One of the most outstanding works of Martin Scorsese's entire filmography is Goodfellas, the film starring Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, and Robert De Niro that in 1991 received six nominations for the Oscars, of which only one won (Pesci's as Best Supporting Actor).
This key film in crime genre cinema was based on the book Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family, a non-fiction title written and published in 1985 by reporter Nicholas Pileggi, who would later work to adapt his work to the big screen alongside Scorsese.
Both the feature film and the aforementioned book tell the story of Henry Hill, a mafia associate who, after being captured by the police and with several people looking for him to kill him, decides to become a law enforcement informant and provide information that helped in the capture of other high-profile criminals.
Henry Hill (Ray Liotta)
Liotta's character is based on aspiring gangster Henry Hill. According to the ScreenRant site, he was an associate of the Lucchese crime family who, as the film shows, had various run-ins and run-ins with the police. However, in the documentary The Real Goodfella Henry Hill, the protagonist shared that his days in the world of crime were much darker than what is shown in the film since his life was not only at risk for a multimillion-dollar hit that his former associates attributed to him, but he was also involved in several drug-related crimes that affected his standing within the witness protection program.
Tommy De Vito (Joe Pesci)
The winner of one of Hollywood's most coveted statuettes based his role on mobster Thomas DeSimone, who, according to ScreenRant, also served as one of the associates of the Lucchese crime family, like Hill. Thomas was known for committing several criminal hits and having a very bad character. In fact, the aforementioned outlet claims that the film's depiction of Tommy's murder appears to be mostly true. Still, his greed for more power and his decision to kill a mob boss reportedly cost him his life.
Pablo Cicero (Paul Sorvino)
Paul Sorvino gave life to the mobster Paul Cicero, a character he built based on the gangster Paul Vario, who was a high-ranking captain in the Lucchese crime family and died in prison in 1988. Like Cicero, Vario faded into the background in all the criminal deals and drama. Instead, he made sure to give orders to supervise how the members of his gang worked, collecting a portion of each robbery or robbery that was committed, but some time later he was found guilty of his participation in organized crime.
Jimmy Conway (Robert DeNiro)
Jimmy Burke, who also died in prison, was the inspiration behind Jimmy Conway. Like the rest of the aforementioned criminals, he was an associate of the Lucchese family, although unlike some of his colleagues, he was quite logical with his movements. ScreenRant commented that Jimmy's planning of the famous Lufthansa heist was actually true. And, of course, there was also Jimmy's decision to murder all of his accomplices. Unfortunately for him, he was also sentenced to a lengthy prison term after Hill decided to confess.
