Now that we are in the throes of Oscar Season, I want to take a chance to showcase the films that I think should have won Best Picture, but sadly lost.

Goodfellas is one such movie, though it can be argued that what won really deserved to win. The movie it lost to was Dances with Wolves, which is still a grand movie, but Goodfellas was something great, it was a stylish and fast-talking gangster movie. It also interestingly enough was up against The Godfather Part III. Goodfellas won only one Oscar, and that was for Joe Pesci (which he rightfully deserved).

Martin Scorsese hadn’t exactly had a knock-out movie since Raging Bull (haha) and 10 years after that we got Goodfellas. This is really one movie that if you haven’t seen it, then you really should.

It is funny, it is violent, it is a classic. There are so many lines and scenarios, from the long-take of entering the restaurant, the “Why am I funny?” conversation, the narration; all of it has become much more of a cultural landmark.

Also, what Scorsese does with soundtracks is superb; he and Tarantino are some of the best integrators of music into movies, having the perfect song for the perfect scene.

So if you haven’t already seen this classic and want to see why I think it really should have won Best Picture in 1991, then check it out, and also check out The Wolf of Wall Street, Scorsese’s new movie, which opens on Christmas. You’ll also be able to see where the first sentence in my bio comes from.

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