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OK, fine: so maybe you already know a few things about Goodfellas. It’s certainly a film that’s easy to become obsessed with, not to mention the nostalgic frenzy surrounding the 25th anniversary of Martin Scorsese‘s iconic gangster drama that began back in April at the Tribeca Film Festival reunion panel.
It’s not like cinema hadn’t humanized brutal, violent, anti-heroes in the past, especially within the realm of the contemporary crime drama, but Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, and Robert De Niro brought an unparalleled familial chemistry to Scorsese’s take on Nicholas Pileggi’s non-fiction account through top-notch performances and groundbreaking direction that we’re still reminiscing about over two decades later. Below are ten facts about the film you may or may not have come across in the last 25 years, but the hope is you learn a little something, because frankly, Goodfellas is a film that only gets better with age.
De Niro befriended Henry Hill to learn more about Jimmy's mannerisms.
According to TV documentary The Real Goodfella, Robert De Niro often called up the real Henry Hill during pre-production to inquire how Jimmy walked, dressed, and held his cigarettes.
Scorsese was a stickler about the soundtrack making chronological sense.
The director, as notorious for his choice in music as his casting, was extremely particular about scoring Goodfellas and made an effort to accompany each scene with a song that came out during the events that occurred — hence the ever-powerful “Layla” from Derek and the Dominos after Jimmy begins to, erm, cut ties following the Lufthansa heist.
Al Pacino was actually slated to play Jimmy Conway.
Though Pacino was initially offered the role of Jimmy, the actor feared being typecast after portraying too many gangsters throughout his career. The role was then offered to De Niro, and Pacino ended up starring as gangster Big Boy Caprice in Dick Tracy that very same year. [Where to stream Dick Tracy]
Some scenes were direct copies of 'The Great Train Robbery'
In an interview after the film’s release, Scorsese’s longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker mentioned that the director isn’t just a filmmaker but a tireless student of cinema who often likes to pay homage to his favorite movies and specific scenes whenever he can. At the 2:30 mark in the video above, Schoonmaker explains Scorsese’s direct nod of a scene from 1930’s The Great Train Robbery when Joe Pesci is firing his gun.
The infamous Steadi-cam shot took just eight takes.
Though one-shot takes are increasingly becoming the savviest directorial trend these days thanks to Birdman and Season One of True Detective, according to the video above, Scorsese’s timeless Steadi-cam shot was done in just eight takes, a relatively unheard of feat for a shot as ambitious as that of The Copacabana.
And on the final run, Ray Liotta got jammed up, but kept going.
The last run through the Copacabana was apparently going so smoothly that Ray Liotta kept moving after jamming his leg into a table corner while walking through the kitchen. If you pay close attention, you can hear him say, “Whoa!” as the camera very briefly pauses before starting back up again.
Both of Scorsese's parents had cameos in the film.
Ever a family man, Scorsese not only named his production company after his mother Catherine Cappa — he had both his parents make brief appearances in the film. Catherine stars as Tommy’s (Pesci) mother, and Scorsese’s father, Charles, plays the prison inmate who adds too many onions to the marinara sauce.
Despite the plethora of F-bombs, 'Goodfellas' is the least profane Scorsese epic.
“Fuck” is said upwards of 300 times throughout Goodfellas (about half of which are said by Joe Pesci), but this is child’s play compared to Scorsese’s Casino (also starring a sailor-mouthed Pesci) at 400 and The Wolf of Wall Street, which touts a record-breaking 506 f-bombs. [Where to stream Casino and The Wolf of Wall Street]
One of the Hills' daughters is played by Lorraine Bracco's daughter with Harvey Keitel.
You may have forgotten that from 1982 through the early ’90s, Lorraine Bracco and Harvey Keitel were quite the New York item. Though the two never married, they have a daughter, Stella, who played Henry and Karen’s oldest, Judy.
Scorsese held a casting call for "wiseguys" who were fresh out of jail.
Scorsese’s nature for blending reality and fiction made its way into casting as well. Between all of the wiseguys hanging around in front of the pizza shop and around the card table, many of them were convicted criminals who had just gotten out of the click. One of whom. Tony Sirico, who later starred as Paulie in The Sopranos, had more arrests (28) than he did acting gigs (27) on his resume at the time of filming. [Where to stream The Sopranos]
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