Based on Nicholas Pileggi’s 1985 nonfiction book Wiseguy, Goodfellas is regarded as one of the best gangster movies of all time. Some prefer it over The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II, arguing that it’s more humorous and memorable. Widely considered Martin Scorsese’s magnum opus, the adaptation was nominated for six Oscars shortly after it came out, including Best Picture and Best Director, with Joe Pesci winning Best Supporting Actor.
Goodfellas narrates the rise and fall of mob associate Henry Hill (portrayed by Ray Liotta). Unfortunately, its outstanding legacy overshadows most other ’90s gangster movies. Despite some incredible entries, other ’90s gangster flicks barely seem to make headlines or enter discussions today. However, a case can be made for a few other films as being superior. The Scorsese flick might have the golden quotes and a voiceover narration you can never forget, but better stories were told, sometimes with better acting and production values.
Here are a few stronger ’90s gangster flicks.
‘A Bronx Tale’ (1993)
Several great actors have tried their hand at directing at some point, and a few years after the release of Goodfellas, Robert De Niro jumped behind the camera to direct A Bronx Tale, a leaner, precise mob tale with greater character depth. He also jumped behind the wheel, paying Lorenzo, a bus driver from Belmont who is concerned about his son Calogero’s friendship with the influential neighborhood mobster Sonny (Chazz Palminteri).
A Bronx Tale has a twist ending no one could stop talking about, better than the “Henry becomes a rat” plot that Goodfellas signed off with. And beyond the surface titillation, Calegoro brilliantly symbolizes the struggle between family and external influences and the more rational issue of “Common Sense Vs. Loyalty.” In the Scorsese film, life lessons hardly exist, but De Niro’s directorial debut has a few, including the iconic “Door Test.”
‘Carlito’s Way’ (1993)
Say hello to Brian De Palma and Al Pacino’s second collaboration. After their great work in Scarface, the director and actor team up again for a new gangster flick based on the novels Carlito’s Way and After Hours by Judge Edwin Torres. The movie actually mines from the latter book more than the former, but it couldn’t be named as such because a Scorsese flick of the same name exists.
Once again, Pacino plays a gangster who thought he was out, but they pulled him back in. Carlito Brigante, a Nuyorican criminal, wants to stay clean after serving five years, but a drug deal proves too sweet to turn down. The character’s attempt to flee from his past provides a moral bulkiness that Goodfellas lacks. Crime isn’t glorified. It’s painted as a demon to run away from. And the performances are unbelievably good. Pacino mesmerizes as the always-in-trouble criminal, and Sean Penn is a marvel as Carlito’s aloof and unapologetically corrupt lawyer.
‘Bugsy’ (1991)
Cosa Nostra buffs love Bugsy Siegel, the man who founded Las Vegas, but the mobster rarely gets much love… the John Gotti kind of love… in pop culture. Thankfully, Barry Levinson and Mullholand Productions sought to change that by making Bugsy, starring Warren Beatty as the titular character. Rather than cover the entire journey, the movie begins at the point where Bugsy falls for actress Virginia Hill (Annette Bening), and concludes with his ‘whacking.’
Bugsy received way more Oscar nominations (10), and anyone who watches it will conclude that it captures the business side of the mob better than the Scorsese movie. The Old Hollywood glamor is spellbinding, too. Admittedly, Goodfellas has one of the coolest behind-the-scenes stories, involving Joe Pesci’s improvisation of the famous “Funny how?” scene. But is it better than Beatty falling in love with his co-star, Annette Bening, and marrying her? He reportedly phoned Levinson and told him, “She’s terrific. I love her. I’m going to marry her.” And it happened, a union that resulted in four children.
‘Boyz n the Hood’ (1991)
With its crime-doesn’t-pay premise and its painterly eye for the South Central Los Angeles urban structure, the clever Boyz n the Hood is a gangster flick with a bloody, slyly cautionary appeal. Avoid bad company always, they say… But what if you can’t avoid it? Boyz n the Hood explores everything that can go wrong when a child grows up in a gang-infested neighborhood. Tre Styles (Cuba Gooding Jr.) is sent to live with his father in LA, and it is all chaos from there on.
R.I.P. Jon Singleton! The director initially developed the film as a requirement for his application to film school, and sold the script to Columbia Pictures upon graduation. He gets everything right, and the performances from the star-studded cast that includes Ice Cube, Larry Fishburne, Angela Bassett, Regina King, Morris Chestnut, and Nia Long, elevate the film to greater heights. And, from a social realism perspective, Boyz n the Hood beats Goodfellas. In the Scorsese film, characters choose a life of crime for power, glamour, and money. Here, they do it to survive.
‘Donnie Brasco’ (1997)
Once upon a time, undercover FBI agent Joe Pistone infiltrated the Bonanno crime family using the fake name Donnie Brasco. For years, he collected evidence, resulting in over 200 indictments and over 100 convictions of Cosa Nostra members. His story is told in the movie Donnie Brasco, with Joe Depp as the titular character and Al Pacino as Lefty Ruggiero, the mobster who trusted Pistone enough to give him the keys.
Seen today, it’s incredible that films this gorgeous and well-constructed were made on such lean budgets. Donnie Brasco is a bona-fide classic in the gangster genre, dripping with great quotes (“Fuggedabaoudit!”) and forbidding atmosphere, and actress Simon is mesmerizing. The story is almost similar to that of Goodfellas, with an older mobster mentoring a younger one, only for the younger one to betray the organization. While the Scorsese film only gives us a taste of clever law enforcement techniques, the Mike Newell film goes deeper, showing how easy it is to fool even the toughest of hoodlums.
‘New Jack City’ (1991)
In the ‘90s, Wesley Snipes was all about action movies, but he spared time for New Jack City, the story of a Harlem gang leader who makes a fortune once the crack epidemic begins. Nino Brown is his name, and no Goodfellas dialogue scene matches his courtroom outburst, where he explains the hypocrisy surrounding the drug trade. “I’m not guilty. You’re the one that’s guilty.”
No Goodfellas actor matches Snipes’ magnetic performance in this movie either. He is so good that the members of the Academy should be fined for leaving him out. What about the iconic staircase shootout scene? The Scorsese movie lacks anything comparable. Though New Jack City lags slightly in story quality, an eerie mood pervades the film too, and director Marion Van Peebles makes the most of what he’s given, resulting in a totally addictive film.
‘Casino’ (1995)
Casino was an obvious attempt by Scorsese to recreate the magic of Goodfellas, and even though some fans consider the film inferior, it’s actually better. Starring pretty much the same actors, with the welcome addition of Sharon Stone as the gorgeous Ginger, the gangster flick takes audiences through the wild story of Sam “Ace” Rothstein (Robert De Niro), a Jewish-American gambling expert handicapper tasked by the Chicago Outfit with overseeing the Tangiers Casino in Las Vegas.
Based on Nicholas Pileggi’s nonfiction book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas, this engrossing, true-to-life film will make you watch who you marry. The toxicity of Ginger and Ace’s relationship easily beats that of Henry Hill and Karen. And Joe Pesci’s character is subjected to a much more gruesome whacking than what we saw the first time around. Overall, Pesci is fabulous as yet another loose cannon, and De Niro plays the charming, fearless Ace as an unflappable leader who knows exactly what the job requires.
‘Miller’s Crossing’ (1990)
A cult hit long hailed as a genre masterpiece, Miller’s Crossing still lights up the screen, and one of the first exchanges will have you clinging to the edge of your seat. Here, Prohibition-Era Irish mobster Leo O’Bannon (Albert Finney) sets off a mob war when he extends protection to his girlfriend’s ne’er-do-well brother, who happens to be skimming off Leo’s rival.
From the cinematography to the noir tone, Miller’s Crossing gives audiences a traditional mob feel that Goodfellas lacks. The Coen brothers also packed in plenty of quirky characters, creating a film that hardly has a boring moment. Since then, its impact has been felt far and wide. The Sopranos even pays homage to it a few times, particularly in the iconic “Pine Barrens” episode.
Which other ’90s gangster movie is superior to Goodfellas?
- Release Date
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September 19, 1990
- Runtime
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145 minutes
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