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Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas is widely regarded as one of the defining films in his legendary career.
The 1990 biographical crime film follows Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), who is exposed to the 1950s gangster culture in Brooklyn, New York, at a very young age. He starts off as an errand boy for local caporegime Paulie Cicero (Paul Sorvino).
Hill then teams up with Irish-American thief Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) and the erratic enforcer Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci). The trio rise through the ranks of organized crime and eventually achieve the life of luxury they all craved.
Hill, however, gets into drugs, which ultimately leads to his and the crew's downfall. Hill eventually turns into an FBI informant after being backed into a corner by both the feds and his former mob associates. He testifies against his friends and enters the witness protection program.
Goodfellas is based on a true story. Scorsese adapted the film from a 1985 true crime book entitled Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi.
Hill was a real-life associate of the infamous Lucchese crime family. The movie closely follows real events in his life, and the key characters in the film were based on real criminals as well.
The film's portrayal of organized crime earned widespread critical acclaim. In fact, Collider ranked it the No. 1 Best Movie Based on True Crime.
Goodfellas and the Academy Award Controversy
Goodfellas received six Academy Award nominations in 1990: Best Picture, Scorsese for Best Director, Pesci for Best Supporting Actor, Lorraine Bracco (who played Karen, Hill's wife) for Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film Editing.
Despite the nominations haul, Goodfellas lost all but one of the categories. Pesci won Best Supporting Actor, his lone Oscar.
Goodfellas lost Best Picture to Dances With Wolves, which was directed by Kevin Costner. Costner also beat Scorsese for Best Director.
Nearly four decades later, the controversial result remains one of the biggest Academy Award upsets in history.
Related: 1974 Classic Ranked Among the Greatest Mystery Movies of All Time
