"Goodfellas" tops greatest movies list (UK survey)

LONDON (Reuters) - Mobsters in the 1990 film "Goodfellas" have beaten a fear of heights in "Vertigo" and the great white shark of "Jaws" to help the Martin Scorsese film clench the mantle of greatest movie of all time in a survey of UK film experts.

Goodfellas, which featured Ray Liotta, Robert de Niro and an Oscar winning supporting role from Joe Pesci, topped the list of 100 movies in a survey of film critics by Total Film.

"Goodfellas has everything, in terms of its technical brilliance, its huge influence on modern film-making and its spikiness and rewatchability," Total Film features editor Jamie Graham told Reuters.

Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 classic "Vertigo" took second place, while third went to Steven Spielberg's 1975 classic "Jaws," the tale of a coastal town terrorised by a great white shark.

Goodfellas, which was based on the story of real-life mobster Henry Hill, also beat Citizen Kane, the 1941 Orson Welles film that tops many critics lists but which finished in sixth position in the Total Film poll.

The 10 ten films in the list included two made in the last decade, the 1999 film "Fight Club," starring Brad Pitt, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy directed by Peter Jackson.

Fight Club took fourth position ahead of other classics such as "Tokyo Story" and "Taxi Driver."

"By no means were we trying to be perverse, but we were setting out to make a list that was a bit more modern," Graham said.

What a concidence. I was showing several scenes from "Goodfellas" to my film class today...and this is one scene that is unforgettable!

The writing the acting the staging of course all work to make this scene - and more generally, this film, into one of the all time greats.

41 posted on 10/26/2005 5:38:44 PM PDT by eleni121 ('Thou hast conquered, O Galilean!' (Julian the Apostate))

I posted 2 quotes....so I assume it was the Pesci asking "..am I like a clown."
a truly powerful scene
the other one I posted here was the one where they needed a knife from Pesci's mother. a hoot. My kids (14, 21, 24) walk around the house sometimes saying..."its a sin...you know...the paw..the hoof". And Scorcese's mother as Pesci's mother was incredible making them some sausage and peppers in the middle of the night before they go out to get rid of the body.

sometimes they walk around saying. " I'm going to get the papers..get the papers".

42 posted on 10/27/2005 3:48:32 AM PDT by Vaquero ("An armed society is a polite society" R. A. Heinlein)

LOL...LOL...Jimmy Two Times: I'm gonna go get the papers, get the papers.

Nicholas Pileggi, the screenwriter and writer for "Casino" as well, captures the marvelous lingo -style -essence of these characters.

Of course, Hollywood awarded "Dances With Wolves" the best picture and Kevin Costner best director (!) that year...good picture too...more PC but director...no way.

43 posted on 10/27/2005 10:29:51 AM PDT by eleni121 ('Thou hast conquered, O Galilean!' (Julian the Apostate))

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