For over 30 years, Joe Pesci has had moviegoers on the edge of their seats, from his wild and unpredictable behavior to his profanity-laced commentaries. Love or love or hate him, Joe Pesci has earned his place as a Hollywood legend and one of the best actors of our generation. While he first got noticed in the Lethal Weapon movie series starring Danny Glover and Mel Gibson, many cinema friends consider the iconic film Goodfellas as Joe Pesci’s big break. Filled with mob violence, brutal kill scenes, and an intense brotherhood, get to know ten movies like Goodfellas that do Joe Pesci justice.
1. The Godfather (1972)
No mob film list would be complete without paying homage to the ultimate mob movie—the Godfather. Even fifty years after its debut, many of the film’s enduring elements and catchphrases, like “Make him an offer he can’t refuse,” live on. The first Godfather movie highlights Don Vito Corleone, played by the late Marlon Brando, and his quest to make his family legit and ultimately out of organized crime.
The movie depicts rival Mafia groups trying to take down the Corleone family. The film’s strength is Corleone’s son, Sonny, played by the late James Caan, Freddo, and Michael, played by Al Pacino. Despite Don Vito Corleone’s careful plans to have Michael lead the family into politics, fate would intervene and have Michael take over the family and extend the mob empire.
2. Scarface (1983)
Another iconic film starring Al Pacino and directed by Brian De Palma, Scarface, embodied the greed and dangers of the Columbian drug cartel in the 1980s. Al Pacino stars as Tony Montana, an illegal immigrant looking to make it big in the Miami drug trade. After taking over power from his boss, Montana’s greed, cocaine addiction, and unholy lust for his sister ultimately lead to his undoing.
3. The Irishman (2019)
This new mob classic dives deeply into the violent world of the Irish Mafia. Robert De Niro plays Frank Sheerhan, a hitman for the Irish mob. At a crossroads in his life, the Irishman revolves around Frank’s close relationships with other mobsters and even controversial figures like Jimmy Hoffa. The more successful Frank becomes within the Irish Mafia, the more enemies he attracts. The beauty of the Irishman is telling Frank’s story across decades.
The Irishman marks another successful collaboration between De Niro and Martin Scorsese. Joe Pesci fans will be happy to see Joe Pesci in the role of the Irish mob boss and Al Pacino portraying the leader of the Teamster Union, Jimmy Hoffa.
4. Donnie Brasco (1997)
Donnie Brasco was one of the highest-grossing films of 1997. It is based on the real-life story of Joseph Pistone, an FBI agent who successfully infiltrated and took down a powerful mob group. Johnny Depp stars in the leading role of Joseph Pistone, who goes deep undercover as Donnie Brasco. Throughout the film, there is interplay between Johnny Depp’s character and his mentor, Lefty Ruggiero, played by Al Pacino.
5. A Bronx’s Tale (1993)
A Bronx’s Tale puts Robert De Niro both behind the camera and in front as Lorenzo, a single father and working man, to his son Calogero. Part coming of age, and part Mafia drama, Calogero has torn loyalty between his father and a local mob boss, Sonny, in the Bronx. A Bronx Tale also grabbed headlines for an Interracial romance between Calogero and a young black woman. As the tension mounts between the warring mob factions, Calogero must choose where he ultimately aligns with.
6. The Departed (2006)
Martin Scorsese directs another hard-hitting crime thriller. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as the undercover cop, Billy Costigan, who successfully goes deep undercover and infiltrates a Boston Irish mob family headed by Frank, played by Jack Nicholson. Matt Damon also stars.
7. American Gangster (2007)
American Gangster stars Denzel Washington as Frank Lucas, one of New York’s most successful drug dealers in the 1970s. Having made tens of millions from the deadly Blue Magic Drug, Russel Crowe plays the determined detective to take Frank Lucas down.
8. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
Sergio Leone, the director of the legendary Man with No Name trilogy, directs Once Upon a Time in America, the story of Jewish settlers and gangsters starring Robert De Niro in 1900s New York City. Once Upon a Time in America shows the bond, triumphs, and bad times that De Niro and his gangster friends go through across the decades.
9. Miller’s Crossing (1990)
The Coen Brothers direct Miller’s Crossing, a film set in the Prohibition Era. Tom is a mob enforcer who develops struggling loyalties and rival mob factions at war with each other.
10. Casino (1995)
Robert De Niro, academy-award director Martin Scorsese, and Joe Pesci hook up in this violent mob movie. Set in 1970s Las Vegas, Robert De Niro plays Ace Rothstein, who runs a Las Vegas local casino on behalf of the mob. Throughout the film, Ace deals with betrayal from his closest friends, including Joe Pesci, starring as Nickey, who plots to kill Ace as he strikes up an affair with his drug-addict wife, played by Sharon Stone.
Hopefully, these ten films will be entertaining and worth watching at GoodFellas. Even though Ray Liotta is no longer with us, we can still bask in the greatness and enduring allure of mobster films. Joe Pesci continues to play a prominent role in today’s character-driven mob movies, and Martin Scorsese continues to influence and impact American cinema, including modern-day mob films.