Damn it feels good to be a gangster, as The Unenthusiastic Critic enjoys her first viewing of Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas, from 1990.
First, we're discussing the recently announced Academy Award nominations, and establishing—in case there was any doubt—that Nakea is rooting for everyone black.
Then, we're sitting down for one of the best films of the 1990s, from the most Oscar-nominated living filmmaker. It's a lively discussion about the wisdom of hanging around with psychopaths, the efficiency of feeding people to lions, the benefits of cocaine as a condiment, and other romantic ideals of the criminal lifestyle.
Program
0:00: Prologue: from Goodfellas
1:02: Preliminary Conversation: Oscar Nominations
19:14: Interlude: Joe Pesci's Academy Award Acceptance Speech
19:47: Cultural Osmosis: Pre-Viewing Discussion
26:47: Interlude: Original Trailer
29:08: The Verdict: Post-Viewing Discussion
1:04:13: Outro and Next Week's Movie
1:05:50: Outtake
Notes and Links
—Movie Reviewed: Goodfellas (dir. Martin Scorsese, Warner Bros, 1990)
—Reviews Mentioned: "'Goodfellas' Looks at the Banality of Mob Life," Susan Linfield, New York Times; Goodfellas Review by Roger Ebert, rogerebert.com.
—Find additional episodes, leave a comment, or make a donation at unaffiliatedcritic.com.
—Email us, or follow us on Twitter and Facebook. (Suggestions of movies to watch for future episodes are very welcome.)
—"Warm Duck Shuffle" by Arne Huseby is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:06:02 — 60.8MB)
2 thoughts on “GOODFELLAS (1990)”
That year, I hoped Academy voters would split their ballots between awarding Best Director to Martin Scorsese for "Goodfellas" and Best Picture to "Dances with Wolves."
The Academy has always been overly impressed with actors who direct: Redford, Beatty, Costner, Gibson, and Eastwood (twice) all won Best Director over much better nominees.