Goodfellas (1990)

(On VHS, December 1999) I have it on good authority that most people who watched Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, then his latter Casino experienced a strong feeling of déjà-vu. For me, it was the reverse: Having first been very impressed by Casino, it seemed like Goodfellas was going over much of the same terrain in pretty much the same fashion. This doesn’t invalidate the worth of the film, which is considerable, but it does diminish its impact. Nonetheless, Goodfellas is a pretty crunchy tale of New York Mafiosos, told in a marvelously enjoyable overlap of narration, quick scenes and sharp vignettes. It meanders after a while, but somehow doesn’t lose interest. A great film, from a great director in great shape.