Goodfellas

The movie that dispelled the romantic myths about La Cosa Nostra and showed it as it really was. "The Godfather" for the 90's minus the silly notions of love, honor, and family. Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) is a half-Irish, half-Italian who rises to prominence in Paul Cicero's (Paul Sorvino) Lucchese Crime Family along with Jimmy Conway (Robert DeNiro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci). This is his story of hi-jacking, stealing, cheating, killing and finally drug dealing. He makes no excuses about what he does. Simply put he is just doing business and trying to survive on the mean streets of New York City. He explains the trials and tribulations of being a mobster and what it's like to have to do these things and live with the consequences. Cicero, an aging old-time underboss, heads a dangerous and powerful organization that enjoys free reign over the neighborhood in which Hill lives and recruits him when he is only a kid to work for them and learn to "score" more specifically, the art of committing crime. Hill quickly hooks up with veteran criminal Jimmy "The Gent" and his protege Tommy to hi-jack trucks from the Idlewild Airport. This makes these three rich and respected in the underworld but there is a new game in town. Narcotics. They quickly undertake this highly profitable business even though they know it is against the expressed rules of Paulie. This combined with another serious rule violation and the score of a lifetime sets them up for their own possible demise. Lorraine Bracco co-stars as Henry's wife. A marvelous true life story of one of the most violent and profitable street crews in the history of the American Mafia. The best movie of 1990.