A lot of people have asked why does Joe Pesci fire at the viewer in the end. One answer is that it's an homage to the movie The Great Train Robbery... The other answer is because he fucking can.
in my version ( the one rentend from zune) tommy shows up and fire off a few rounds from a pistol into the camera, i interpret this as henry wanting his friend to come back and end his life
@najhoant If you had any appreciation for Martin Scorsese's movies, Gangster Movies, or movies all together you would never say anything so absurd about Goodfellas.
@N7NoOoOs no actually that scene was used as a sort of a salute to an end of an era..it was used in "The great train robbery" famous scene of George Barnes shooting at the camera..its also used in the beginning of Tombstone.
Yea just smooock! Whats Jimmy thinking? he should killed him first, that what hes thinking. Pauilie great actor, looks like wise guy in real life. just that cold stare . Ye they have everybody on the pay roll. The whole fucking Govt is on the PAyroll. Why dont we go rob Oil companys so they dont cut your fucking budget. They got money! HAAAAAAA There going to sell OIL to Fucken CHINA! HAAAAAAAA CAnada is selling stocks to them. 4 Billion $6bling
It's a reference to the 1903 Edwin S. Porter classic 'The Great Train Robbery', usually treated as a sort of milestone in filmmaking for its storytelling techniques. The most famous shot is a robber just shooting 'at the audience', at the end - the kind of thing that was pretty standard in those days.
@jackg3000 ahhh sure now that you established the link in my brain i remember the guy with that mustache... in my opinion it would have been more evident if showed in total black and white... whatever thx alot :)
@camholly You could also see it as en everlasting image in Henry's mind of his perilous and violent experience with the mafia . I mean what better way to show the constant danger in which he lived in , and boldly reinforce the theme of pure violence, by having the worst of them all Tommy Devito shoot right at the camera !
I loved this film the first time I saw it, which was when I was 15, in 1992, on vhs. I was blown away by it, it remains one of my all time favorites to this day. It also properly introduced me to Sid Vicious, and then the Sex Pistols as a whole, which was one of the most amazing things in my life. They, too, are still my all time favorite band to this day. What a wonderful film, and incredible ending.
i know in real life he coulda gotten arrested for a shitload of other stuff but the way the movie shows it, if he just stayed outta the drug bussiness, everything woulda been fine
thats seems to be the case for every movie with guys involved with drugs
I just don't know how to comment on this movie folks, i'm fuckin' speechless and this very scene is so perfectly picturised on Ray Liotta, love it so much and i think i'll never get over it.
I love the bookend songs between Tony Bennett's Rags to Riches and Sid Vicious's My Way showcasing the rise and fall of Henry Hill and his goodfellas.
It's actually originally by Liza Minnelli, but Frank does have the superior version. As far as the Sid Vicious version--well, it's different and fits with the chaos of this movie very well.
I think they both have different meanings. For the Godfather it means that Michael has been sucked into the lifestyle while Goodfellas it means Henry has been forced to leave the lifestyle and also an end of an era for his kind.
@zeromant80 Thanks dude. I just have to say though, this is an amazing movie, one of if not Scorsese's best . Joe Pesci as Tommy is still MY favorite performance in any movie as well.
. . . this is an intentional similarity. For one thing, in a film full of such inventive/varied filming techniques, the straight-on shot of Pesci shooting at the camera stands out. Has anyone thought or heard of this before?
yeah sure I have and so have u. dont play dumb u obviously got the two disc special edition of goodfellas and saw on one of the featurettes scorcese mention he got the idea from that old silent movie.why would u ask something u already know?
And since we're on the subject and you seem to be interested, there is another very famous homage to a silent film. Have you ever seen Back to the Future? If you have, towards the end of the movie, Doc Brown tries to connect some wires in order for the DeLorean to go back to the future. Well, that scene where he's hanging from the clock tower is an homage to a very famous scene from the silent movie Safety Last starring Harold Lloyd. Just thought I'd mention it
Yeah man, the shot of Tommy shooting at the viewer or audience is an homage to the ending shot of the silent film "The Great Train Robbery," where one of the bank robbers shoots at the audience. I don't have the special edition Goodfellas, but I read about it on a blog. Marty never ceases to amaze me, the man is a true genius. He's got alot of these homages sprinkled throughout all of his movies, really goes to show how much he values those that came before him.
Good stuff. If I remember correctly, they mentioned the 'Back to the Future' on the L.A. Universal tour.
No one makes movies like Marty. He's a genuis. If you've ever seen 'Boogie Nights,' the tracking shot in the opening is Anderson's homage to MS and the 'Goodfellas' scene where the camera follows Henry and Karen through the restaurant. Anderson talks about it in the Director's Commentary.
do you reckon scorsese was drawing a parallel between the two films? Cause in the early 1900s people were shocked by a train coming towards them at the cinema, so having a gun fired at them would have been much worse. In my opinion, goodfellas is one of the most shockingly violent films i've ever seen, cause the violence is so real.
Ughhh, I don't believe that his intention was to connect The Great Train Robbery and Goodfellas simply because in the former, the most shocking scene is not one where the train approaches the camera, but rather where one of the robbers shoots at the camera i.e. the audience. Which Scorsese then paid homage to in the last scene of Goodfellas where Joe Pesci shoots at the camera.
Moreover, as violent as Goodfellas is, I believe that Scorsese was not trying to compare the level of shock, since I'm sure he recognizes that movies like A Clockwork Orange and The Last House on the Left were far more violent and gruesome than his. Since he's also a film historian, Scorsese prolly included this last image of Pesci shooting at the audience as a simple tribute or homage to the history of the outlaw/gangster film since The Great Train Robbery was the first film of this genre.
good point, but don't worry, i'm not an idiot. i know the comparison was with the shooting shot at the end, i just brought up the train with reference to another film from the era to describe how easily shocked people were. I Probably didn't explain well enough
The insert of Tommy shooting reminds me of a piece of footage from the beginning of 'Tombstone.' Toward the end of Mitchum's narration, a cowboy in a hat looks straight at the camera and fires a six-shooter. I've seen this footage before but I'm not sure if it is from a silent film from the twenties or just a quick sequence filmed for the sake of it. Anyway, given Martin S.'s appreciation/knowledge of cinema history - and the similarity between gangsters and wild west cowboys - that (cont'd)
Thumbs up if you like "The great train robbery" refrance at 0:05
brokentvpictures 2 months ago 4
A lot of people have asked why does Joe Pesci fire at the viewer in the end. One answer is that it's an homage to the movie The Great Train Robbery... The other answer is because he fucking can.
RedSnyder141 4 months ago 12
Joe Pesci's peak moment at 0:04, that was fuckin hilarious to watch
Pryysmite 5 months ago
in my version ( the one rentend from zune) tommy shows up and fire off a few rounds from a pistol into the camera, i interpret this as henry wanting his friend to come back and end his life
tulud 6 months ago
What makes the "Greatest" movie of all time?
ThatScrubKid 7 months ago
@ThatScrubKid This. lol
WickedLiquid 6 months ago
did he say shnook hmmmm i wonder
MultiSinoda 8 months ago
this song is the perfect cherry on top of one of the best sudaes ever. scosese is a genius
gregorymwishart 9 months ago
This movie is great, especially in the first half, but after that it kinda drags on and you wonder "just when is this gonna end?"
najhoant 10 months ago
@najhoant How could you write anything so stupid about Goodfellas!
TheRocknRollfreak 10 months ago
@TheRocknRollfreak I've seen it
najhoant 10 months ago
@najhoant If you had any appreciation for Martin Scorsese's movies, Gangster Movies, or movies all together you would never say anything so absurd about Goodfellas.
TheRocknRollfreak 10 months ago
does the last seen mean that joe pesci was alive ? and that he was not actually dead ? !!
N7NoOoOs 10 months ago
@N7NoOoOs no actually that scene was used as a sort of a salute to an end of an era..it was used in "The great train robbery" famous scene of George Barnes shooting at the camera..its also used in the beginning of Tombstone.
applemasks 10 months ago
0:04-0:07 best 3 seconds in movies ever?
fernandomassuy 10 months ago
One person lived his whole life life a schnok
forman208 10 months ago
song???
SniperManiac100 11 months ago
I like the Great Train Robbery reference.
ScorchedAndTorched 11 months ago
those gunshots gives me fucking goosebumbs
SMHS18 1 year ago 3
1 person is gonna live the rest of their life as a shnook
seanyiscubsfan1 1 year ago 9
@seanyiscubsfan1 haha
babzcorleone 1 year ago
Yea just smooock! Whats Jimmy thinking? he should killed him first, that what hes thinking. Pauilie great actor, looks like wise guy in real life. just that cold stare . Ye they have everybody on the pay roll. The whole fucking Govt is on the PAyroll. Why dont we go rob Oil companys so they dont cut your fucking budget. They got money! HAAAAAAA There going to sell OIL to Fucken CHINA! HAAAAAAAA CAnada is selling stocks to them. 4 Billion $6bling
TheManfromNibiru 1 year ago
The scene with the revolver at the end is so reminiscent of the last scene of The Great Train Robbery.
tetrisclock 1 year ago
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you cunt im not a queer
oasis4ever92 1 year ago
Ugly Americans nearly parodied this scene shot-for-shot in the episode "Blob Gets Job", genius.
SeoulMan 1 year ago
Scorsese is the greatest living director.
caloscalante1518 1 year ago 7
This is the best American movie of the 90s. No contest.
HarveyDentLives 1 year ago
As far back as I could remember I've always wanted to be a Gangster..
SirBearization 1 year ago
@SirBearization Now, I'm a crack snorting, Benedict Arnold, rat bastard in a Witness Protection Program who treat treats his wife like dirt.
shadowfox1383 1 year ago
Great Movie !
zarench 1 year ago
i love the homage to 'the great train robbery'
BigGordyRG 1 year ago 2
love that bit at the end when joe pesci shots that gun straight at the camera!
mjdaubney 1 year ago
Great book too. I think I'll have to re-read it.
donovan1971 1 year ago
i thought he gets beat with a baseball bat..
JAMxSkalla16 1 year ago
@JAMxSkalla16 casino
sturgispunk 1 year ago
@JAMxSkalla16 that's in casino lol. oh lawd joe pesci you be dyin too much.
mudkipcorp 1 year ago
Martin Scorsese - Michael Ballhaus - Thelma Schoonmaker: Dream Team.
magikmalick 1 year ago
Sid Fucking Vicious ! That is the shit !
Idiotprosjekt 1 year ago
greatest movie end ever
cartoonmasterprodct 1 year ago
i never understood, why is there tommy shooting at the end ?
camholly 1 year ago
@camholly
It's a reference to the 1903 Edwin S. Porter classic 'The Great Train Robbery', usually treated as a sort of milestone in filmmaking for its storytelling techniques. The most famous shot is a robber just shooting 'at the audience', at the end - the kind of thing that was pretty standard in those days.
Scorsese likes references I'll say.
jackg3000 1 year ago
@jackg3000 ahhh sure now that you established the link in my brain i remember the guy with that mustache... in my opinion it would have been more evident if showed in total black and white... whatever thx alot :)
camholly 1 year ago
@camholly You could also see it as en everlasting image in Henry's mind of his perilous and violent experience with the mafia . I mean what better way to show the constant danger in which he lived in , and boldly reinforce the theme of pure violence, by having the worst of them all Tommy Devito shoot right at the camera !
baruavice 1 year ago
i like this movie
MrEmiliocamargo88 1 year ago
excellent excellent excellent movie
NMCC9999 1 year ago
ONE OF THE GREATEST FILMS EVER
ABCDEFGHIJKLMN01231 1 year ago
i read that jimmy conway died 13th april 1996, 2 days before i was born
zezima4812 1 year ago
@zezima4812 He did. Happy belated birthday btw.
SoundDefiance 1 year ago
WTF is a schnook?
KSKsueyzidV2 1 year ago
@KSKsueyzidV2 maybe he just became a regular guy? i'm not too sure.
griffin324 1 year ago
@KSKsueyzidV2 That depends - what's a mook?
BlackAndWhite9999 1 year ago
i love this movie and this end too, what´s the name of the song?
eazy435 1 year ago
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east klbride cunts are pathetic fucki die
glasgowtalisman 1 year ago
east klbride cunts are pathetic fucki die
glasgowtalisman 1 year ago
I thought than The Rolling Stones sang it. Similar voices.
nandofim 1 year ago
why is their a downer singing a great song
Ferosious3 1 year ago
I loved this film the first time I saw it, which was when I was 15, in 1992, on vhs. I was blown away by it, it remains one of my all time favorites to this day. It also properly introduced me to Sid Vicious, and then the Sex Pistols as a whole, which was one of the most amazing things in my life. They, too, are still my all time favorite band to this day. What a wonderful film, and incredible ending.
ColeeWolee 2 years ago
i know in real life he coulda gotten arrested for a shitload of other stuff but the way the movie shows it, if he just stayed outta the drug bussiness, everything woulda been fine
thats seems to be the case for every movie with guys involved with drugs
dino7090 2 years ago
I just don't know how to comment on this movie folks, i'm fuckin' speechless and this very scene is so perfectly picturised on Ray Liotta, love it so much and i think i'll never get over it.
ozziemckenzie 2 years ago
Like a schnock !! <3
camholly 2 years ago
to me this was the best part of the movie or wen he says"as far bak as i can remember i always wanted to be a gangster" in the beggining of the movie
1312scarface 2 years ago 21
why wasn't this version included on the CD.
filmfanatic99 2 years ago 3
I love the bookend songs between Tony Bennett's Rags to Riches and Sid Vicious's My Way showcasing the rise and fall of Henry Hill and his goodfellas.
drcoxcentral 2 years ago 4
'my way" by sid vicious ( sex pistols ) originally by frank sinatra
jdj517 2 years ago
It's actually originally by Liza Minnelli, but Frank does have the superior version. As far as the Sid Vicious version--well, it's different and fits with the chaos of this movie very well.
j2f125 2 years ago
fuckin die ek s scum
glasgowtalisman 1 year ago
what is the end song
dukee155 2 years ago
Great movie, btw does anyone else notice that Goodfellas and the Godfather both end with a door being closed?
PvtLoneWolf 2 years ago 4
Good point, I wonder why they both end with doors closing? Meaning of some kind
Tecun85 2 years ago 3
I think they both have different meanings. For the Godfather it means that Michael has been sucked into the lifestyle while Goodfellas it means Henry has been forced to leave the lifestyle and also an end of an era for his kind.
drcoxcentral 2 years ago 3
Nicely put, I agree. I wonder what Marty and Coppola would have to say about this.
Tecun85 2 years ago 2
best fucking movie ever!
jk808p 2 years ago 4
Fuckin A, Sid Vicious song to end one of the greatest, if not THE greatest movie of all time.
Headbanger142 2 years ago 42
this might sound like a stupid question but what's the name of the song you hear in this? my bro wants to know...
SuperQwertyuiop123 2 years ago
sid vicious -my way
AliveInColdWorld 2 years ago
@Headbanger142 this is the greatest movie of all time. period.
TheguyfromPQ 1 year ago
@TheguyfromPQ The Godfather 1 and 2 are better, just my opinion.
MrUKFORLIFE 10 months ago
@MrUKFORLIFE yeah but the thing with godfather I and II is that it was fictional. goodfellas was the real thing.
zeromant80 9 months ago
@zeromant80 True. However, just as a movie, it's great but it isn't the "greatest movie of all time"....there are better.
MrUKFORLIFE 9 months ago
@MrUKFORLIFE Yeah. thats why im trying to say to all moviegoers. besides. it looks like you have a good taste in movies.
zeromant80 9 months ago
@zeromant80 Thanks dude. I just have to say though, this is an amazing movie, one of if not Scorsese's best . Joe Pesci as Tommy is still MY favorite performance in any movie as well.
MrUKFORLIFE 9 months ago
@Headbanger142 Goodfellas is a great film, but the best film ever made (actuall fact) is Citizen Cane which was made in the 1940's.
BLICKSTEINHUGHES 6 months ago
@Headbanger142 It fits, I guess.
26Theophilus 4 months ago
best ending ever
ITLSFINEST 2 years ago 4
. . . this is an intentional similarity. For one thing, in a film full of such inventive/varied filming techniques, the straight-on shot of Pesci shooting at the camera stands out. Has anyone thought or heard of this before?
jksonny 2 years ago
yeah sure I have and so have u. dont play dumb u obviously got the two disc special edition of goodfellas and saw on one of the featurettes scorcese mention he got the idea from that old silent movie.why would u ask something u already know?
nativelad 2 years ago
No. I have never seen the featurette but I appreciate you pointing it out.
jksonny 2 years ago
And since we're on the subject and you seem to be interested, there is another very famous homage to a silent film. Have you ever seen Back to the Future? If you have, towards the end of the movie, Doc Brown tries to connect some wires in order for the DeLorean to go back to the future. Well, that scene where he's hanging from the clock tower is an homage to a very famous scene from the silent movie Safety Last starring Harold Lloyd. Just thought I'd mention it
Tecun85 2 years ago
Yeah man, the shot of Tommy shooting at the viewer or audience is an homage to the ending shot of the silent film "The Great Train Robbery," where one of the bank robbers shoots at the audience. I don't have the special edition Goodfellas, but I read about it on a blog. Marty never ceases to amaze me, the man is a true genius. He's got alot of these homages sprinkled throughout all of his movies, really goes to show how much he values those that came before him.
Tecun85 2 years ago 2
Good stuff. If I remember correctly, they mentioned the 'Back to the Future' on the L.A. Universal tour.
No one makes movies like Marty. He's a genuis. If you've ever seen 'Boogie Nights,' the tracking shot in the opening is Anderson's homage to MS and the 'Goodfellas' scene where the camera follows Henry and Karen through the restaurant. Anderson talks about it in the Director's Commentary.
jksonny 2 years ago
do you reckon scorsese was drawing a parallel between the two films? Cause in the early 1900s people were shocked by a train coming towards them at the cinema, so having a gun fired at them would have been much worse. In my opinion, goodfellas is one of the most shockingly violent films i've ever seen, cause the violence is so real.
Stiletto92 2 years ago
Ughhh, I don't believe that his intention was to connect The Great Train Robbery and Goodfellas simply because in the former, the most shocking scene is not one where the train approaches the camera, but rather where one of the robbers shoots at the camera i.e. the audience. Which Scorsese then paid homage to in the last scene of Goodfellas where Joe Pesci shoots at the camera.
Tecun85 2 years ago
That would make sense why Pesci does this.
drcoxcentral 2 years ago
Moreover, as violent as Goodfellas is, I believe that Scorsese was not trying to compare the level of shock, since I'm sure he recognizes that movies like A Clockwork Orange and The Last House on the Left were far more violent and gruesome than his. Since he's also a film historian, Scorsese prolly included this last image of Pesci shooting at the audience as a simple tribute or homage to the history of the outlaw/gangster film since The Great Train Robbery was the first film of this genre.
Tecun85 2 years ago
good point, but don't worry, i'm not an idiot. i know the comparison was with the shooting shot at the end, i just brought up the train with reference to another film from the era to describe how easily shocked people were. I Probably didn't explain well enough
Stiletto92 2 years ago
What movie was the other one you were referring to?
Tecun85 2 years ago
The insert of Tommy shooting reminds me of a piece of footage from the beginning of 'Tombstone.' Toward the end of Mitchum's narration, a cowboy in a hat looks straight at the camera and fires a six-shooter. I've seen this footage before but I'm not sure if it is from a silent film from the twenties or just a quick sequence filmed for the sake of it. Anyway, given Martin S.'s appreciation/knowledge of cinema history - and the similarity between gangsters and wild west cowboys - that (cont'd)
jksonny 2 years ago
One of the coolest endings I've seen in a movie...just sooo cool how Joe Pesci standing there shooting the gun at the camera
KingSams0n 2 years ago 4
best ending song ever.
griffin324 2 years ago 4
agreed
maxevry 2 years ago
I swear to god he looks so fucking much like joaquin pheonix
NewYorkMets324 3 years ago