"Goodfellas" really only takes a small ration of incidents from Henry Hill's life of crime and proceeds to weave the story from this. What unfolds is an absolutely compelling film which is a superior motion picture on every level that paints a quite frankly deeply unappetising portrait of three decades of life in the mafia which initially appears to be glamorous and it undoubtedly provides unlimited and substantial rewards. However, this film amply illustrates that once you scratch the surface you find the lucrative lives they are leading has a chillingly sinister underbelly. Martin Scorsese excells superbly in the director's chair as he has done throughout his entire career. He is one of the true modern day masters of his craft and certainly on this occasion he literally re-invents what a motion picture about the mafia can be by delivering what is essentially a commanding directorial display which never gets in the way of the gripping and brilliantly crafted story.