# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/21 "2011-04-14T03:12:20Z")
_The Godfather_ is arguably a more _important_ movie, culturally. It essentially invented the mob genre and established a romantic mythos for the Mafia. The acting was as good as it gets, and Brando gave one of the most iconic perfortmances of all time. Having said that, I still find _Goodfellas_ more compulsively watchable, and the acting is just as good - especially Pesci, but DeNiro’s performance in that might be a little underrated as well. same with Ray Liotta, for that matter. Henry Hill is such an unsympathetic heel, but for some reason he’s still fascinating to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Estilicon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Estilicon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Estilicon)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/22 "2011-04-14T03:18:34Z")
I like both. But Joe Pesci’s joke scene is the single best scene and performance ever. Period. Just for that, I vote Goodfellas. ---
**Author:** ![splatterpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@splatterpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/splatterpunk)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/23 "2011-04-14T03:41:24Z")
> [@Estilicon](#): > > I like both. > But Joe Pesci’s joke scene is the single best scene and performance ever. Period. > Just for that, I vote Goodfellas. I agree that Pesci’s performance in _Goodfellas_ was brilliant, but I don’t agree that that scene was his best. Now g’home and get your fuckin shine box. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/24 "2011-04-14T06:55:26Z")
I’ve seen The Godfather once all the way through, and found it unremarkable. Tried to watch it several more timrs, to no avail. Goodfellas is worlds better, IMHO. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/25 "2011-04-14T07:24:53Z")
The Godfather was original in its time, but among nearly 40 years of mobster films, it’s lost ground to better films. The Goodfellas is one of those. If the Godfather wasn’t your first mobster flick, it’s likely to prove itself unexceptional. More often than not, that’s the way it works. The person who invented a genre deserves some credit for having made something new, but it’s pretty likely that someone else is going to top him, later. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/26 "2011-04-14T07:30:19Z")
They’re different movies for different moods, both remarkable in their own ways. I only saw _The Godfather_ a couple years ago and was completely enthralled by it. I didn’t think I was going to like it, especially after seeing _Goodfellas_ and all the mob movies that came after it, and because it’s a lonnnng movie (and I tend to nod off if a movie creeps past the two-hour mark), but it proved to be a veritable Shakespearean epic, well deserving of its place in the American cinematic canon. (And I haven’t seen Godfather II yet. I take it that it’s supposed to be pretty good, too, eh?) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/27 "2011-04-14T08:13:40Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Godfather is more about feudalism than Goodfellas. It’s also about the American immigrant experience - taken together with Part 2, I don’t think any movie has ever portrayed it as deeply and vividly. My family also immigrated to the U.S. at the turn of the 20th century; my grandfather was also born in a tiny apartment in the lower east side of Manhattan. The story resonates with me. In fact, I’d say that while \*Goodfellas \*is a movie about crime, \*Godfather \*is a family saga about a family whose business happens to be crime. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/28 "2011-04-14T08:45:13Z")
PSXer, what kind of an answer do you even expect for a question like the one in the OP? Look at the IMDb Top 250 films: > **[IMDb Top 250 Movies](https://www.imdb.com/chart/top)** > > IMDb Top 250 as rated by regular IMDb voters _The Godfather_ is at number 2 with an average rating of 9.2 (out of 10). _Goodfellas_ is at 15 with an average rating of 8.7. Now, unless what you’re asking is whether the IMDb is a gigantic conspiracy which someone has created purely to promote certain films, then the answer is obvious. Yes, there are very many people who think that _Goodfellas_ is a great film. On the average, most people rate _The Godfather_ as being a little bit better, but for films rated that close, it’s clear that there are a lot of people who rate _Goodfellas_ as being better. What you asked in the OP was whether there was anyone at all who thinks _Goodfellas_ is the better film. It sounds like what you’re saying is that you personally don’t think that it’s better, so you can ignore any objective evidence that there are people who disagree with you, since it’s not possible for anyone else’s tastes to be different. The answers you’re getting in this thread aren’t really addressing directly your question (because the question doesn’t make much sense). People are just giving their own opinions on the relative merit of the two films. If one looks at the literal meaning of your question though, the answer is obvious. Yes, there are many people who like _Goodfellas_ better. This doesn’t mean that I personally agree with the ratings on the IMDb. My personal ratings are often wildly different. I recognize though that other people exist and they have their own opinions, and I’m not free to act as though they don’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/29 "2011-04-14T09:34:47Z")
Goodfellas is a better film than the Godfather, its not even close. Everybody knows this. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/30 "2011-04-14T10:22:08Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > Goodfellas is better. > > More realistic. better how? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/31 "2011-04-14T10:33:30Z")
Nothing is as good as **Godfather** I and II combined, but **Goodfellas** has a bit of an edge over **Godfather I**. Scorsese is by far the better director. **Godfather** indulges in archetypes, the bane of good writing and directing (Men fear Michael and women worship him because the script says they do; Henry Hill has a slightly more believable link to reality). \*\* The Godfather\*\* romanticizes its dodgy protagonists, while **Goodfellas** just invites you to look at them, warts and all. Still, **Goodfellas** is no epic and **The Godfather** is. I could go either way in this one. ---
**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, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/32 "2011-04-14T11:09:53Z")
Godfather invented the mob genre? Impretty sure it had been an established genre fir decades before. ---
**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, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/33 "2011-04-14T11:44:31Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Godfather invented the mob genre? Impretty sure it had been an established genre fir decades before. It’s like Jimmy Cagney never existed! ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/34 "2011-04-14T13:37:58Z")
I have fond memories of the mammaries of Miichael’s first wife in “The Godfather” but I’d rather watch “Goodfellas”. But for a gangster film, I’ll still take “Each Dawn I Die” with Jimmy Cagney and George Raft. Raft didn’t have to do much acting to play a gangster, he was pretty close to being one. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/35 "2011-04-14T14:42:56Z")
Goodfellas is my second favorite movie of all time (after Tombstone), The Godfather isn’t even in the top ten. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/36 "2011-04-14T15:00:50Z")
Mob films that were closely patterned after real events and people didn’t exist prior to The Godfather. Efforts to portray mob activity before that film were either cartoonish or way off the mark. Puzo wrote about the Vegas mob, the Miami mob and the Havana mob, and about real events, such as the Castro revolution that evicted the mob from Cuba: he just used different names, but people like Meyer Lansky, Luciano, et al, were thinly disguised. That these events and people were dramatized is just good movie making, but I didn’t find any of them to be sympathetic characters. Goodfellas was just pure entertainment, and I enjoy watching it over Godfather, depending on what mood I’m in. ---
**Author:** ![MilTan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@MilTan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MilTan)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/37 "2011-04-14T15:46:30Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > PSXer, what kind of an answer do you even expect for a question like the one in the OP? Look at the IMDb Top 250 films: > > [IMDb Top 250 movies](http://www.imdb.com/chart/top) > > _The Godfather_ is at number 2 with an average rating of 9.2 (out of 10). _Goodfellas_ is at 15 with an average rating of 8.7. Now, unless what you’re asking is whether the IMDb is a gigantic conspiracy which someone has created purely to promote certain films, then the answer is obvious. Yes, there are very many people who think that _Goodfellas_ is a great film. On the average, most people rate _The Godfather_ as being a little bit better, but for films rated that close, it’s clear that there are a lot of people who rate _Goodfellas_ as being better. Can we all at least agree that it’s ridiculous that _Shawshank Redemption_ is above either of them? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/38 "2011-04-14T15:49:27Z")
> [@MilTan](#): > > Can we all at least agree that it’s ridiculous that _Shawshank Redemption_ is above either of them? I’ll join your team! At least _Citizen Kane_ is no longer at (or anywhere near) the top of that list. I don’t have SR in my top 20, even though I really like the movie. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/39 "2011-04-14T15:55:53Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > PSXer, what kind of an answer do you even expect for a question like the one in the OP? I think the question was rhetorical, and he just wanted people to explain why some people seem to believe that. So far, it seems to be working. BTW, I’ve never seen either movie, so I have no clue. ---
**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 14, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271/40 "2011-04-14T15:58:12Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > BTW, I’ve never seen either movie, so I have no clue. Get out. Get out now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-literally-people-who-think-goodfellas-is-as-good-as-the-godfather/578271.md?page=3)