Goodfellas Broke A Very Fitting & Specific Record In Martin Scorsese's Career

Goodfellas is widely regarded as one of Martin Scorsese’s best gangster movies, and it broke a very specific and fitting record in Scorsese’s career. Despite having explored a variety of genres in his movies, Martin Scorsese is best known for his gangster movies, and one of the most praised ones is Goodfellas. Based on the non-fiction book Wiseguy, by Nicholas Pileggi, Goodfellas chronicles the rise and fall of mob associate Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), from his days running errands for the crew of Paul Cicero (Paul Sorvino) to becoming an FBI informant.

In the middle of that, Henry Hill became very close to some notable names in the mob, such as Jimmy “The Gent” Conway (Robert De Niro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci). Together they committed a variety of crimes, including the planning, execution, and deadly aftermath of the Lufthansa heist in 1978. Goodfellas has been praised for its story, direction, cast, and more, and is regarded as one of the greatest films ever made – and it also broke a lesser-known but very fitting record in Scorsese’s career thanks to one specific word.

Goodfellas Used The F-Word 300 Times

Goodfellas Wasn’t Afraid To Use Strong Language

Given the themes and topics in Goodfellas, it’s not surprising that there’s strong language in it. It’s even expected that a movie about the true story of a former mobster will use words that can be controversial and others that, even though they are commonly used, can be too much for some viewers. Scorsese and Pileggi had no problems with using the f-word as many times as they felt needed in Goodfellas, leading it to break the record of most f-words used in a Scorsese movie with 300.

While it might seem excessive when seeing the number of times the f-word was used in Goodfellas, the truth is that it makes sense within the story and it doesn’t seem like it’s used that many times when watching the movies. Characters like Tommy DeVito, due to how impulsive and aggressive they are, had to use colorful language in almost every interaction they had, which also brings more realism to the story of Henry Hill and company. Most used f-words might not be a career record many filmmakers would want, but it’s part of the essence of a gangster movie like Goodfellas.

The Wolf Of Wall Street Now Has The Highest F-Word Count In Scorsese’s Career

23 Years Later, The Wolf Of Wall Street Went Higher Than Goodfellas

Goodfellas’ f-word record was broken five years later by another gangster movie in Scorsese’s filmography. In 1995, Scorsese brought Casino, based on the nonfiction book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas, also written by Pileggi. Casino is the story of Sam “Ace” Rothstein (De Nito), a gambling expert handicapper asked by the Chicago Outfit to oversee the day-to-day casino and hotel operations at the Tangiers Casino in Las Vegas. Casino was a critical success, though it didn’t get as much praise as Goodfellas.

Related

The Real Life Inspiration Behind Martin Scorsese’s Casino

Casino, like other gangster movies by Martin Scorsese, is based on real-life events and people, though with a couple of differences.

Casino has a total of 422 f-words, and it held the record for the highest f-word count in Scorsese’s career for 18 years. The record was broken in 2013 by The Wolf of Wall Street, based on Jordan Belfort’s 2007 memoir of the same name. The Wolf of Wall Street tells the story of Belfort and his career as a stockbroker in New York City, including the corruption and fraud committed by his firm on Wall Street.

The Wolf of Wall Street has an f-word count of 569, giving it the #3 spot on the list of movies with the most use of this word. At the time of writing, the movie with the highest f-word count is the 2014 black comedy Swearnet: The Movie, with 935, and it’s to be seen if there will be a movie that goes higher than that in an organic way.

Goodfellas is a 1990 crime film starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Ray Liotta. The film was directed by Martin Scorsese and outlines the life and times of mobster Henry Hill. It's based on the book Wiseguy, written by Nicholas Pileggi.

Release Date September 21, 1990

Runtime 145 Minutes