# Are there literally people who think Goodfellas is as good as The Godfather **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 13, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271 "2011-04-13T20:20:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/1 "2011-04-13T20:20:01Z")
damn kids these days ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/2 "2011-04-13T20:24:39Z")
I don’t just think it’s as good as _The Godfather_, I think it’s better. Yeah yeah, taste varies from person to person and all that but really, when I watch the two, the only reason I can think of that people would prefer _The Godfather_ is because it’s got more of a reputation as an American classic. If I’d never heard of it before I saw it for the first time I probably would have just shrugged and gone “meh”. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/3 "2011-04-13T20:51:20Z")
I’m a big fan of both, but I give _The Godfather_ credit for establishing the genre that _Goodfellas_ made even more accessible. The same actors in many cases made their way to _The Sopranos_ which even added to the mystique of the American Crime universe. If there’s been anything in the past 10 years to go any further or any better into that whole world, I’ve missed seeing it. Many riding coat tails, but none improving on these pinnacles of achievement. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/4 "2011-04-13T20:52:28Z")
Are Yodels as good as bearnaise sauce? I think those two films are at least as good as eachother at achieving what I perceive as different cinematic goals. I quote from the Godfather more often, but that’s not what you asked. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/5 "2011-04-13T20:54:29Z")
The Godfather is a great movie, I can watch it anytime. When Goodfellas comes on I literally cannot turn off the TV. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2011, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/6 "2011-04-13T21:01:57Z")
The Godfather never felt grounded in reality to me. Everything was a bit too polished and theatrical and somewhat romaticized. Goodfellas was the grittier of the two and felt like it was set in the real world. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/7 "2011-04-14T00:27:27Z")
I’d watch Goodfellas ahead of The Godfather. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/8 "2011-04-14T00:29:59Z")
I’ve only seen Goodfellas once, but I didn’t think it was even close to the Godfather(especially part II). ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/9 "2011-04-14T00:36:38Z")
The last time I saw Goodfellas I was blown away at just how good it is. There’s not much wrong with that film. I liked the Godfather but I love Goodfellas. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/10 "2011-04-14T00:42:18Z")
I think it’s better but I’m only figuratively a person who thinks that. ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/11 "2011-04-14T00:47:08Z")
there are even those who think scarface is better than the godfather. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/12 "2011-04-14T00:49:25Z")
Godfather has perhaps a better and more deep plot. But the pacing of it is very, very boring at times by the standards of modern movie watchers. I can tolerate this kind of pacing because I grew up watching 70s films by guys like Sam Peckinpah with my dad and I developed a kind of patience for slower paced movies (as long as they’re punctuated by tension and shocking scenes.) Even a lot of great action movies like _Mad Max_ are _ridiculously_ slow-moving by today’s standards. And not a single TV viewer in America today would be able to sit through an episode of _Starsky and Hutch._ They just did things much, much slower back then. Goodfellas doesn’t have quite the same plot depth and gravity, and it’s also a totally different kind of movie. Goodfellas is narrated in the first person by Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), and narrated in the past tense, which alters the way the viewer will absorb the movie knowing that it is happened in the past vs. “happening right now.” This alone is a big deal in determining the feel of the movie. It uses much faster cuts. Lots of random and relatively unimportant (but colorful) characters are constantly introduced, to create a sense of a bustling, hustling active world of the gangster’s crime underworld. The pop music of the time was flawlessly woven into the movie’s narrative - an excellent technique when used by a Scorsese or a Paul Thomas Anderson, but difficult to pull off. They’re two vastly different movies and I enjoy both of them equally. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/13 "2011-04-14T00:51:51Z")
I agree that Godfather is too romanticized. Goodfellas is much more believable by showing how petty, empty, and cruel killers and thieves really are. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/14 "2011-04-14T01:21:35Z")
> [@Daddypants](#): > > The Godfather is a great movie, I can watch it anytime. When Goodfellas comes on I literally cannot turn off the TV. I hate that. Each time I say to myself, “I’m not watching this long ass movie again” and next thing I know, I’m looking at Ray Liotta’s chicken legs as he bends over to grab his newspaper. ETA: [QUOTE=Argent Towers] Goodfellas is narrated in the first person by Henry Hill (Ray Liotta)… [/QUOTE] Except, when it’s being narrated by Henry’s wife. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/15 "2011-04-14T01:25:05Z")
I prefer _Goodfellas_. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/16 "2011-04-14T01:33:07Z")
The Godfather is a great movie, but if you were to ask me which I prefer watching, I’d have to say Goodfellas. Goodfellas, because of its faster pacing, is just a more exciting film, and if I happen to catch it on TV, I can tune if for five minutes or I can tune in for the whole thing and love it just as much. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Godfather, and I’d even go as far as to say that all things considered it’s probably the better film. But to watch it, I have to be in just the right mindset, not to mention set aside an entire afternoon for it. It’s not the type of movie you can just jump into if you happen to catch it at the halfway mark while flipping through the channels and fully appreciate it. ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/17 "2011-04-14T01:42:01Z")
a really good movie is a classic; it’s appreciated decades after it stopped screening, and no subsequent artistry will diminish its uniqueness and sheer pleasure of watching. the godfather is one such movie. young people used to so-called “quicker” action have all the time to grow and appreciate marlon brando and company (maybe until they can locate palermo on the globe.) good fellas is a classic in itself, although i’m more impressed by the rat-pack series. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/18 "2011-04-14T01:53:50Z")
Goodfellas is better. More realistic. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/19 "2011-04-14T02:00:28Z")
Goodfellas is a great movie. The Godfather is one of the three or four greatest movies ever made, and Goodfellas isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/20 "2011-04-14T03:03:57Z")
Godfather is more about feudalism than Goodfellas. Mobsters are not fabulously wealthy like the Dons in the Godfather were. Goodfellas is about the stupidity and violence and nihilism and betrayal of the life of crime. They are different movies. Godfather is a better movie about human nature and the path to hell being paved with good intentions. Goodfellas is about criminals and how crime doesn’t pay. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271.md?page=2)