I partially begged Warner Bros. to send me the 25th anniversary Blu-ray of Goodfellas. Not only is it one of my favorite films, it’s one of the greatest American films ever made, encapsulating a feeling, an era, and a style that has yet to be duplicated in cinema. The music, Scorsese’s dynamic direction, the acting by Liotta, De Niro, and Pesci… it all made for an enthralling piece of film that should be put in a museum at some point.
The set comes with a 36-page book, detailing the cultural impact of the film, a letter from Martin Scorsese — which, in my mind, was written specifically for me — and the discs include a new documentary with the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, and Scorsese himself speaking on the process and ideas behind possibly the greatest gangster film of all-time. Here are eight things I learned from the documentary that shed some newfound light on this classic:
1. Warner Bros. wanted to cut the scene where “Spider” is killed by Joe Pesci.
It’s a scene that defines Joe Pesci’s character, but Warner Bros. found the scene too violent and perhaps a bit unnecessary. On the contrary, it highlights the loose cannon that Tommy DeVito was, and it provides an edge of uncertainty as to what he might do next. It’s this dangerous energy that propels portions of the film.
2. Screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi didn’t want Ray Liotta.
Liotta had only done a handful of films at that time, and Pileggi said, “Why Ray? We can do better.” Ray spotted Pileggi at a restaurant one night and pleaded his case to him. The screenwriter went back to Scorsese and said, “Ray’s in.”
3. Ray Liotta stalked Martin Scorsese.
In 1986, Liotta noticed a gaggle of people walking with one nucleus: Martin Scorsese. Doing what he could to reach the famed writer/director, Liotta handed him a VHS of his work so he could maybe persuade the auteur to give him a gig. The gamble paid off.
4. Marty didn’t want Ray to meet Henry Hill, the man he was portraying.
In a maneuver meant to give Liotta more range in his acting and to sway him from trying to do an impersonation, Scorsese banned Liotta from speaking with Henry Hill. Instead, Liotta listened to dozens of recorded interviews with Hill in order to get down some of his tics and cadence.
5. Robert De Niro method acted his removal of the ketchup.
During the scene when they have a body in their trunk and they decide to eat with Joe Pesci’s mom, De Niro was very particular in how he used the ketchup bottle. He could have smacked it a variety of ways, or shook it, but he decided that his character would roll the bottle in between his hands to extract the condiment. He thought his character was more elegant. De Niro put thought into every choice his character made.
6. The “Funny Like A Clown” scene was totally ad-libbed.
Maybe this is common knowledge to some, but Pesci totally ad-libbed that entire monologue with the story and then pretending that he didn’t like being called funny; he learned it from watching a wise guy do the same thing to someone else. Liotta’s response to Pesci’s ad-libs were totally off the cuff, as well, and it makes for one of the best scenes in the whole film. No wonder Pesci got an Oscar for his performance.
7. All the money in the movie was real.
It was so real that Lorraine Bracco became upset when she didn’t have real jewelry, so she and Marty battled off-set regarding her costume choices. Oh, and that scene where Bracco’s character goes to the home where one of Liotta’s mistresses is staying, well, that was her real children with her, and they were scared that mommy was yelling so much.
8. The dining scene with De Niro, Pesci, and Liotta was joined by Scorsese’s real mom.
Even more amazing was that she was given no direction and no dialogue. She just ad-libbed her entire performance as the boys talked around having someone dying in the trunk of their car. Way to go, Momma Scorsese!
Goodfellas 25th Anniversary Blu-ray edition — remastered from a 4K scan — and with a ton of extras is on sale now.
