1. The Billy Batts murder was 95% real. The only difference was that the welcome home party and the 'shine box' remark happened at a different joint a few weeks prior to the murder. 2. The murder of Spider was real. 3. RIP Ray Liotta!!
I just recently read somewhere that the Billy Batts thing happened because Tommy & crew had taken over a profitable operation while Billy was in jail, and when he got out, he wanted it back, but Tommy didn't want to give it back to him. And also that there is a distinct possibility that it was John Gotti who killed Tommy.
@@PhilBagels Very true. It was a bookie operation that the guy De Niro played took over while Batts was inside. You can hear Jimmy and Batts talking about it right before Tommy ambushed Batts. And Gotti and Batts were close friends, so it makes sense
Well it had nothing to do with the joke it was cause Billy was telling Jimmy that he wanted his points back cause when he went away he gave his numbers racket to Jimmy but Jimmy lowkey kinda took over Billy’s crew and the guys like Tommy didn’t really even like Billy that’s the real reason Billy had to go
I remember I did the ‘funny how?’ bit at a female friend’s birthday dinner once. Her husband immediately knew what I was doing and played at talking me down at first. It was hilarious, because all of the women at the table thought I was serious and all the guys were looking away, trying not to laugh; the’d all seen this and their dates hadn’t. I don’t think any of the women were happy with any of us guys, but it was worth the joke.
That everyone sucks is one of the best things about this movie. It feels so genuine (whether it actually is or not) because it's not trying to pander to standard expectations, like that there should be a hero or even a singular protagonist. I like the sort of slow disintegration of everything that we get here. It's a phenomenal movie.
Lots of characters in Pulp Fiction have redeeming qualities, Jules being the prime example. In Goodfellas there is none of that whatsoever, only deconstruction
It's a lean, mean black comedy. We don't gotta empathize with these people. In his more dramatic films, MS can make us care deeply about characters we might not usually care about. That's just not necessary here--- and so oddly enough, over time, this has become Scorsese's most popular film. As with punk rock (a big influence on Martin Scorsese), the everyone-sucks element doesn't make it any less entertaining.
@Move_I_Got_This If you like/prefer. :) There is certainly crime in it. But pound for pound, it makes me *laugh* much more than it delivers seriousness--- as compared to "Casino," of which I would say the opposite.
I always felt the worst for him and Janice's bosses. Most of everyone else who gets brutalized is in the game or they're genuine dicks like the neighbor. Spider and Morrie didn't deserve their fates but they hung around in gangster circles. The mailman and Janice's boss are just normal people terrorized for doing their non-mafia related job that somehow crosses their path that day and that's terrifying.
Yet, she was a great sport about "A Jew broad prejudiced against Italians" line. I appreciate her sense of morality in this reaction, but she also rolls with the punches.
One of the many reasons Scorcese movies have a style of their own is the editing of Thelma Schoonmaker. Easily one of the greatest and most innovative editors in film history. She makes up a lot of the pulse of Scorcese's movies.
My favorite scene in the movie is when we meet Tommy's mom, who's actually played by Martin Scorsese's mom. The whole scene her lines are improv and she didn't have the script, so we're basically getting her genuine reaction to how the characters are acting out of context. Her having one of her paintings around and picking up on how "Henry" seems to be troubled about something are just so wholesome.
Nice, she was super sweet. Reminds me of how Coppola had his father play piano and also wrote the music for that scene in the Godfather, and of course his sister had a significant role in the film as well.
@@redmustangredmustang His parents are in almost every one of his films. You have to look but: Taxi Driver: Casino: Cape Fear: King of Comedy (The mothers voice) Color of Money; Meanstreets; Raging Bull
What's really interesting about this film is that its pretty accurate to what happened Henry Hill was a real person and so were a lot of people in that were portrayed. There was even a character that was only mentioned once Mikey Franzese who is still alive today and even runs a UA-cam channel talking about life in the mob and even reviewing mob movies.
This is one of my all-time favorites. The "How am I funny?" exchange was based on an event from Joe Pesci's youth. He worked in a restaurant, and once told a local gangster he was funny, and the gangster got pissed.
Another fun fact, the guy Joe Pesci's character was based on, Thomas DeSimone, was actually a beast of a man at around 6'2" and 210 lbs. MUCH more intimidating physically then the 5'4", 130 lb. Joe Pesci and yet Joe was just as terrifying as his real life counterpart. A true testament to the man's acting chops.
A big part of the problem was the bosses greed. Whenever someone made money, the boss, capo and others demanded a huge cut, making the take of the person actually doing the crime small. They couldn't make good money with regular crimes, so they turned to drug running. The bosses greed actually forced people to run drugs to make money.
Little piece of film trivia, the agent they talk to about going into Witness Protection is the actual FBI agent that the real Henry Hill worked with when he turned himself in.
Scorsese classic! His film, Casino, from a few years later is like the older sibling piece to Goodfellas. Some of the same actors, and a largely similar vibe, albeit a very different story.
12:38 the fact you skipped over one of the most iconic long shots in cinema history makes me sad, but its ok cause your reactions are always top tier!! So glad your channel is exploding in popularity!! Keep going!
I've read and heard in interviews that Scorsese wanted the 'gangster lifestyle' to be the protagonist in the film, not any specific character. Part of his motivation was to make a gangster film that didn't glorify any aspect of it, or have a 'flawed hero' character. It's a modern tragedy.
I highly recommend that you read both Wiseguys and On the Run: A Mafia Childhood, by Hill’s son and daughter. Both books give a lot more detail into Henry’s life. After you read them, I think you will have a better understanding of how Henry Hill and his family lived and the struggles they overcame.
the establishing shot where they walk into the club is one of the all time great scenes in film. 3 minutes long, one shot all the way from the street to their table.
@@tkopp10976 Modern filmmaking is also full of single take scenes (mostly fake single takes, with hidden cuts), all meaningless and boring. This scese is amazing because it captures the pov of Karen. She's has no time to stop and think, and is dragged into that world w/o really being aware full of it. It happens in one single take, so to speak. As a cinematography technique, a single take make perfect sense for the scene, it's totally meaninful artisticly speaking. Today they do it only to impress, but it's devoid of meaning.
@@TheMule71 Very well put, thank you. But may i add, at the time this scene was filmed, this was an enormous technical effort to set up, and expected the actors to actually be able to act it out, and all the extras to hit their queues perfectly, and the lighting, and make the music match up in the editing, all without fancy digital effects. The scene is over 3 minutes, with the camera going up and downstairs and around multiple corners, with dozens of people standing or moving around, reacting and giving dialogue, while making it feel totally seemingless. Phenomenal.
I haven't seen anyone yet that isn't. I already was aware of it/spoiled by it, before I saw the movie, so I can't claim that my not falling for it, was a win.
First of all, Rest In Peace to the absolute legend, Ray. Second of all, a fun fact for you Nat: The witness protection officer that Henry and Karen speak to about where they’re going to put him is the actual officer who put the real Henry Hill into witness protection.
I remember reading when Ray Liotta first got the phone call that his mother had cancer, it was right before the scene where he walked over to beat the living s**t out of his girlfriend's neighbor guy. He described his reaction to the bad news as more anger than sadness. That's legit rage.
“As far as I back as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster” My favourite movie of All eternity R.I.P Ray Liotta Also some trivia: even the movie is a classic now it actually had a horrible test screening when it was shown people were actually walking out because it was too violent Btw if you were feeling bad for Karen for getting mixed up in this DON’T because she was just as bad as Henry
The reason deniro’s character got into the Billy Batts killing was because in real life, Burke had Batt’s old businesses and when batts got out of prison he wanted his action back, so it benefitted Burke to kill him.
The other movie (from just the year before) that got Ray Liotta noticed was Field of Dreams, where he played Shoeless Joe Jackson. And just in case you think Martin Scorsese movies are all Mafia and violence, try out After Hours (comedy), The Color of Money (drama, sequel to The Hustler, both with Paul Newman), The Age of Innocence (period/costume drama), and The Last Waltz (documentary showing the farewell concert of The Band).
Something Wild was THE film that jump started Liotta's career. It led to him getting both Field of Dreams and this film. Pretty much every review of that film noted Ray's performance whether they liked the film or not.
After Hours is great, it gives me the vibe that I'm seeing something very cool and avant garde that just personally hits my spot, but maybe everybody feels that way about it.
One of my all time favorites. I can watch this movie hundreds of times and never get tired of it. According to the real Henry Hill, the movie was so accurate that they had to take scenes out of the final cut. That’s what he said anyway, I mean I’m not sure how exactly true it all is but, as far as the movie goes, the character of Henry was a lot of things, and was involved in some scary stuff, but he definitely was not a killer. He is always the first one to try and help when someone is hurt. He was so scared for Morrie even though he couldn’t save him in the end, and Poor Spider! Kid had no business being there. God I love the way Natalie watches movies. She just picks up on EVERYTHING. Even if it’s the most subtle thing. I’m such a fan.
the "funny how scene" was improvised by Peschi and Liotta's silence in the scene is him really thinking wtf is going on. and then his response was good so they used this take for the film.
That's completely wrong. It was a story that actually happened to Joe Pesci; he told Scorsese about it, they decided to use it so they improvised it over and over in rehearsal....then set it. There are improvs in "Goodfellas", but what you see on screen during that particular scene is all scripted. It comes OUT of an improv. The END of the scene has some improved lines (often actual improvs are in beginnings or ends of scenes). The coffee pot thing in Stack's apartment is improv'd. De Niro berating everybody for spending too much money is an improv. The Joe Pesci amusement scene is NOT an improvised scene and in fact great care was taken with how it was shot, and who was in the background.
@@TTM9691 did Pesci ever describe who it was that did that to him? Or was there an interview or behind the scenes explanation as to what inspired that scene? I'd be interested in learning the meaning behind it.
@@darkerkyo He was working as a waiter, I believe, and it happened during that time. He never said who it was. It's a story that's been told ten thousand times, look up interview about Goodfellas. It's definitely mentioned in most Ray Liotta interviews. Scorsese has talked about it also. What's the "meaning" behind it? I don't understand what you're looking for. The "meaning" of why the scene is in the movie? I think that's pretty self-evident.
What a classic movie! I like your channel since you cover a wide range of genres. Most channels stick to only action or superhero or animated etc. so the variety keeps it fresh (and also helps you get a wide array of subscribers so nice business decision as well)
In the commentary on the DVD, the narrator (who I think was Nick Pileggi, the author) asked Henry what his reaction to hearing Tommy was whacked. He paused a moment and said "relieved". They were all nervous around Tommy - he was a psycho. Billy Batts was a made guy in the Gambino family (Hill's crew was part of the Lucchesi family). One version of how he met his end is that he was abducted and taken to a basement and killed personally by a young-ish John Gotti - also in the Gambino clan and friends with Batts. The story is that Gotti took his time with him. But, that's just one version.
Yeah and he didn't even give her a script, he was just like "Yeah so Tommy is your son and you haven't seen him in a long time". Even the painting she pulls out is something she actually made and had on her. It's nice to see how genuinely worried she is that "Henry" looks like he isn't eating enough. Like she picked up on how Henry's character was preoccupied knowing nothing about the context.
It's a well made, and entertaining movie about scumbags. I luv your reaction to the line about Karen's father not being able to digest a decent meal in 6 weeks.
Fun fact. Me and a friend walked in front of our favorite movie theater one day and saw Presumed Innocent was playing in room 1. So the next day we came in and asked for tickets for the room 1, because we wanted to see Presumed Innocent. You can only imagine the horror and confusion of two 17 years old when Pesci stabbed that dude in the cars trunk at the start of the movie . But we had a hell of a time and this movie was great!
I think we´re so used to having a hero in every story, so it can be a bit off-putting with a story like this. But I think it´s good to portrait stories without heroes as well. These are a bunch of dysfunctional individuals in a toxic and criminal social structure. It´s everywhere in real life.
Really cute outfit Natalie! Ray Liotta (lee-oh-tah) RIP always brought a great energy to a movie, and I love his narration in Goodfellas. He's just the right mix of wistful nostalgia and proud braggart that sets up the perfectly flat ending of the boring misery his life became. Even in supporting roles like Smoking Aces, Ray stands out among a massive cast. For something a little offbeat and more humorous with Ray - Operation Dumbo Drop
What I find to be interesting about this story is that, in real life, Henry Hill was actually not as enamored with his criminal life as the movie would have us believe. Oh, at first, he saw the attraction. He was trying his best in school, but was hampered with disabilities such as ADHD and Dyslexia, none of which were recognized medical conditions back then. So Henry's teachers simply wrote him off as just being lazy and a troublemaker and, "Okay Henry, you just put your head down in the corner while your classmates are trying to learn". And eventually, it got to the point where Henry was just like, "Well, now wait just a minute. You're demanding that I come to school to get an education and then you won't EDUCATE me? What's THAT about? At least I'm LEARNING something with THESE guys". So yeah, of course Henry was going to throw his lot in with the people he thought he had a legitimate future with. Of course, as he got deeper and deeper into the life, the less and less romantic it became. In fact, what the movie avoids mentioning with the first time skip is that Henry's first arrest as a juvenile scared the bejeezus out of him, to the point where he actually tried to get out. He enlisted with the military, excited at the promise of being offered discipline and structure (and, with any luck, a legitimate trade that he could ply out in the world). Unfortunately, the same disabilities that held him back in school plagued him in the military as well. And since the military is not, itself, free of criminal elements, Henry fell back in with like-minded people who became a bad influence on him and eventually led to his discharge. Once again, Henry was left with no education, no job, and no prospects for one. So back to his old crew he went. Even then, Henry was still holding out hope that he wouldn't have to be a gangster forever. After the Air France robbery, Henry took his cut of the take and used it to open up his own bar, again, in an attempt to get out of the life. And it probably would have worked...if he'd left town. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before members of his crew found out where he was and basically turned his club into their new hangout. And what was Henry going to do...say, "No" to these guys? While the famous, "How am I funny?" scene was ad-libbed from a real-life experience Joe Pesci once had, what that scene also does is reveal how Henry truly felt about his so-called "friends"...that they basically scared him absolutely SHITLESS. Oh, they were all a barrel of laughs to hang around with...when they were in a good mood. But Tommy wasn't the only mad-dog psychopath in the crew who'd just as soon stab you in the throat as look at you. According to Henry, they were ALL like that...even Paulie, who the movie plays up as Henry's surrogate father figure. So as much as he didn't want to be around them them anymore, Henry wasn't about to cross any of them. The Billy Batts murder was a prime example of that. While the altercation between Batts and Tommy was a real thing that happened, it had actually taken place a couple of weeks before his death in another location. But apparently, there was more to it than that. While Batts was serving time in prison, Jimmy had conquered and pillaged his loan-sharking operations. Now that Batts was out, he wanted those rackets back. And because Batts was a made guy, Jimmy was, quite frankly, EXPECTED to just hand it all back to him and thank him for the privilege. So Jimmy really, Really, REALLY wanted Batts out of the picture. And Tommy, who was still hot over their earlier dust-up, weeks prior, really, Really, REALLY wanted to help him do it. Fast-forward to the Billy Batts murder and basically, any fleeting hope Henry MIGHT have had at living a normal life died with him. While Henry didn't participate in the murder, he didn't try to stop it, either. And he DID help to dispose of the body. So with this hanging over his head, Henry knew there was nothing he could do, because Jimmy and Tommy pretty much OWNED him after that. The rest, as they say, is history...and not a history that Henry was particularly fond of.
The art of the compelling yet unlikeable protagonist feels like it's been lost to time. But Goodfellas, being iconic as it is, hopefully demonstrates how well it can be done.
The funniest part of the movie is at the end Henry calls himself a nobody and a shnook. After all the killing and the stealing, the prison sentence, the drugs, his friends leaving him out in the cold and some even trying to kill him, he still idolized the mafia lifestyle. After all that he learned NOTHING.
Thanks for reacting to this one! Every actor in it is amazing! (RIP Ray Liotta) There were even a few actors from this that would later be in the show The Sopranos! If you could, please react to Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World(2003). It’s an extremely underappreciated, awesome Age of Sail movie(unfortunately it came out immediately after the first Pirates, so not enough people saw M&C). Thanks and enjoy!
Never have you sounded more like a person from NY than when reacting to this movie 😂 Upstate or not. It's hard to watch this movie with all those distinctive accents without it rubbing off. But I appreciate how quickly and naturally it seemed to come to you😁
I remember when I was a teenager seeing those Maury's wigs commercials on TV. I also remember when he was found dead reported on the news. I remember when Henry Hill would go on the Howard Stern Show and brag about how the Mob would never get him. In the end he was right they never did. He hated witness protection so much he left it and stopped hiding.
An interesting bit they left out of the movie; irl around the time young Henry first got arrested, he tried to distance himself from the mob by joining the US Army and became a paratrooper. ...But even in the army Henry was still acting like a gangster; loan sharking his fellow soldiers, committing petty crimes and actually got dishonorably discharged for stealing a cop car. And thus went back to the mob lol.
I laughed so hard when you said “well he is Irish”, as someone with an Irish father I’d be up the stairs in like 3 steps when I was a kid and my dad said “letter from school here” 🤣🤣
Natalie, you've seen "Cape Fear"? Can you believe there's not a single reaction for that movie, yet?! Please: tell your reactor friends: have no fear of "Cape Fear"! Reaction channel gold! (no pun intended!) A huge movie of the 90s, completely inexplicable why there's no reaction to it yet!
Great movie. The Irish American gangster movie 'State Of Grace' came out the same year, I think...also worth a look - It had a great cast - Gary Oldman, Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Robin Wright, John C. Reilly.
Underrated Gangster film.. Hell's kitchen.. all star cast and a Ennio Morricone score.. didn't get the publicity it deserved.. guessing because of the distributor and had some production problems..
That was interesting. I remember watching this years ago and not the liking characters, which is probably why I never owned it on DVD. Makes me realise how important empathy is in films I love. Thanks.
First of course RIP Ray Liotta. He killed this role. This is my favorite gangster film of all time. It just has everything in it and Martin Scorsese directed the hell out of this. I really hope you do Field of Dreams. For me that’s the best role Ray Liotta ever did. He was phenomenal. Great reaction and commentary as always.
10:53: "Cause Italians and Jews aren't all that different." Heh! Short story time: I'm half Italian from NYC (mom came off the boat when she was a little kid) and a Jewish girlfriend I had used to have a joke she told about how there were only 3 real differences between Italians and Jews living in New York. 1) Circumcision. 2) The Catholic Church. 3) The way Jewish and Italian mothers react to things. The Jewish mom gets disappointing news about their kid and goes "Oh, you're killing me, you're killing me!" The Italian mom gets that news and responds with "I'm going to kill you!"
Gotta say, this is one of my all time favorite movies of this genre. Scorsese just knocked it outta the park with this one. If you are interested in more movies like this, give "A Bronx Tale" a shot. Not a Scorsese film, but directed by and stars De Niro (his directorial debut actually). Not many people in my circle had seen this one and end up loving it once they get to it.
If you are ever in the mood for another movie set around Italians in NYC in the mid-1900s that has DeNiro in a role opposite what you're used to, I'd love to see you react to the movie A Bronx Tale.
What surprised me most is that the film is so much like the book. It's like they filmed it scene for scene.Regardless of Hill's fantasy or truth, Scorsese constructed an incredible film that still holds up 30 years later. I remember rushing to the video shop as a child to bring it home for my father to watch. Regardless of any film, he always said what a load of rubbish as a joke. He didn't say it about this film and three decades later, it stands up.
Hi Natalie, I started watching you when we were in lockdown and love your channel. I’m a proud “Golden Ghram.” This is one of my favorite movies. I was an usher at a movie theater when it came out and was drawn into watching it. The “Do you think I’m funny scene” was used by Scorsese to show how unpredictable mob life is, at any given moment, you could be easily killed. Take Spider for instance, he was serving drinks to these guys and got killed, according to his sister, they never found his body. Pauly wasn’t as likable in real life, he had an affair with Karen when Henry was locked up. The federal agent at the end who puts Henry and Karen into Witness Protection was the actual guy that did that to the real life Henry and Karen. Jimmy died not too long ago and so did Henry. The only reason why the mob never took revenge on Henry, was because most of the guys he knew were already dead.
Your reaction to the classic Joe Pesci scene is one of the best! Hey: with Scorsese, it's the De Niro stuff that's WAY more essential than the De Caprio stuff. By all means hit those as well, but wait until you see "The King Of Comedy". And "Raging Bull" and "Taxi Driver". Scorsese's movie "After Hours" is right up your alley, one of the best movies of the 80s (and not a mob movie at all). Not all his movies are mob films, or violent, or even male heavy. "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" is about a mother and a son; "The Age Of Innocence" is a romantic period piece (late 1800s). "The King Of Comedy" is a fantastic satire, De Niro is amazing. "After Hours" is a wild 1980s NYC at night flick with lots of great female performances (Roseanne Arquette, Teri Garr, Catherine O'Hara). Definitely recommending "King Of Comedy" and "After Hours", those are the two I'm most interested in your reactions to!
I love the fact that Natalie started with sweet tone in the start of the video and ended with “yo bro” “dudddeeee” tone due to the influence of the film.
This is my favorite movie! It definitely got robbed of the Best Picture win. But I’m so glad Joe Pesci got his award! I love this movie so much! Thank you for doing it!
Scorsese is my all-time favourite director. He's a master, with about a dozen absolutely awesome films... I'd highly recommend digging deeper into his catalogue.
My wife's grandparents were Sicilian and owned a grocery store in a then-Sicilian part of New Orleans. She said that growing up was like living movies like "Goodfellas" and the "Godfather" series.
I've watched this with different women over my life, sister, mum, friends, girlfriends, my wife, and without fail every single one of them is on board and finding it enjoyable; through the stabbing of a guy in a trunk and the numerous other crimes commited all the way up until Henry cheats on his wife. That is just a step too far for them haha.
the factoid i tell my friends when they get mad at the oscars is that ray liotta wasn't even nominated for this performance, which is maybe the best performance ever where the lead character has to do everything while doing EVERYTHING. he's hilarious and scary and the scene where Pauly turns his back is like, the best acting ever.
We know they suck. But did you enjoy the film despite that? The acting? The shots? The directing? That's what I wanna know. I don't really care that they sucked which was a given. You can enjoy characters that "suck". I wouldn't wanna be these characters but I enjoyed them for what they are.
This movie is incredible, there is really no "hero" of the movie and it shows a raw look at inside the mob life plus their personal relationships. The cast, script, story, and director make it one of the best movies ever made
Fun Fact: One of the gangsters that Henry name-drops, Michael Franzese, not only saved the real Henry Hill's life on three separate occasions (he only remembers two, but Henry is adamant that there was a third time), but eventually left the life himself and is now a motivational speaker and UA-camr.
The real life Henry Hill was able to get out of witness protection when this movie came out. He became so popular & Gangsters appreciated the movie & nobody wanted to kill him anymore. He died in 2012
My understanding is Jimmy had real life Janice wacked while Henry was in prison to keep from there being trouble with Karen. Also she knew too much to just be... let go.
I'm glad you liked it, it's my favourite one, and it took an important place in my life, because I wanted to be free as Jimmy the gent and so I did a lot of dumb stuff, ended in prison, and now I'm a schmuck like henry says at the end. I'm glad and happy in my new life, but sometimes... It just feel weird, and this movie never misses the soft spot in my head. Greetings from France (Paris!!)
THANK YOU! More movies for grown-ups please, I don't care if they're happy, sad, peaceful, violent, just tip the balance somewhere more evenly between them and the kids stuff!
@@josephwallace202 yeah but we're in the minority sadly, most people are sheep and they want that huge franchise cgi brainless bullshit, they dont really want to feel anything real, they just want to zone out and remain in a stupor induced by all their comfort addictions, they want to dress up with the other sheep and go to Barbie and pretend its real cinema
35:26 Fun fact per Wikipedia: Former EDNY prosecutor Edward McDonald appeared in the film as himself, re-creating the conversation he had with Henry and Karen Hill about joining the Witness Protection Program.
@@gabrielidusogie9189 The other guy was being rude to you, so I will actually explain politely. You can get better at picking up subtle details in movies by training yourself to look at the background while characters are talking. Normally, your eye is drawn to the center of the frame where the speaking characters are. By looking at the background, while still paying attention to ehri words, you can notice things you may otherwise miss.
A Snub Nose 38 Special is massively underrated. It's solid, it has weight. Pistol whipping someone, it's like brass knuckles. A modern semi automatic with the plastic Polymer just doesn't have the same effect👍
Another REALLY good one is Casino. It feels like it is a relative of this film. But Liotta is not in it, instead it is Sharon Stone. It is a true story based on the mafia folks running a Casino in the heyday of the mob. Not a popular opinion but I actually like it a bit more than Goodfellas. I love the opulence and gaudiness that goes along with not only the era but of Las Vegas.
Nat, if you like movies where actors play roles that are far outside of their comfort zone I suggest the movie "Mad Dog and Glory", it's a mafia-esque movie where Bill Murray plays a ruthless mafia boss while Robert DeNiro plays a cowardly regular joe who crosses his path. It's one of the best films I've ever seen and it's one of the first films where a comedian plays a monster while a tough mobster actor plays a victim. You will appreciate Bill and Robert even more after you watch the movie.
The scenes at Joe Pesci's mother's house were filmed at a house on 241st Street in Bellerose, NY. I was a teenager living in Bellerose at the time. My friend lived in a house on 240th Street right behind and one house over from the house they were filming in. We were making so much noise that Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci and some of the crew came by and bribed us with a couple cases of beer to keep quiet! They hung out with us for like a half hour! Nice people. GREAT film! :D
Rest in piece Ray Liotta. He was an amazing actor and will always remember him in this movie.......and also GTA vice city 💙
he scared the shit out of me as a kid, just his face an this movie say "bad"
"and im personally gonna deliver the dicks of those who robbed us!!!!'
Tommy Vercetti was a bad ass
@@anon17472 he sure was.
A-TOP Same here and Vice City is one of my favorite videogames =)
1. The Billy Batts murder was 95% real. The only difference was that the welcome home party and the 'shine box' remark happened at a different joint a few weeks prior to the murder.
2. The murder of Spider was real.
3. RIP Ray Liotta!!
I just recently read somewhere that the Billy Batts thing happened because Tommy & crew had taken over a profitable operation while Billy was in jail, and when he got out, he wanted it back, but Tommy didn't want to give it back to him. And also that there is a distinct possibility that it was John Gotti who killed Tommy.
@@PhilBagels Very true. It was a bookie operation that the guy De Niro played took over while Batts was inside. You can hear Jimmy and Batts talking about it right before Tommy ambushed Batts. And Gotti and Batts were close friends, so it makes sense
Also the gun in real broke in his hand while beating bats not on the floor like in the movie
Yep. And it was Jimmy's club where it happened.
Well it had nothing to do with the joke it was cause Billy was telling Jimmy that he wanted his points back cause when he went away he gave his numbers racket to Jimmy but Jimmy lowkey kinda took over Billy’s crew and the guys like Tommy didn’t really even like Billy that’s the real reason Billy had to go
I remember I did the ‘funny how?’ bit at a female friend’s birthday dinner once. Her husband immediately knew what I was doing and played at talking me down at first. It was hilarious, because all of the women at the table thought I was serious and all the guys were looking away, trying not to laugh; the’d all seen this and their dates hadn’t. I don’t think any of the women were happy with any of us guys, but it was worth the joke.
Sadly clearly none of them watched Animaniacs either...
That should have been an awesome scene, I bet the guys were laughing like madmen in the aftermath
@@RotGolem oh it was a riot.
Did you do it to someone that didn't know the bit or someone that did and just played along.
😂😂😂😂😂😂
That everyone sucks is one of the best things about this movie. It feels so genuine (whether it actually is or not) because it's not trying to pander to standard expectations, like that there should be a hero or even a singular protagonist. I like the sort of slow disintegration of everything that we get here. It's a phenomenal movie.
Yes, everyone also sucks in Pulp Fiction and its a great movie as well
It feels genuine because Henry Hill was a real person. The Lufthansa Heist is an interesting event to read about.
Lots of characters in Pulp Fiction have redeeming qualities, Jules being the prime example. In Goodfellas there is none of that whatsoever, only deconstruction
It's a lean, mean black comedy. We don't gotta empathize with these people.
In his more dramatic films, MS can make us care deeply about characters we might not usually care about. That's just not necessary here--- and so oddly enough, over time, this has become Scorsese's most popular film. As with punk rock (a big influence on Martin Scorsese), the everyone-sucks element doesn't make it any less entertaining.
@Move_I_Got_This If you like/prefer. :) There is certainly crime in it. But pound for pound, it makes me *laugh* much more than it delivers seriousness--- as compared to "Casino," of which I would say the opposite.
Natalie is the only reactor I've seen OUTRAGED at the mistreatment of the noble mailman 🤣
I always felt the worst for him and Janice's bosses. Most of everyone else who gets brutalized is in the game or they're genuine dicks like the neighbor. Spider and Morrie didn't deserve their fates but they hung around in gangster circles. The mailman and Janice's boss are just normal people terrorized for doing their non-mafia related job that somehow crosses their path that day and that's terrifying.
Didn’t you hear Paulie Walnuts? He’s a scumbag!
To be fair, the overall perspective of the film is that the characters were wrong to beat up the mailman.
Yet, she was a great sport about "A Jew broad prejudiced against Italians" line. I appreciate her sense of morality in this reaction, but she also rolls with the punches.
Bitches be bitchin
One of the many reasons Scorcese movies have a style of their own is the editing of Thelma Schoonmaker. Easily one of the greatest and most innovative editors in film history. She makes up a lot of the pulse of Scorcese's movies.
Her and Marty have been a director/editor dream team since the '70s.
My favorite scene in the movie is when we meet Tommy's mom, who's actually played by Martin Scorsese's mom.
The whole scene her lines are improv and she didn't have the script, so we're basically getting her genuine reaction to how the characters are acting out of context.
Her having one of her paintings around and picking up on how "Henry" seems to be troubled about something are just so wholesome.
And the old fella making the sauce in jail was Martin Scorsese's dad.
He's also in the scene when Tommy is "made" and on the phone telling Jimmy he (Tommy) is gone.
best part is that Scorsese then used his parents again in Casino.
Nice, she was super sweet. Reminds me of how Coppola had his father play piano and also wrote the music for that scene in the Godfather, and of course his sister had a significant role in the film as well.
@@redmustangredmustang His parents are in almost every one of his films. You have to look but: Taxi Driver: Casino: Cape Fear: King of Comedy (The mothers voice) Color of Money; Meanstreets; Raging Bull
“They’re gonna make him”
Natalie-“ Make him what?”
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
RIP Ray Liotta. 1954-2022. He was one hell of a Goodfella.
RIP Tommy Vercetti
One of the bestfellas.
yeah, he portrayed a "rat" to a "t"...
also rip tony siricco. 5:40 the mobster in blue
@@feldspardelta21 Also RIP Paulie
What's really interesting about this film is that its pretty accurate to what happened Henry Hill was a real person and so were a lot of people in that were portrayed. There was even a character that was only mentioned once Mikey Franzese who is still alive today and even runs a UA-cam channel talking about life in the mob and even reviewing mob movies.
This is one of my all-time favorites. The "How am I funny?" exchange was based on an event from Joe Pesci's youth. He worked in a restaurant, and once told a local gangster he was funny, and the gangster got pissed.
Had no idea about that. That's cool.
@@dudedysseus What do you mean, cool?
@@JackRabbitSlim Just, like . . . the way he tells the story . . .
@@dudedysseus Cool how? I mean, what's cool about it?
Another fun fact, the guy Joe Pesci's character was based on, Thomas DeSimone, was actually a beast of a man at around 6'2" and 210 lbs. MUCH more intimidating physically then the 5'4", 130 lb. Joe Pesci and yet Joe was just as terrifying as his real life counterpart. A true testament to the man's acting chops.
Paulie was right, drugs really messed up their whole lifestyle, the paranoia, distrust, greed and constant lies ruined them.
The war on drugs made it too dangerous.
A big part of the problem was the bosses greed. Whenever someone made money, the boss, capo and others demanded a huge cut, making the take of the person actually doing the crime small. They couldn't make good money with regular crimes, so they turned to drug running. The bosses greed actually forced people to run drugs to make money.
Little piece of film trivia, the agent they talk to about going into Witness Protection is the actual FBI agent that the real Henry Hill worked with when he turned himself in.
That's Ed MacDonald, he was a federal prosecutor, who prosecuted Henry's case where he confessed.
He was not an FBI agent.
It is fascinating watching someone first time watch a film i've seen way over 100 times.
This is by far the best movie you've covered so far, Natalie.
Scorsese classic! His film, Casino, from a few years later is like the older sibling piece to Goodfellas. Some of the same actors, and a largely similar vibe, albeit a very different story.
I was going to recommend Casino as a follow up to Goodfellas as well; phenomenal companion film.
Joe Pesci's character is pretty much identical though.
Casino is worth watching, but definitely not on the same level as Goodfellas.
Better than Goodfellas IMO
"a Bronx Tale" was another movie that was well made and had a good cast.
12:38 the fact you skipped over one of the most iconic long shots in cinema history makes me sad, but its ok cause your reactions are always top tier!! So glad your channel is exploding in popularity!! Keep going!
I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt sad that she didn't say a word about the long take
I've read and heard in interviews that Scorsese wanted the 'gangster lifestyle' to be the protagonist in the film, not any specific character. Part of his motivation was to make a gangster film that didn't glorify any aspect of it, or have a 'flawed hero' character. It's a modern tragedy.
Or a postmodern tragedy
Except it did have a tragic/flawed hero aspect of it. It just was more realistic/less naive.
@@davewolf6256 Bullshit, Goodfellas is not postmodern.
What makes it postmodern?
I highly recommend that you read both Wiseguys and On the Run: A Mafia Childhood, by Hill’s son and daughter. Both books give a lot more detail into Henry’s life. After you read them, I think you will have a better understanding of how Henry Hill and his family lived and the struggles they overcame.
the establishing shot where they walk into the club is one of the all time great scenes in film. 3 minutes long, one shot all the way from the street to their table.
And later we get like 18 cuts of Liam Neeson jumping over a fence... the hell happened to film making?
@@tkopp10976 Modern filmmaking is also full of single take scenes (mostly fake single takes, with hidden cuts), all meaningless and boring.
This scese is amazing because it captures the pov of Karen. She's has no time to stop and think, and is dragged into that world w/o really being aware full of it. It happens in one single take, so to speak.
As a cinematography technique, a single take make perfect sense for the scene, it's totally meaninful artisticly speaking. Today they do it only to impress, but it's devoid of meaning.
@@TheMule71 Very well put, thank you. But may i add, at the time this scene was filmed, this was an enormous technical effort to set up, and expected the actors to actually be able to act it out, and all the extras to hit their queues perfectly, and the lighting, and make the music match up in the editing, all without fancy digital effects.
The scene is over 3 minutes, with the camera going up and downstairs and around multiple corners, with dozens of people standing or moving around, reacting and giving dialogue, while making it feel totally seemingless. Phenomenal.
It's always great to watch the uncomfortable reactions to Tommy's "Funny how?" while he drags Henry along. Just an iconic scene.
And, Natalie is immediately sucked in by the "I'm funny how" routine! 😁
Animaniacs ruined it for me.
@@christopherb501 Bruh! 😂😂😂😂
@@christopherb501 Do not disrespect the Goodfeathers. lol
I haven't seen anyone yet that isn't. I already was aware of it/spoiled by it, before I saw the movie, so I can't claim that my not falling for it, was a win.
First of all, Rest In Peace to the absolute legend, Ray.
Second of all, a fun fact for you Nat:
The witness protection officer that Henry and Karen speak to about where they’re going to put him is the actual officer who put the real Henry Hill into witness protection.
Fun Fact: Joe Pesci won Best supporting actor in this film.
And he gave a fantastic speech. Just shows how humble he is and how great of an actor he is
He’s a funny guy that’s for sure
And all the people that knew the real Tommy said that Pesci was *perfect* and the only thing "off" was that he was about a foot shorter.
Supporting? Supporting how? How was he supporting?
I remember reading when Ray Liotta first got the phone call that his mother had cancer, it was right before the scene where he walked over to beat the living s**t out of his girlfriend's neighbor guy. He described his reaction to the bad news as more anger than sadness. That's legit rage.
“As far as I back as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster”
My favourite movie of All eternity
R.I.P Ray Liotta
Also some trivia: even the movie is a classic now it actually had a horrible test screening when it was shown people were actually walking out because it was too violent
Btw if you were feeling bad for Karen for getting mixed up in this DON’T because she was just as bad as Henry
The slap by Pauline to Henry was improvised so that was ray’s genuine reaction
The real Henry Hill died of a heart attack in 2012 at the age of 69 due to years of alcohol and drug addiction.
The reason deniro’s character got into the Billy Batts killing was because in real life, Burke had Batt’s old businesses and when batts got out of prison he wanted his action back, so it benefitted Burke to kill him.
Rest in peace Ray Liotta. 💔
"He's was a goodfell. He was one of us."
My mother worked near the diner in Queens where DeNiro knocks over the phone booth and actually watched the scene being filmed.
The other movie (from just the year before) that got Ray Liotta noticed was Field of Dreams, where he played Shoeless Joe Jackson.
And just in case you think Martin Scorsese movies are all Mafia and violence, try out After Hours (comedy), The Color of Money (drama, sequel to The Hustler, both with Paul Newman), The Age of Innocence (period/costume drama), and The Last Waltz (documentary showing the farewell concert of The Band).
Something Wild was THE film that jump started Liotta's career. It led to him getting both Field of Dreams and this film. Pretty much every review of that film noted Ray's performance whether they liked the film or not.
After Hours is great, it gives me the vibe that I'm seeing something very cool and avant garde that just personally hits my spot, but maybe everybody feels that way about it.
One of my all time favorites. I can watch this movie hundreds of times and never get tired of it. According to the real Henry Hill, the movie was so accurate that they had to take scenes out of the final cut. That’s what he said anyway, I mean I’m not sure how exactly true it all is but, as far as the movie goes, the character of Henry was a lot of things, and was involved in some scary stuff, but he definitely was not a killer. He is always the first one to try and help when someone is hurt. He was so scared for Morrie even though he couldn’t save him in the end, and Poor Spider! Kid had no business being there.
God I love the way Natalie watches movies. She just picks up on EVERYTHING. Even if it’s the most subtle thing. I’m such a fan.
the "funny how scene" was improvised by Peschi and Liotta's silence in the scene is him really thinking wtf is going on. and then his response was good so they used this take for the film.
That's completely wrong. It was a story that actually happened to Joe Pesci; he told Scorsese about it, they decided to use it so they improvised it over and over in rehearsal....then set it. There are improvs in "Goodfellas", but what you see on screen during that particular scene is all scripted. It comes OUT of an improv. The END of the scene has some improved lines (often actual improvs are in beginnings or ends of scenes). The coffee pot thing in Stack's apartment is improv'd. De Niro berating everybody for spending too much money is an improv. The Joe Pesci amusement scene is NOT an improvised scene and in fact great care was taken with how it was shot, and who was in the background.
@@TTM9691 Thank you, so knowledgeable.
@@TTM9691 did Pesci ever describe who it was that did that to him? Or was there an interview or behind the scenes explanation as to what inspired that scene? I'd be interested in learning the meaning behind it.
@@darkerkyo He was working as a waiter, I believe, and it happened during that time. He never said who it was. It's a story that's been told ten thousand times, look up interview about Goodfellas. It's definitely mentioned in most Ray Liotta interviews. Scorsese has talked about it also. What's the "meaning" behind it? I don't understand what you're looking for. The "meaning" of why the scene is in the movie? I think that's pretty self-evident.
Lorraine Bracco is so good as Karen in this. When she tells Henry "I just got scared" she sounds terrified, relieved, embarrassed all at the same time
What a classic movie! I like your channel since you cover a wide range of genres. Most channels stick to only action or superhero or animated etc. so the variety keeps it fresh (and also helps you get a wide array of subscribers so nice business decision as well)
In the commentary on the DVD, the narrator (who I think was Nick Pileggi, the author) asked Henry what his reaction to hearing Tommy was whacked. He paused a moment and said "relieved". They were all nervous around Tommy - he was a psycho. Billy Batts was a made guy in the Gambino family (Hill's crew was part of the Lucchesi family). One version of how he met his end is that he was abducted and taken to a basement and killed personally by a young-ish John Gotti - also in the Gambino clan and friends with Batts. The story is that Gotti took his time with him. But, that's just one version.
Another fun fact: Tommy's mom was played by Martin Scorsese's real life mom.
Yeah and he didn't even give her a script, he was just like "Yeah so Tommy is your son and you haven't seen him in a long time". Even the painting she pulls out is something she actually made and had on her.
It's nice to see how genuinely worried she is that "Henry" looks like he isn't eating enough. Like she picked up on how Henry's character was preoccupied knowing nothing about the context.
And Martin Scorsese's dad plays the guy who makes the tomato sauce in prison and later helps with Tommy's execution
It's a well made, and entertaining movie about scumbags.
I luv your reaction to the line about Karen's father not
being able to digest a decent meal in 6 weeks.
Fun fact. Me and a friend walked in front of our favorite movie theater one day and saw Presumed Innocent was playing in room 1. So the next day we came in and asked for tickets for the room 1, because we wanted to see Presumed Innocent. You can only imagine the horror and confusion of two 17 years old when Pesci stabbed that dude in the cars trunk at the start of the movie . But we had a hell of a time and this movie was great!
I think we´re so used to having a hero in every story, so it can be a bit off-putting with a story like this. But I think it´s good to portrait stories without heroes as well. These are a bunch of dysfunctional individuals in a toxic and criminal social structure. It´s everywhere in real life.
Really cute outfit Natalie!
Ray Liotta (lee-oh-tah) RIP always brought a great energy to a movie, and I love his narration in Goodfellas. He's just the right mix of wistful nostalgia and proud braggart that sets up the perfectly flat ending of the boring misery his life became.
Even in supporting roles like Smoking Aces, Ray stands out among a massive cast. For something a little offbeat and more humorous with Ray - Operation Dumbo Drop
What I find to be interesting about this story is that, in real life, Henry Hill was actually not as enamored with his criminal life as the movie would have us believe. Oh, at first, he saw the attraction. He was trying his best in school, but was hampered with disabilities such as ADHD and Dyslexia, none of which were recognized medical conditions back then. So Henry's teachers simply wrote him off as just being lazy and a troublemaker and, "Okay Henry, you just put your head down in the corner while your classmates are trying to learn". And eventually, it got to the point where Henry was just like, "Well, now wait just a minute. You're demanding that I come to school to get an education and then you won't EDUCATE me? What's THAT about? At least I'm LEARNING something with THESE guys". So yeah, of course Henry was going to throw his lot in with the people he thought he had a legitimate future with.
Of course, as he got deeper and deeper into the life, the less and less romantic it became. In fact, what the movie avoids mentioning with the first time skip is that Henry's first arrest as a juvenile scared the bejeezus out of him, to the point where he actually tried to get out. He enlisted with the military, excited at the promise of being offered discipline and structure (and, with any luck, a legitimate trade that he could ply out in the world). Unfortunately, the same disabilities that held him back in school plagued him in the military as well. And since the military is not, itself, free of criminal elements, Henry fell back in with like-minded people who became a bad influence on him and eventually led to his discharge. Once again, Henry was left with no education, no job, and no prospects for one. So back to his old crew he went.
Even then, Henry was still holding out hope that he wouldn't have to be a gangster forever. After the Air France robbery, Henry took his cut of the take and used it to open up his own bar, again, in an attempt to get out of the life. And it probably would have worked...if he'd left town. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before members of his crew found out where he was and basically turned his club into their new hangout. And what was Henry going to do...say, "No" to these guys? While the famous, "How am I funny?" scene was ad-libbed from a real-life experience Joe Pesci once had, what that scene also does is reveal how Henry truly felt about his so-called "friends"...that they basically scared him absolutely SHITLESS. Oh, they were all a barrel of laughs to hang around with...when they were in a good mood. But Tommy wasn't the only mad-dog psychopath in the crew who'd just as soon stab you in the throat as look at you. According to Henry, they were ALL like that...even Paulie, who the movie plays up as Henry's surrogate father figure. So as much as he didn't want to be around them them anymore, Henry wasn't about to cross any of them.
The Billy Batts murder was a prime example of that. While the altercation between Batts and Tommy was a real thing that happened, it had actually taken place a couple of weeks before his death in another location. But apparently, there was more to it than that. While Batts was serving time in prison, Jimmy had conquered and pillaged his loan-sharking operations. Now that Batts was out, he wanted those rackets back. And because Batts was a made guy, Jimmy was, quite frankly, EXPECTED to just hand it all back to him and thank him for the privilege. So Jimmy really, Really, REALLY wanted Batts out of the picture. And Tommy, who was still hot over their earlier dust-up, weeks prior, really, Really, REALLY wanted to help him do it.
Fast-forward to the Billy Batts murder and basically, any fleeting hope Henry MIGHT have had at living a normal life died with him. While Henry didn't participate in the murder, he didn't try to stop it, either. And he DID help to dispose of the body. So with this hanging over his head, Henry knew there was nothing he could do, because Jimmy and Tommy pretty much OWNED him after that. The rest, as they say, is history...and not a history that Henry was particularly fond of.
"Karen went to Paulie, interesting..."
And the real-life Karen then had an affair with Paulie for years after.
I don't blame her. Paulie seems like a straight shooter, all things considered
Love people watching this and are like "I can't believe these hardened criminals are so VIOLENT!"
The art of the compelling yet unlikeable protagonist feels like it's been lost to time. But Goodfellas, being iconic as it is, hopefully demonstrates how well it can be done.
The funniest part of the movie is at the end Henry calls himself a nobody and a shnook. After all the killing and the stealing, the prison sentence, the drugs, his friends leaving him out in the cold and some even trying to kill him, he still idolized the mafia lifestyle. After all that he learned NOTHING.
Thanks for reacting to this one! Every actor in it is amazing! (RIP Ray Liotta) There were even a few actors from this that would later be in the show The Sopranos! If you could, please react to Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World(2003). It’s an extremely underappreciated, awesome Age of Sail movie(unfortunately it came out immediately after the first Pirates, so not enough people saw M&C). Thanks and enjoy!
Never have you sounded more like a person from NY than when reacting to this movie 😂 Upstate or not. It's hard to watch this movie with all those distinctive accents without it rubbing off. But I appreciate how quickly and naturally it seemed to come to you😁
Yeah i definitely heard it @29:12
Tommy-"I wonder about you Henry, you may fold under questioning". No 'may' about it.
I remember when I was a teenager seeing those Maury's wigs commercials on TV. I also remember when he was found dead reported on the news. I remember when Henry Hill would go on the Howard Stern Show and brag about how the Mob would never get him. In the end he was right they never did. He hated witness protection so much he left it and stopped hiding.
I was so shocked by the opener in this movie I hated it first view. But on the second view I realized what a spectacular movie it was.
An interesting bit they left out of the movie; irl around the time young Henry first got arrested, he tried to distance himself from the mob by joining the US Army and became a paratrooper.
...But even in the army Henry was still acting like a gangster; loan sharking his fellow soldiers, committing petty crimes and actually got dishonorably discharged for stealing a cop car. And thus went back to the mob lol.
I laughed so hard when you said “well he is Irish”, as someone with an Irish father I’d be up the stairs in like 3 steps when I was a kid and my dad said “letter from school here” 🤣🤣
"I have trouble when all the characters are horrible" - I'd avoid Succession if I were you !
Natalie, you've seen "Cape Fear"? Can you believe there's not a single reaction for that movie, yet?! Please: tell your reactor friends: have no fear of "Cape Fear"! Reaction channel gold! (no pun intended!) A huge movie of the 90s, completely inexplicable why there's no reaction to it yet!
The scariest part about this movie is imagining that no less than 85% of it actually happened.
And in the case of much of the other 15%, something even worse happened in real life.
Another great reaction! I have never considered that take on Janice Rossi before. I think you're 100 percent correct.
Great movie. The Irish American gangster movie 'State Of Grace' came out the same year, I think...also worth a look - It had a great cast - Gary Oldman, Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Robin Wright, John C. Reilly.
Underrated Gangster film.. Hell's kitchen.. all star cast and a Ennio Morricone score.. didn't get the publicity it deserved.. guessing because of the distributor and had some production problems..
That was interesting. I remember watching this years ago and not the liking characters, which is probably why I never owned it on DVD. Makes me realise how important empathy is in films I love. Thanks.
First of course RIP Ray Liotta. He killed this role. This is my favorite gangster film of all time. It just has everything in it and Martin Scorsese directed the hell out of this. I really hope you do Field of Dreams. For me that’s the best role Ray Liotta ever did. He was phenomenal. Great reaction and commentary as always.
Definitely recommend checking out Casino, it's kind of like a counterpart to this film
10:53: "Cause Italians and Jews aren't all that different." Heh! Short story time: I'm half Italian from NYC (mom came off the boat when she was a little kid) and a Jewish girlfriend I had used to have a joke she told about how there were only 3 real differences between Italians and Jews living in New York.
1) Circumcision.
2) The Catholic Church.
3) The way Jewish and Italian mothers react to things. The Jewish mom gets disappointing news about their kid and goes "Oh, you're killing me, you're killing me!" The Italian mom gets that news and responds with "I'm going to kill you!"
Wait so italian americans aren't circumcised?
@@leob4403why would they
@@triv4492 what about 2nd generation Italian american?
@@leob4403 I mean why would anyone? Nobody does that in Europe
@@triv4492 I'm also European, but it doesn't really make sense that Italian Americans don't circumcise? I think most Americans circumcise
nat > ray narration ... she damn near predicted it all
awesome watch
keep em coming !
Gotta say, this is one of my all time favorite movies of this genre. Scorsese just knocked it outta the park with this one. If you are interested in more movies like this, give "A Bronx Tale" a shot. Not a Scorsese film, but directed by and stars De Niro (his directorial debut actually). Not many people in my circle had seen this one and end up loving it once they get to it.
If you are ever in the mood for another movie set around Italians in NYC in the mid-1900s that has DeNiro in a role opposite what you're used to, I'd love to see you react to the movie A Bronx Tale.
Excellent choice! One of the best movies of all time by a master of the genre.
What surprised me most is that the film is so much like the book. It's like they filmed it scene for scene.Regardless of Hill's fantasy or truth, Scorsese constructed an incredible film that still holds up 30 years later. I remember rushing to the video shop as a child to bring it home for my father to watch. Regardless of any film, he always said what a load of rubbish as a joke. He didn't say it about this film and three decades later, it stands up.
Anybody else think Natalie looked extra pretty in this video? Also have you reacted to Casino or Scarface?
she looked amazing, an awesome dress also.
Hi Natalie, I started watching you when we were in lockdown and love your channel. I’m a proud “Golden Ghram.”
This is one of my favorite movies. I was an usher at a movie theater when it came out and was drawn into watching it.
The “Do you think I’m funny scene” was used by Scorsese to show how unpredictable mob life is, at any given moment, you could be easily killed. Take Spider for instance, he was serving drinks to these guys and got killed, according to his sister, they never found his body.
Pauly wasn’t as likable in real life, he had an affair with Karen when Henry was locked up.
The federal agent at the end who puts Henry and Karen into Witness Protection was the actual guy that did that to the real life Henry and Karen.
Jimmy died not too long ago and so did Henry. The only reason why the mob never took revenge on Henry, was because most of the guys he knew were already dead.
Super film and class reaction 👌 as always.
Looking good Nat.
Absolutely love when you are laughing in the first half of this movie, adorable; I also enjoyed your take on the movie overall, good call.
Your reaction to the classic Joe Pesci scene is one of the best! Hey: with Scorsese, it's the De Niro stuff that's WAY more essential than the De Caprio stuff. By all means hit those as well, but wait until you see "The King Of Comedy". And "Raging Bull" and "Taxi Driver". Scorsese's movie "After Hours" is right up your alley, one of the best movies of the 80s (and not a mob movie at all). Not all his movies are mob films, or violent, or even male heavy. "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" is about a mother and a son; "The Age Of Innocence" is a romantic period piece (late 1800s). "The King Of Comedy" is a fantastic satire, De Niro is amazing. "After Hours" is a wild 1980s NYC at night flick with lots of great female performances (Roseanne Arquette, Teri Garr, Catherine O'Hara). Definitely recommending "King Of Comedy" and "After Hours", those are the two I'm most interested in your reactions to!
I love the fact that Natalie started with sweet tone in the start of the video and ended with “yo bro” “dudddeeee” tone due to the influence of the film.
This is my favorite movie! It definitely got robbed of the Best Picture win. But I’m so glad Joe Pesci got his award! I love this movie so much! Thank you for doing it!
And Joe Pesci gave the greatest acceptance speech in Oscars history.
@@paulp9274 Absolutely!
The thing is....and this blew me away when I saw it in 1990...is that this all really happened. Great reaction Ms. Gold. Much appreciated.
Scorsese is my all-time favourite director. He's a master, with about a dozen absolutely awesome films... I'd highly recommend digging deeper into his catalogue.
Swingers recreates coming through the back door of the restaurant in a single shot
You can't go wrong with a Martin Scorsese film. On of the greatest directors ever!
My wife's grandparents were Sicilian and owned a grocery store in a then-Sicilian part of New Orleans. She said that growing up was like living movies like "Goodfellas" and the "Godfather" series.
I've watched this with different women over my life, sister, mum, friends, girlfriends, my wife, and without fail every single one of them is on board and finding it enjoyable; through the stabbing of a guy in a trunk and the numerous other crimes commited all the way up until Henry cheats on his wife. That is just a step too far for them haha.
I love how Natalie's voice progressively becomes more New York gangster as the movie progresses
My favorite scene is Pesci being upset that his girlfriend is being less racist than them. He's like, "stop talking like that. We're racist remember?"
the factoid i tell my friends when they get mad at the oscars is that ray liotta wasn't even nominated for this performance, which is maybe the best performance ever where the lead character has to do everything while doing EVERYTHING. he's hilarious and scary and the scene where Pauly turns his back is like, the best acting ever.
Definitely a legacy making movie. The late Ray Liotta, and of course, Joe Pesci. One of Scorsese’s best and one of my all time faves.
9:28 “He’s clearly getting offended for no reason”
Won’t be the last time. 😂
We know they suck. But did you enjoy the film despite that? The acting? The shots? The directing? That's what I wanna know. I don't really care that they sucked which was a given. You can enjoy characters that "suck". I wouldn't wanna be these characters but I enjoyed them for what they are.
This movie is incredible, there is really no "hero" of the movie and it shows a raw look at inside the mob life plus their personal relationships. The cast, script, story, and director make it one of the best movies ever made
Fun Fact: One of the gangsters that Henry name-drops, Michael Franzese, not only saved the real Henry Hill's life on three separate occasions (he only remembers two, but Henry is adamant that there was a third time), but eventually left the life himself and is now a motivational speaker and UA-camr.
The real life Henry Hill was able to get out of witness protection when this movie came out. He became so popular & Gangsters appreciated the movie & nobody wanted to kill him anymore. He died in 2012
My understanding is Jimmy had real life Janice wacked while Henry was in prison to keep from there being trouble with Karen. Also she knew too much to just be... let go.
16:46 Natalie is so adorable telling Tommy to relax like he’s a 10 year old boy.
"You know how much aprons cost???" Natalie, the kind gangster
I'm glad you liked it, it's my favourite one, and it took an important place in my life, because I wanted to be free as Jimmy the gent and so I did a lot of dumb stuff, ended in prison, and now I'm a schmuck like henry says at the end. I'm glad and happy in my new life, but sometimes... It just feel weird, and this movie never misses the soft spot in my head.
Greetings from France (Paris!!)
THANK YOU! More movies for grown-ups please, I don't care if they're happy, sad, peaceful, violent, just tip the balance somewhere more evenly between them and the kids stuff!
Kids stuff you mean marvel right?
@@leob4403 Marvel, DC, Star Wars, etc, slick corporate mega-franchise cartoons with little real connection to human experiences in general
@@josephwallace202 yeah but we're in the minority sadly, most people are sheep and they want that huge franchise cgi brainless bullshit, they dont really want to feel anything real, they just want to zone out and remain in a stupor induced by all their comfort addictions, they want to dress up with the other sheep and go to Barbie and pretend its real cinema
35:26 Fun fact per Wikipedia: Former EDNY prosecutor Edward McDonald appeared in the film as himself, re-creating the conversation he had with Henry and Karen Hill about joining the Witness Protection Program.
You’re very good at spotting the little things in a film. How does one get good at that?
This is like a Jiminy Glick question lol
@@sheablack311 I don’t understand. Care to explain?
@@gabrielidusogie9189 The other guy was being rude to you, so I will actually explain politely. You can get better at picking up subtle details in movies by training yourself to look at the background while characters are talking. Normally, your eye is drawn to the center of the frame where the speaking characters are. By looking at the background, while still paying attention to ehri words, you can notice things you may otherwise miss.
A Snub Nose 38 Special is massively underrated. It's solid, it has weight. Pistol whipping someone, it's like brass knuckles. A modern semi automatic with the plastic Polymer just doesn't have the same effect👍
Another REALLY good one is Casino. It feels like it is a relative of this film. But Liotta is not in it, instead it is Sharon Stone. It is a true story based on the mafia folks running a Casino in the heyday of the mob.
Not a popular opinion but I actually like it a bit more than Goodfellas. I love the opulence and gaudiness that goes along with not only the era but of Las Vegas.
I kind of agree. There are times I would rather watch Casino but I don't think the screenplay is written as well as Goodfellas.
Nat, if you like movies where actors play roles that are far outside of their comfort zone I suggest the movie "Mad Dog and Glory", it's a mafia-esque movie where Bill Murray plays a ruthless mafia boss while Robert DeNiro plays a cowardly regular joe who crosses his path. It's one of the best films I've ever seen and it's one of the first films where a comedian plays a monster while a tough mobster actor plays a victim. You will appreciate Bill and Robert even more after you watch the movie.
The scenes at Joe Pesci's mother's house were filmed at a house on 241st Street in Bellerose, NY. I was a teenager living in Bellerose at the time. My friend lived in a house on 240th Street right behind and one house over from the house they were filming in. We were making so much noise that Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci and some of the crew came by and bribed us with a couple cases of beer to keep quiet! They hung out with us for like a half hour! Nice people. GREAT film! :D