hill, a mobster who turned informant. His story inspired the film, which opens with his unforgettable words: "As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster."

The real Henry Hill's journey went from leading organised crime figure to the Witness Protection Programme after becoming an informant for the FBI, only to be expelled for exposing his identity and persisting with crime.

Goodfellas, with its vivid portrayal of Hill's ties to mob figures like James Burke (called Jimmy Conway in the film and played by Robert De Niro) and Thomas DeSimone (Joe Pesci), delves into the heart of New York's organised crime world ruled by the infamous "five families".

Despite not clinching the best picture Oscar, which went to Dances With Wolves, Scorsese's Goodfellas is celebrated as a cinematic masterpiece three and a half decades post-release, with people describing it as "unparalleled" and "unforgettable".

"Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas is both a wildly entertaining gangster movie and a sobering cautionary tale warning against a life of crime," says Ben Sherlock of Screen Rant. New York magazine's David Denby proclaims it to be "the greatest film ever made about the sensual and monetary lure of crime, and the whole perversely brilliant movie comes into focus in a single, staggering shot".

Hal Lipper from the Tampa Bay Times has lauded it as "an unparalleled achievement, the most chilling and savagely droll account of mob life ever recorded on film".

But how does it stack up against another gangster film titan, The Godfather?

On Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB, The Godfather just edges it with scores of 97% and 9.2/10 respectively, suggesting a consensus that both movies are cinematic triumphs.

However, Ed Power penned an article for The Independent in 2020, marking Goodfellas' 30th anniversary, where he hailed it as "a masterpiece" and "still the greatest gangster movie ever made". His rationale is particularly intriguing.

Citing the film's record-breaking use of expletives (over 300 times), Power notes "it is also uproarious to watch and often hilarious".

"That is arguably why it eclipses The Godfather Parts One and Two and Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America," he contends.

He describes these films as significant, solemn gangster epics, steeped in their own sombre magnificence. In contrast, Goodfellas is portrayed as a riotous escapade, brimming with comedic brilliance.

From Morrie Kessler's zany wig adverts to the mob's irritation with Henry's marital woes, and Hill's drug-induced paranoia towards the end, Scorsese's strategy to draw viewers into this grim world was through humour and surreal sketches.

He notes that the film "took all sorts of risks". During early cinema screenings, some audience members were so shocked by the opening scene, where Tommy stabs Billy Batts as he lies in the boot of the car, that they walked out.

Director Martin Scorsese conceded to lessen the number of stabs inflicted on Batts before general release.

Despite receiving six Oscar nominations, Goodfellas clinched only one Academy Award, with Joe Pesci triumphing as best supporting actor.

Fans can watch Goodfellas on Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and Google Play for £3.49, or stream it with a Now premium subscription.