Ever since its release in 1990, Martin Scorsese‘s near instant gangster classic “Goodfellas” has become the ultimate example of a movie that you can’t help but watch right to the end if you stumble across on it on cable. So well crafted, briskly paced, terrifically performed, and so damn good, Scorsese’s take on the real life of Henry Hill seems remarkable and fresh with each viewing. But with “Goodfellas” nearing thirty years old, there’s an entire generation of moviegoers who’ve never had the chance to see it on the big screen (or, gasp, see it at all) — and that’s about to change.
The 4K restoration of “Goodfellas” is gearing up for a re-release in cinemas next year in the U.K., and we really hope this comes stateside. Given how the influence of the film in the years since its release, and how often it has been referenced throughout pop culture, a chance to see it all over again, separated from that context and without commercial breaks is too good to miss. Here’s the synopsis:
“As far back as I could remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.” So begins Scorsese’s modern classic, the story of Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) who in the mid-1950s was taken under the wing of local New York Italian-American mobster Paul “Paulie” Cicero (Paul Sorvino) and his associates, the enigmatic James “Jimmy the Gent” Conway (Robert de Niro) and aggressive hothead Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci).
The gang make their fortune by carrying out a series of daring heists in the 1960s-70s until paranoia and internecine violence erupts, with Henry cornered by the FBI and forced to rat on his friends, leaving him doomed to live the rest of his life like an ordinary schnook.
“Goodfellas” starts rolling out on January 20, 2017 in the U.K.