A mobster ratting on his lifelong accomplices. An ironic cover song in an anonymous suburb. And
a farewell barrage of gunshots from a ghost. If the final chapter of Henry Hill’s story left you
with some questions, we’ve got you covered. This is the ending of Goodfellas finally explained.
In the world of the mafia, nothing is worse than being a rat. In other words,
there's no bigger taboo than becoming a witness for the authorities aiming to take
down organized crime syndicates. So some viewers may wonder why Ray Liotta's Henry
Hill turns on his adopted felonious family at the end of "Goodfellas."
Essentially, Hill turned rat to survive. After three decades of working with the mob,
Henry is cut off when he gets arrested for trafficking cocaine — a criminal
trade specifically forbidden by mob boss Paul Cicero. After his arrest and subsequent ousting,
his long time partner in crime and supposed friend, Jimmy "The Gent" Conway,
attempts to have Henry and his wife Karen whacked. Out of money and friends,
Henry turns to the only organization that will have him: the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
His sworn testimony puts both Jimmy and Paul behind bars and serves as Scorsese's final word
on the titular "goodfellas." In the end, Henry's testimony isn't proof that crime doesn't pay — the
movie shows just how well it can. It's proof that living without any morals only ends in pain,
isolation, or prison. Henry's choices backed him into a corner and Scorsese makes sure
the audience knows Henry had to chew his way out like a rat to see another day.
Some viewers may be confused by the shot of Joe Pesci's Tommy DeVito
firing directly into frame in the closing monologue. DeVito is dead — murdered for
his unsanctioned whacking of made man Billy Bats — and because the image is seemingly unrelated
to Hill's final address to the audience. However, the image is there for a reason.
In an interview with AFI, Scorsese explains the shot is a homage to 1903's "The Great
Train Robbery." The movie — about a gang who holds up a steam engine — is famous for
being one of the first narrative films. Like "Goodfellas," the silent film ends
with a shot of one of the gang firing a revolver directly into the screen.
Scorsese tells AFI he included the shot because "Goodfellas" and the
"Great Train Robbery" are both representative of popular culture's fascination with outlaws.
He also notes the film's plots are virtually the same. Both movies follow groups of outlaws
who get away with big scores before killing each other or being apprehended by the law.
All this history means DeVito firing into frame is no random stylistic flourish.
Instead, Scorsese uses the shot to connect "Goodfellas" to the long film tradition
of rooting for the bad guys — until the law comes crashing down on their heads.
In an interview with Film Comment, Scorsese said he didn't believe
the mafiosos in "Goodfellas" thought about their actions. To capture this on screen,
he tried to make them "as primitive as possible. Just straight ahead. Want. Take. Simple."
During the opening scene, Henry's narration begins with the line
"As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster."
Following this line, Tony Bennett's "Rags to Riches" roars over the movie's titles.
In the final scene of the film, before title cards and credits roll, Henry ends his narration saying
"I'm an average nobody. Get to live the rest of my life like a schnook."
He then enters the home the FBI placed him in and closes its door on the viewers.
The parallels between the narration's open and its close mirror the audiences' journey with Henry. At
the beginning, audiences are thrust into the car with Henry as he drives down the road to being
a gangster. At the end, Henry leaves the audience outside his new life and home. He was a gangster,
now he is a schnook. The ride's over and Henry is out of the life he loved.
"Goodfellas" has one of the all-time greatest movie soundtracks. Scorsese's song choices
underscore mood and time period throughout the film. It also helps that Scorsese's ear for music
seems to be as strong as his eye for shots. For example, in "Goodfellas," he pairs the melancholic
second half of Derek and the Dominos' "Layla" with a murder montage. It's a stroke of genius.
However, the majority of the film's song choices are radio hits from their respective
decades. So some viewers may wonder why Sid Vicious' cover of Frank Sinatra's "My Way"
closes out the film. It's from the decade when the film ends,
but its punk edge breaks away from the sounds of the movie's pop and rock motif.
Scorsese said he felt the reason he chose the song seemed "pretty obvious," given
the song's ironic take on the original's meaning. The characters in "Goodfellas,"
certainly lived life their way. But unlike Sinatra's original recording,
the mobsters unique approach to life did not bring them to triumphant heights. Instead,
their actions left them imprisoned, murdered by their peers, or rotting anonymously in a suburb.
Throughout the film Henry brags about the lack of responsibility afforded to gangsters.
They don't pay taxes, endure commutes, or believe in "good government b*******." But
this comes with a heavy price and Vicious' "My Way" underscores its cost brilliantly.
"Goodfellas" is based on the life and times of real mob associate Henry Hill,
whose story was recorded in Nicholas Pileggi's book "Wiseguy." Scorsese tweaked some of Henry's
story when bringing it to the big screen. For example, the movie never identifies which
specific crime family Hill and his friends were associated with. In reality, Henry,
Jimmy, and Tommy, worked with the Lucchese crime family under caporegime Paul Vario.
Vario is portrayed as Paul Cicero in the film, and he's not the only character to receive a
name change. Tommy DeVito was modeled after Tommy DeSimone. Jimmy Conway was based on James Burke.
In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times following Henry Hill's death,
Henry's sister Lucille claimed James Burke was much worse in real life.
The movie also cut some real life events. For example, in his memoir "Gangsters and
Goodfellas," Henry claims his wife slept with boss Paul Vario while Henry was in jail. Also,
the movie does not include James Burke's role in a Boston College basketball point shaving scandal.
Given the finite runtime of a film and the laundry lists of misdeeds committed by the characters it's
based on, it's no wonder Scorsese shaved away some details to fit his vision into one movie.
"Goodfellas" changed how gangsters and criminals were depicted in American entertainment, and is
considered one of the best mob movies of all time. In his 1990 review, famed critic Roger Ebert said:
"No finer film has ever been made about organized crime — not even 'The Godfather.'"
However, burrowing into the popular culture consciousness of movie fans
everywhere is not the movie's only major achievement. It's also been cited as
a source of inspiration for arguably the greatest show of all time: "The Sopranos."
In an interview with Peter Bogdanovich, "Sopranos'' creator David Chase said the
movie was a major inspiration for his show. He specifically cited
the humor that arose during scenes when the hardened criminals were simply hanging out.
The odd blend of absurdism and violence in "Goodfellas" that colors scenes like Spider's
shooting or the late night dinner with Tommy's mom
can be felt in virtually every episode of "The Sopranos."
"Hey Tommy if I was gonna break your balls I'd tell you to go home and get your shine box."
While making a movie that's been called perfect by critics is no small feat,
it's even more impressive to inspire the show that kicked off the prestige TV movement.
Because of its impact, "Goodfellas" won't be sleeping with the fishes anytime soon.
For fans everywhere, firing up another re-watch of "Goodfellas" is as good as Vinnie's tomato sauce.
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