Goodfellas

by Nicholas Pileggi, Martin Scorsese, Martin Scorsese, Nicholas Pileggi

"As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a gangster." Henry Hill grew up in the midst of New York City's criminal underworld, finally achieving the coveted status of "wiseguy." But in 1980, he made the decision to exchange his knowledge for a new identity. "GoodFellas," Hill's own account of crude hierarchies, casual murders, and collaboration with the Feds (as a member of the Witness Protection Program) was adapted for the screen...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0571162657
• ISBN13: 9780571162659
• Release Date: November 1990
• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• Length: 137 Pages
• Weight: 0.49 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.3" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Fantastic Script

Sure, if you're not into the film "Goodfellas" that much or if you don't care for screenplays, then chances are that this would be rather worthless to you. Might as well find something else to buy, because this isn't going to do anything for you.But, if you DO love the film and would like to read the screenplay, then this is just the thing for you. Written by Martin Scorsese and Nicholas Pileggi, "Goodfellas" is an amazing script that sucks you in right away.Henry Hill has always wanted to be gangster, as he states in the very beginning of the film. This is his story of how he became one and everything he had witnessed and experienced. It's a tragic story of how good things always have to come to an end. It's also about how power and money can grab hold of your life until it's too late to turn back. A tale full of crime, murder, paranoia, and greed, "Goodfellas" is a trip down Mafia Lane that you will never forget. This is Mr. Hill's story.The script is based on Nicholas Pileggi's novel, "Wise Guys," which is also based on a true story. The dialogue is sharp and very realistic and gives us a window into the lives of people in the Mafia. It is a very quick read, only about 130 pages. That's pretty short, considering that the movie was at least 2 and a half hours long. But, it's just dialogue, which is why it is very easy to read it quickly. I finished it in less than a day.If you love the film "Goodfellas," and are interested in reading screenplays, then this is the perfect book for you. Here's your chance to relive some of your favorite moments, this time in writing. A very fine screenplay, it is.

Best Gangster Film Ever Made

Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas" is, hands down, the best gangster film ever made. "The Godfather" created the mythical imagery of mob families that was forever buried by this gutty, bloody real life drama. Based upon the true story as told by the film's main character, Henry Hill, "Goodfellas is the best filmed example of the real life glamour and woekmanlike drudgery that goes with being a wiseguy. It is difficult to imagine a show like "The Sopranos," for example, had not "Goodfellas" reinvented the gangster film genre.Ray Liotta is excellent as Henry, but the movie's real showcases are the performances of Joe Pesci and Robert DiNiro as his partners in crime. Pesci in particular gives a tour de force performance that is downright frightening. Other first rate performances come from Lorraine Bracco as Henry's Jewish wife and Paul Sorvino, whose performance as a real life Godfather could not be more different than Marlon Brando's. This film is a must see for anyone who enjoys gangster movies. It also has to rank as THE best American movie of the 1990s.

"Like I'm A Clown...I'm Here To Amuse you?"

Turning dense, non fiction material such as Nick Pileggi's 1985 best seller "Wiseguy," into a cohesive screenplay is no easy task, but Pileggi and the brilliant Martin Scorsese pulled it off beautifully in 1990 with the script for "Goodfellas""Goodfellas" remains America's penultimate crime film; the "Godfather" is Hollywood's version of what wiseguys are like; "Goodfellas" depicts them as how they really are.This Faber paperback edition of the screenplay, with a foreward by David Thompson ("Scorsese on Scorses") reproduces all of the dialouge verbatim (including the scenes that were improvised on the set such as the famous "what's so funnny about me" sequence between Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta).The book serves as both as written testamint to what great movie making is all about and as a primer for budding screenwriters.As a bonus, there is a listing of all the music Scorcese used on the soundtrack (no small part of what made the movie a classic),including those selections that were unfortunately deleted from the commercial issue on Atlantic records).As Joe Pesci's character might say--"this is one great -------book!"

A classic screenplay to a classic film.

Though Nicholas Pileggi's source book, Wise Guy, gave this screenplay both its voice-over and its final conclusion, the screenplay to GoodFellas is an essential addition to any screenplay library. If not for the fact that Pileggi and Martin Scorsese have pulled off the mammoth task of interpreting the detailed-packed, wide-scoped vision of the book into cinema-speak, then for the writing itself. GoodFellas is a screenplay that can be read as entertainment -- fast-paced, crisp, clear, and exciting. The published version of this script is mostly in master-scene form, giving only the most evocative details, beautifully paced. This is one of the crowning entries in Faber and Faber's superb screenplay series, ranking right up there along Paul Schrader's Taxi Driver and Odets/Lehmann's for Sweet Smell of Success. To any upstart screenwriter or serious student of film, this series is invaluable.

GOODFELLAS ARE AT THEIR BEST!

Great true story mafia movie about a man and the trouble he encounters while in his 30 years in the mafia. Realistic and superb! 5 stars are deserved. My personal favorite mafia movie. Portrays the real mafia. Later by Scorsese Casino. Rated R: for language, extreme violence