Goodfellas is a 1990 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the 1986 non-fiction book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scorsese. The film follows the rise and fall of the Lucchese crime family over a period from 1955 to 1980. The movie stars Robert de Niro, Samuel L. Jackson and Joe Pesci. To prepare for their roles in the film, the actors often spoke with Pileggi, who shared his research material with them. According to Pesci, improvisation and ad-libbing came out of rehearsals where Scorsese gave the actors freedom to do whatever they wanted. This created many new lines for the movie.
Goodfellas performed well at the box office, grossing $46.8 million in the USA. It also received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and Pesci won for the Best Actor in a Supporting Role category. Scorsese's film won five awards from BAFTA - the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Goodfellas is often considered one of the greatest films ever, both in the crime genre and in general. Movie critic Roger Ebert wrote: "No finer film has ever been made about organized crime - not even The Godfather." Goodfellas inspired director David Chase to make the smash-hit HBO television series The Sopranos.
