The iconic film Goodfellas by Martin Scorsese, featuring stars like Ray Liotta and Robert De Niro, remains a masterpiece to this day. Released in 1990, the film continues to captivate and surprise audiences in the U.S. and across the world, offering new nuances with every viewing. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve watched the iconic mafia film; there’s always something new to discover. We’re here with some lesser-known, intriguing facts about this iconic film that might even surprise its most fervent fans.
#1: The Moment Scorsese Found His Next Masterpiece
In the late 1980s, Martin Scorsese’s encounter with Nicholas Pileggi’s Wiseguy sparked a profound shift in the acclaimed director’s perspective on mafia narratives. Despite his prior reluctance towards the genre, Scorsese’s fascination with Pileggi’s account of real-life mobster Henry Hill’s story reignited his interest.
This mutual enthusiasm culminated in creating Goodfellas (1990), a cinematic masterpiece co-written and directed by Scorsese. The film, hailed as a seminal work in cinema, marked a pivotal moment not only in Scorsese’s career but also in portraying organized crime on screen, setting a new standard for authenticity and storytelling prowess.