GoodFellas’ Turns 30: Ray Liotta And Co-Stars Spill Secrets Of Martin Scorsese's Classic Crime Film

 Chuck Arnold at the New York Post offers a look back at the classic crime film Goodfellas.

While filming “GoodFellas” — one of the all-time-great New York movies, in the gangster genre or otherwise — Ray Liotta had no clue he was making a classic as he was being directed by a legendary fella: Martin Scorsese.

“During the middle of it, I didn’t know how it was gonna turn out,” said Liotta, 65, who stars as mobster Henry Hill in the real-life story based on Nicholas Pileggi’s 1985 book “Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family.” “It was just a lot of fun playing make-believe with all these other people who loved to play make-believe.” 

But 30 years after “GoodFellas” opened on Sept. 19, 1990, it remains an unforgettable experience for the actor. “I don’t know where my keys are right now, but I can remember just about every scene and what happened that day, because a movie like that just had such a big imprint on you,” said the Union, NJ, native. 

Indeed, “GoodFellas,” which also stars Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco and Paul Sorvino, was nominated for six Academy Awards. Although it lost to “Dances with Wolves” for Best Picture and Best Director (Scorsese lost to Kevin Costner), Pesci took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and the movie was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2000, cementing its place in cinema history. 

“Martin Scorsese made a masterpiece,” said Bracco, 65, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance as Henry Hill’s wife, Karen. “He made a great film.”

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://nypost.com/2020/09/19/goodfellas-turns-30-ray-liotta-and-more-stars-remember-the-classic/?_ga=2.147454583.1397970298.1600362942-2015386453.1594808146 

On This Day In History "Goodfellas" Mobsters Stole Millions From JFK Airport In Infamous 'Lufthansa Heist'

As History.com notes, on this day in 1978 the New York criminal crew led by James “Jimmy the Gent” Burke committed the infamous robbery of Lufthansa, which was the basis of Nicholos Pileggi’s book Wiseguy and Martin Scorsese’s classic crime film, Goodfellas.

On December 11, 1978 half a dozen masked robbers raided the Lufthansa Airlines cargo building at JFK Airport in New York, making off with more than $5 million in cash ($21 million in today's dollars) and almost $1 million in jewelry. To this day, the Lufthansa heist, as it is known, is considered one of the greatest in U.S. history.

The plan was dreamed up by Peter Gruenewald, a Lufthansa cargo worker at JFK Airport. Gruenewald knew that Lufthansa regularly flew large amounts of unmarked cash from Europe—the U.S. currency exchanged overseas by American tourists and servicemen—to JFK. 

Typically, this money would immediately be transferred to American banks via Brink’s trucks. However, delays sometimes caused the cash delivery to arrive after the last of the trucks had left for the day, which meant it was stored at the airport until the next business day—and vulnerable to theft.

Gruenewald took his plan to fellow cargo worker and friend Louis Werner, in the hopes of putting it in motion. Unfortunately for Gruenewald, Werner saw the robbery as an opportunity to get out from under a mountain of personal gambling debt and double-crossed his friend. 

He took Gruenewald's plan to a big-time bookmaker in the area, Martin Krugman, who took the idea to his buddy, infamous mobster-turned-movie-consultant Henry Hill. 

As depicted in the famous movie Goodfellas, Hill was part of a crew of gangsters run by James “Jimmy the Gent” Burke. After years of earning money through nefarious deeds, Jimmy’s crew had become closely associated with the Lucchese crime family, and had amassed a solid reputation in the seedy world of organized crime. 

Burke and Hill took over the planning for the robbery. Jimmy’s crew was very familiar with JFK. Whenever they needed easy cash, the airport was an easy mark. The crew regularly hijacked trucks from JFK, often taking two or three trucks per week from there for quick money. Whether they were filled with televisions, clothes or food, they knew how to move merchandise to make extra cash. 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link: 

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/lufthansa-heist-jfk-airport-
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Note: The top photo shows the Robert’s Lounge gang with Henry Hill on the left (portrayed by Ray Liotta in Goodfellas), James Burke in the center (portrayed by Robert De Niro) and Tommy DeSimone (portrayed by Joe Pesci) to the right of Burke.

The Art Of Writing About Organized Crime And The Rise And Fall Of The New York Mafia: Talking Mafia History In A Former Mafia Stronghold

Nancy Bilyeau at CrimeReads.com offers a piece on a talk given by organized crime authors Nicholas Pileggi and Anthony M. DeStefano.

Pileggi is author of Wiseguy, which was made into the great Martin Scorsese crime film Goodfellas, as well as Casino, which Martin Scorsese also made into an outstanding film.

DeStefano is the author of Gotti's Boys and The Last Godfather.

You can read the piece via the below link:

https://crimereads.com/the-art-of-writing-about-organized-crime-and-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-new-york-mafia/

You can also read my Washington Times review of Gotti's Boys via the below link:

www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2019/08/my-washington-times-review-of-gottis.html

On This Day In History: 1990 - Classic Crime Film 'Goodfellas' Opens

As History.com notes, on this day in 1990, Martin Scorsese's classic crime film Goodfellas opened in theaters.

On this day in 1990, the Martin Scorsese-directed Mafia film Goodfellas, starring Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Lorraine Bracco and Joe Pesci, opens in theaters around the United States. The movie, which was based on the best-selling 1986 book Wiseguy, by the New York crime reporter Nicholas Pileggi, tells the true story of the mobster-turned-FBI informant Henry Hill (Liotta), from the 1950s to the 1980s. Goodfellas earned six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. Pesci won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance as the psychotic mobster Tommy DeVito.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/goodfellas-opens?et_cid=80959384&et_rid=1227406676&linkid=http%3a%2f%2fwww.history.com%2fthis-day-in-history%2fgoodfellas-opens 

We Took Care Of That Thing For Ya: As 'Goodfellas' Turns 25, Here Are 25 Things You Never Knew About Martin Scorsese's Mobster Flick

In celebration of the finest and most realistic crime film ever made, Rachel Maresca and Philip Caulfield at the New York Daily News made a list of 25 things you may not know about Godfellas.

We took care of that thing for ya.

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of "Goodfellas" this year, the Daily News has compiled a list of 25 things every movie nut should know about the classic gangster flick, which is being honored on the closing night of The Tribeca Film Festival Saturday.

To celebrate, the cast of the Martin Scorsese movie will reunite and participate in a sit-down conversation hosted by Jon Stewart.

The violent, profane and often funny film, based on Nicholas Pileggi's book "Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family," featured several cameos by the story's real-life characters, and is revered by movie fans for its colorful dialogue and memorable lines.

Now go home and get your shinebox . . .

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/25-didn-goodfellas-article-1.2194719

You can also read an earlier post on the making of Goodfellas via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2015/04/25th-anniversary-of-martin-scorseses.html

Goodfellas And Beyond: Henry Hill, The True Story Behind "Goodfellas"

As a fan of Martin Scorsese's classic crime film Goodfellas and Nicholas Pileiggi's true crime book Wiseguy, I was pleased to come across a 2006 British documentary on Henry Hill.

You can watch the documentary on youtube.com via the below link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RoFmHR8S3Y

You can also read a piece in the New York Post on the late Henry Hill by Edward McDonald, the former federal prosecutor who portrayed himself in Goodfellas and spoke in the 2006 documentary, via the below link:

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/you_had_to_like_this_goodfella_1DvgfJLGRMeRCWdWgEcJuO
     

Vegas: A Look At The New CBS Crime Series

Geoff Berkshire at Hitfix.com offers a look at CBS' new crime series Vegas.   

Dennis Quaid is a cowboy sheriff who fights crime by riding a horse through 1960s Las Vegas.

Do you really need to know anything more about the new CBS drama "Vegas"? Personally, I'm already sold.

But it doesn't hurt that Michael Chiklis (Vic Mackey forever!) is also on board as a "ruthless Chicago gangster," Carrie-Anne Moss has the plum role of an "ambitious assistant district attorney" and potential love interest for Quaid, and Jason O'Mara rebounds from "Terra Nova" as Quaid's brother and deputy.

The series comes from "Goodfellas" and "Casino" writer Nicholas Pileggi and the pilot is directed by filmmaker James Mangold ("Walk the Line," "3:10 to Yuma"). It looks bold and expansive and possibly a lot more serialized than the CBS standard.

You can read the rest of the story and view a trailer of the crime series via the below link:

http://www.hitfix.com/articles/weigh-in-on-dennis-quaid-and-michael-chiklis-in-cbs-vegas-teaser 

Wiseguy Henry Hill Has A Permanent Place In Mobster Lore

Nicholas Pileggi's Wiseguy, a book that chronicled the life of crime of a street hoodlum named Henry Hill, was published 25 years ago. The book was later made into Martin Scorsese's classic crime film Goodfellas.

A 25th anniversary edition of Wiseguy is coming out and Nicholas Pileggi appeared on NPR to discuss the book and Henry Hill.

Twenty-five years after its initial publication, Nicholas Pileggi's Wiseguy remains one of the signal narratives about life in the Mafia. Adapted by Pileggi and director Martin Scorsese into the 1990 film GoodFellas, it follows the rise and fall of true-life Brooklyn gangster Henry Hill — "a little cog" in the Lucchese crime family who turned FBI informant after a drug arrest.

He was sort of a soldier in Napoleon's army," Pileggi remembers. "And I said, 'You know, if you're going to do a book about Napoleon, it might be interesting to see that world from the point of view of the soldier.' "

You can listen to Pileggi and/or read about Wiseguy via the below link:

http://www.npr.org/2011/09/27/140804164/for-one-wiseguy-a-permanent-place-in-mobster-lore

New Low for Mob: Former Goodfella Henry Hill Not Suprised By Underage Prostitution Pinch

Henry Hill, a former Lucchese organized crime associate and the subject of Nicholas Pileggi's true crime book Wiseguy, which was later made into Martin Scorsese's film Goodfellas, appeared on CNN and stated he was not surprised by the recent indictment and arrest of 14 alleged members of the Gambino crime family for running an interstate prostitution ring that included an underage girl
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"The mob is just out to make a buck," Hill told CNN.
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U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara called the use of an underage girl for prostitution a new low for the mob.
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The 23-count indictment also includes charges of murder, drug trafficking and racketeering.
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Hill (seen in the above photo and below in an earlier FBI mug shot) testified against his former criminal cohorts in 1984 and was placed for a time in the federal witness protection program.
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You can view the CNN video of Hill via the below link:
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http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/22/henry.hill.gambino.indictment/?hpt=C1