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Forum namePass The Popcorn
Topic subjectWhich "Goodfellas" character was more wrong?
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=6&topic_id=455796
455796, Which "Goodfellas" character was more wrong?
Posted by sithlord, Wed Dec-31-69 07:00 PM
I just watched "Goodfellas" for the first time in a few years and it occurred to me: Henry Hill ratted everyone out to save his own neck, but Jimmy used all those guys to pull the lufthansa heist, killed everybody and kept the money for himself...aside from the money he kicked upstairs to Paulie, but that was it.

Yeah, everybody was fucking up with spending their cuts before they actually got them, and yes, it's possible Morrie would have dropped a dime if he had gotten busted, but in the grand scheme of things, was Jimmy really any better than Henry in the end? He turned on everyone for his own best interest just like Henry did. Only difference was, he didn't do it with the police.


Poll question: Which "Goodfellas" character was more wrong?

Poll result (25 votes)
Jimmy- Killed all the guys who pulled the Lufthansa heist (17 votes)Vote
Henry Hill- Obvious reasons (8 votes)Vote

  

455799, Tommy was a loud-mouthed, careless prick, and deserved death
Posted by MANHOODLUM, Sat Jun-06-09 08:34 PM
that's all.
455805, you're gonna be late to your own funeral (c) Old Italian Dude
Posted by El_Pistolero, Sat Jun-06-09 09:20 PM
455818, Tommy was a prick, and Casino buried him
Posted by MANHOODLUM, Sat Jun-06-09 10:31 PM
Since Casino took Tommy and gave him a triple shot of prick juice lol
455836, i'm sayin. he shot spider for FUN
Posted by Mynoriti, Sun Jun-07-09 02:48 AM
then shot him again and killed him because he couldn't handle his boys breakin' his balls a little.
456159, Okay, so where do we stand on him killing Billy Bats?
Posted by mrhood75, Mon Jun-08-09 06:12 PM
Obviously, dude was a made guy and we just breaking balls.

On the other hand, dude probably went way too far with it, even though he was drunk. He needed to reign that shit in. Don't know if it justified killing him though.
456167, if Spider killed Tommy, it would've been like Tommy killing Bats
Posted by Mynoriti, Mon Jun-08-09 06:44 PM
though i'm not sure if spider was as insecure as Tommy was lol.

i mean if anything it was a dumb move on Tommy's part since it was the main reason he wound up dead, but you at least *get* his frustration in that scene. Bats is clowning him in front of his girl and both groups of friends. Bats was probably Tommy's version of Tommy back in the day. you saw his reaction when he realized Billy was there.

one thing i LOVE about that scene to this day was how quick Jimmy had his back. he knew what Tommy was about to do when he walked in and didn't hesitate for a second to go all in.

"fuckin mutt dented my shoes"
456174, RE: if Spider killed Tommy, it would've been like Tommy killing Bats
Posted by mrhood75, Mon Jun-08-09 07:09 PM

>one thing i LOVE about that scene to this day was how quick
>Jimmy had his back. he knew what Tommy was about to do when he
>walked in and didn't hesitate for a second to go all in.

Yep, I always loved that shit too. Henry pretty much knew what time it was too. As soon as Tommy takes the first swing, he locks the door and doesn't say shit. Pretty miuch Henry's whole steez.

>"fuckin mutt dented my shoes"

Love that line.
499989, RE: if Spider killed Tommy, it would've been like Tommy killing Bats
Posted by Kozmikblak, Thu Jan-28-10 09:07 PM
>
>>one thing i LOVE about that scene to this day was how quick
>>Jimmy had his back. he knew what Tommy was about to do when
>he
>>walked in and didn't hesitate for a second to go all in.
>
>Yep, I always loved that shit too. Henry pretty much knew what
>time it was too. As soon as Tommy takes the first swing, he
>locks the door and doesn't say shit. Pretty miuch Henry's
>whole steez.
>
That pretty much Henry's whole steez cause he's telling the story. To keep his deal he could not have actually killed anyone.
Help dispose of bodies and evidence yeah but not actually kill them. Most likely he has physically participated
in killing someone. No one is going to let you hang around while they do "all" the killing and you just watch.
Nope won't happen. Especially how paranoid those guys are.
456589, Why didn't Jimmy get clipped for helping?
Posted by LeroyBumpkin, Thu Jun-11-09 11:33 AM
I never understood that.
456595, Probably because no one could really "connect" him...
Posted by mrhood75, Thu Jun-11-09 11:43 AM
...to the murder.

There were a ton of witnesses who were in the bar/restaurant when Billy was breaking Tommy's balls, and witnessed Tommy flipping his fucking wig. The next day, Bats comes up missing. Not a huge whodunit. They probably suspected Jimmy and Henry were involved, but had nothing to back it up. Now, I would imagine that a crime family doesn't always require incontravertable evidence to wack someone, but Jimmy and Henry were still top money-earners for them.
456684, Didn't Tommy yell, 'YOU BOUGHT YOUR BUTTON!!'?
Posted by MANHOODLUM, Thu Jun-11-09 04:46 PM
Like somehow, Billy Bats wasn't respected as a "made guy", even though he was made. I always thought that line showed that maybe Bats was a good earner, and got made on the strength.

Plus, it was his welcome party, and there was like 2 people there lol

When Tommy got clipped, even tho it was the rules, Hill referred to it as "old, greaseball shit"...as if Tommy got clipped on a matter of old school principle BECAUSE Bats was made, other than Bats being made (if that makes sense).

Bats just didn't seem to be a man of respect.
456693, well, damn
Posted by Mynoriti, Thu Jun-11-09 05:39 PM
i've seen it at least a hundred times and never heard that. just played the clip and there it is... TWICE lol.

>Plus, it was his welcome party, and there was like 2 people
>there lol

LOL

>When Tommy got clipped, even tho it was the rules, Hill
>referred to it as "old, greaseball shit"...as if Tommy got
>clipped on a matter of old school principle BECAUSE Bats was
>made, other than Bats being made (if that makes sense).
>
>Bats just didn't seem to be a man of respect.

never really looked at it like that but it makes sense
455806, To my recollection Henry didn't kill anyone
Posted by El_Pistolero, Sat Jun-06-09 09:22 PM
He beat up a couple of foos an pushed a lil' contraband, that's all.
455819, I always thought that was his PLEA BARGAIN
Posted by MANHOODLUM, Sat Jun-06-09 10:36 PM
Lol

Smart...even for a movie.

Whenever a death happened, Henry Hill was always in the background, doe-eyed.

The heist? Hill was in the shower.

Billy Bats? Hill was locking the door...doe eyed like he was getting his first piece of pussy.

If you watch "Goodfellas", from a legal standpoint, wonder why Hill NEVER does any actual dirt...then ponder the end of the movie.

455864, great point
Posted by Kungset, Sun Jun-07-09 12:23 PM
455929, basically... "THIS FILM HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR LEGAL IMPLICATIONS"
Posted by dula dibiasi, Sun Jun-07-09 06:46 PM
lol... henry the saint. foh.
456567, RE: basically... "THIS FILM HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR LEGAL IMPLICATIONS"
Posted by Tiggerific, Thu Jun-11-09 10:11 AM
He's far from a saint. But, I see why the feds went after him. Think about it. Its not like the mob would make him a made man. What would he have gotten out of it, by keeping his mouth shut? And, Paulie was already pissed at him. He knew that Jimmy would have tried to kill him. Being a snitch was really his only option, other than going to jail.
456120, a chain or legal conspiracy would have dragged him in
Posted by k_orr, Mon Jun-08-09 04:43 PM
500050, damn, now I gotta watch it again....
Posted by tully_blanchard, Fri Jan-29-10 07:44 AM

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455807, jail or murder? jail or murder? hmmm I think Imma have to go w/red
Posted by Grand_Royal, Sat Jun-06-09 09:23 PM

catch a swollen heart, from not rollin' smart
455851, killin the clowns in the game is worse than snitchin on the boss?
Posted by The Analyst, Sun Jun-07-09 10:13 AM
455971, yeah u're right, snitchin' is worse than murder
Posted by Grand_Royal, Mon Jun-08-09 12:07 AM

catch a swollen heart, from not rollin' smart
455867, Jimmy was a fink, but Henry made a jerk out of Paulie
Posted by kevlar skully, Sun Jun-07-09 12:43 PM


who never did anything but look out for that kid


I want to say Jimmy, but Henry was a rat, he couldla kilt Jimmy and been straight
455892, If Henry didn't snitch they would've killed him anyway
Posted by Mynoriti, Sun Jun-07-09 04:16 PM
Out of fear that he'd snitch. He knew the reality did what he had to do. either way, his legacy was gonna down as Henry the Rat so fuck it.

Paulie couldn't trust him after the whole drug thing, Jimmy was a paranoid psycho whose solution to everything was murder. Niether of them wanted to do it, and the fact that they waited was a testament to how much they liked Henry. Unfortunately for them they waited too long.
455920, SO many different levels of disappointment for Paulie
Posted by sithlord, Sun Jun-07-09 06:04 PM
Henry essentially did everything Paulie told him not to do when he got of prison:
Don't do too much with Jimmy and Tommy? Brought them into the drug deals
Don't get involved in drugs? Went right back to his Pittsburgh connection
Don't get him thrown in jail? Did that too.

I'm wondering if Paulie would have killed Jimmy and Henry. Sometimes I think he would have killed them both, but sometimes I think Jimmy was planning to kill Henry to save his own ass from Paulie.

I apologize for not putting a Tommy choice up in the original post, but Tommy kind of goes without saying after all he did.


<----My debut album cover
455926, yup
Posted by Mynoriti, Sun Jun-07-09 06:27 PM
>I'm wondering if Paulie would have killed Jimmy and Henry.
>Sometimes I think he would have killed them both, but
>sometimes I think Jimmy was planning to kill Henry to save his
>own ass from Paulie.

Henry says this actually:

"I knew Paulie was still pissed at me and he's such a hot head. And I was worried about Jimmy. See, Jimmy knew if Paulie found out he was in the drug deals with me, Paulie would have Jimmy whacked even before me."
456030, Plus Paulie was fuckin Karen
Posted by Big Chief Rumbletummy, Mon Jun-08-09 10:54 AM

That didn't make the movie, probably to have amore sympathetic Karen, but Henry Hill has stated that he had solid evidence that Paulie was taking liberties with his wife. Henry couldn't say shit because, hey, that's the boss. Karen didn't do much to dampen Henry's suspicions neither.

In re: the original question of “where the money went” – according to interviews with Henry Hill, Jimmy never really saw much of that money after the initial crime. Hill has maintained that basically ALL of it was kicked upstairs and “whacked up between bosses” © (Jonesville Station interview w/ Henry Hill). No one’s quite sure how much money was stolen: some said Lufthansa inflated the amount for the insurance recoup, some said they underreported the amount to save face. However much it was the bigger bosses, those in the Lucchese outfit above Paulie, all wanted their taste.

Now when there’s ever any doubt as to whether they’re getting their full share or not, trust that they’re going to take what they feel their full share SHOULD BE. Jimmy Burke had no recourse, even though he’d risen just about as far as a non-Italian could go in the mafia, because he would lose any sit-down with any capo, and definitely any boss, who laid a claim to the money. I think part of the expediency and ferocity in getting rid of the Lufthansa criminals was on orders of the bigger names getting involved and not wanting to be tied to it by any low-level drug addict connected guy



©
YOU ARE SLEEPING! You do not want to believe…YOU ARE SLEEPING!
456117, wow i never knew that
Posted by Mynoriti, Mon Jun-08-09 04:34 PM
>That didn't make the movie, probably to have amore
>sympathetic Karen, but Henry Hill has stated that he had solid
>evidence that Paulie was taking liberties with his wife. Henry
>couldn't say shit because, hey, that's the boss. Karen didn't
>do much to dampen Henry's suspicions neither.

was it in wise guy? if it is i guess i don't remember it.

>Now when there’s ever any doubt as to whether they’re getting
>their full share or not, trust that they’re going to take what
>they feel their full share SHOULD BE. Jimmy Burke had no
>recourse, even though he’d risen just about as far as a
>non-Italian could go in the mafia, because he would lose any
>sit-down with any capo, and definitely any boss, who laid a
>claim to the money. I think part of the expediency and
>ferocity in getting rid of the Lufthansa criminals was on
>orders of the bigger names getting involved and not wanting to
>be tied to it by any low-level drug addict connected guy

interesting stuff. i never really thought of the killings as Jimmy acting on orders from above. if anything i thought Jimmy's reason for killing the those guys was because Paulie and the Luchesee's were reaching too far in his pockets, and he found himself losing money, so the murders were a way for him to cut costs. that and in case someone snitched.
456414, RE: wow i never knew that
Posted by sithlord, Wed Jun-10-09 01:47 PM
I remember hearing that. I think it was mentioned in this book that was exclusively about Lufthansa, called The Heist. I don't think Paulie and Karen was mentioned in in Wiseguy, but it's been years since I read it.

Henry Hill's a minor player in The Heist, which focuses a lot on Jimmy and Paulie. There was a woman Paulie was messing around with that ratted on him and he had her chopped up, put in a trunk and thrown in the ocean. Dude didn't play.
<----My debut album cover
456632, Trust me I know just the right thing to say to her. (c)Paulie
Posted by jigga, Thu Jun-11-09 01:45 PM
Doesn't he say something along those lines when he's with Jimmy telling Henry that he'll talk to Karen & why he has to go back to her?

That always came across somewhat suspicious to me. Now it makes sense.
456659, "especially her"
Posted by Mynoriti, Thu Jun-11-09 03:08 PM
haha i never made anything of that line
456661, The look on his face when he said it too
Posted by jigga, Thu Jun-11-09 03:24 PM
>haha i never made anything of that line

SUSPECT..ONE!!! (c)Dru Down

499852, Oh man, that never even dawned on me
Posted by Marauder21, Thu Jan-28-10 10:26 AM
DAMN that's classic
456061, Remember it was told from HH POV...
Posted by Buddy_Gilapagos, Mon Jun-08-09 12:58 PM
and he was still a dick. Imagine if we got the whole story.

**********
"See he's organized, and he's on the ball. Never miss a day of school,and he's a underdog. Wanna learn more and more, cuz his mama taught him good. He's about to change the face of yo ghetto neighborhood." (c) Badu
456110, RE: Remember it was told from HH POV...
Posted by sithlord, Mon Jun-08-09 04:03 PM
I thought of this many times. He did seem a little too clean to have been that deep into the mob. I remember somewhere in Wiseguy (the book), he stressed over and over that he never killed anyone. I think he probably killed quite a few people, but there's no statute of limitations on murder and any thing he didn't admit to in his original deal that was later found out could void the deal and he could be prosecuted for it. Nicky Barnes said the same thing in Mr. Untouchable. He was really careful to not cop to any murders. He just kept saying "I heard" or "I was there, but"

Funny thing is both Nicky Barnes and Henry Hill were junkie assholes.
<----My debut album cover
456113, he was drunk on Howard Stern once
Posted by Mynoriti, Mon Jun-08-09 04:18 PM
and started confessing about how he killed someone by sticking an ice-pick in his head

i think he later denied it, and i know before that he had maintained his claim about never killing anyone.
456487, he was drunk on Howard Stern MANY times
Posted by zuma1986, Wed Jun-10-09 08:09 PM
I remember they were talking about when they were writing Goodfellas and the book Wiseguys (I think that's what it was called) and they were getting information from Henry, he would call them up drunk in the middle of the night and ramble for hours.
456119, that was a big problem with Blow imo
Posted by Mynoriti, Mon Jun-08-09 04:39 PM
George Jung big upped himself SO much in that movie, to a point where i think 90% of his stories were bullshit.
456180, ^^^^
Posted by thoughtprocess, Mon Jun-08-09 07:35 PM
>George Jung big upped himself SO much in that movie, to a
>point where i think 90% of his stories were bullshit.

he kept saying "i swear that was the last time i was gonna deal with cocaine."
456665, plus everything bad that happens is someone else's fault
Posted by Mynoriti, Thu Jun-11-09 03:33 PM
like all he ever did was try to do right by everyone and they all screwed him over. poor george jung.
456633, the other big problem with Blow imo is showin that pic of him at the end
Posted by jigga, Thu Jun-11-09 01:49 PM
I still get nightmares just thinkin about that
456666, yeah that was scary
Posted by Mynoriti, Thu Jun-11-09 03:36 PM
in fact it was the only negative thing about him in the movie lol
456668, That image popped into my head randomly last weekend
Posted by mrhood75, Thu Jun-11-09 03:37 PM
I was trying to take a nap at the time. So much for that.
456670, Thought it was just me. I see the dvd on the shelf & get the hebe jebes.
Posted by jigga, Thu Jun-11-09 03:40 PM
No joke
499853, Yeah, he's a huge bullshitter anyway
Posted by Marauder21, Thu Jan-28-10 10:28 AM
Just has that type of personality I guess. Still made for a good movie, even if I take some of the details with a grain of salt.
456183, Henry Hill's snitching ass
Posted by Amritsar, Mon Jun-08-09 07:57 PM
that drug shit took a lot of mob bosses out the game easy, so Paulie's coldness to him (giving him a wad of cash and not killin him) was very generous imo. Especially after he TOLD him not to fuck with it.

Jimmy was wrong for killing all those people too, but at least some of um had it coming, buyin all kind of expensive flashy shit for the 'feds takin pictures'


456193, henry only because in his world, it was the bigger offence
Posted by Iltigo, Mon Jun-08-09 08:33 PM
but in the real wolrd, henry didnt kill anybody .

but come on, jimmy "did the right thing". he got rid of anyone that could bring the entire thing down. if they were made guys there woudl have been no problem. and in fact there was no dust up from jimmy cleaning house.

but henry sent folks upstate. he wasn't made, but still. he shared secrets with outsiders and talked...
________________________________________
It's A Boy and his name is MILES KHALIL YOUNG
456655, some Goodfellas fun facts
Posted by Mynoriti, Thu Jun-11-09 03:02 PM
just stumbled onto this so i'm not sure how accurate it is (rubletummy could proababy confirm). covers some of the stuff being talked about in here though. biggest difference seems to be Paulie being far from the sweet old guy he is in the movie:

-Unlike the film, Karen Hill had an affair with Paul Vario (Paulie) while Henry was in jail. DiSimone also tried to have sex with Karen and when she refused, he tried to rape her. When Vario found out, he told the Gambino’s that Disimone had killed two other made men (that he had actually OK’ed). In 2007 Henry Hill confirmed that it was John Gotti who killed Tommy. It was always assumed it was payback for Billy Bats but it really wasn’t.

-Tommy (DiSimone) had a “closed casket” funeral not because he was shot in the face but because his body was and has never been found.

-Parnell “Stacks” Edwards (Samuel L. Jackson) was a supporter of the Black Panther Party and a good friend of Tommy. He actually did a lot of grunt work and credit card scams for James Burke (Jimmy The Gent) and sang weekly at Burke’s jazz lounge.

-Martin Krugman (Morrie) was not stabbed in the neck by Tommy as depicted in the film. DiSimone was in fact already dead when Burke decided to get rid of Krugman.

-Henry Hill was 7 years older than Tommy DiSimone and Tommy was actually a tall, burly enforcer who was killed at the age of 28. Not at all like the diminutive and much older Joe Pesci.

-Paul Vario Jr. actually introduced Henry to Karen and it was he who went on the first date with Henry. Not Tommy as depicted n the film.

-Paul Vario (Paul Sorvino) was actually prone to violent outbursts unlike his film characterization. He once took a then 13 year-old Hill with him to a barmaid’s house and proceeded to beat her with a baseball bat, breaking her collarbone in retaliation for the woman telling his wife of their affair.

-James Burke (DeNiro) was also known to be extremely violent and not at all cool like his film counterpart. The FBI estimated that he participated in 50 murders personally. He once almost strangled New York journalist Jimmy Breslin to death in front of a bar full of patrons for an accusatory article written about Paul Vario after the Lufthansa heist.

-Michael “Spider” Gianco was really shot in the chest by DiSimone for uttering “Go fuck yourself, Tommy.” However, DiSiomone was actually envious of Gianco and had publicly griped that the well liked Gianco, would be “made” before him.

-William “Billy Bats” Devino was held in a headlock by Burke and had his skull beaten in with the butt of a .38 revolver. He wasn’t kicked or stomped unconscious as the movie depicted. Hill also gave conflicting reports about him waking up. At first he states Devino was shot and stabbed but later on stated “He woke up and we stabbed him like 40 fuckin’ times.”

-James Burke attempted to kill Karen Hill and her two children when he suspected Henry of being an informant.

-After he was released from prison as a youth, Henry Hill joined the US Army and was stationed at Fort Bragg. He was a member of the 82nd Airborne Division.

-Paul Vario didn’t want anyone in his crew selling drugs not because he thought they were bad but because he felt that drug sentences were so long that anyone caught would “rat” him out that much quicker.



456663, Interesting. I knew some of the stuff from reading the book
Posted by mrhood75, Thu Jun-11-09 03:32 PM
Like about how it wasn't Tommy that went on the double date with Henry when he met Karen. For some reason I don't think it was Paulie Jr. who introduced them. I want to say it was another of Paulie's sons or one of Tommy's brother. Haven't read the book in like 10 years though, so I can't really remember.

Edit: I'd also heard the John Gotti thing. Or at least that he was there when it happened.
456672, yeah i don't remember any of the paulie stuff from the book
Posted by Mynoriti, Thu Jun-11-09 03:42 PM
but it's been about five years for me.
456669, no kidding?
Posted by Amritsar, Thu Jun-11-09 03:40 PM
In
>2007 Henry Hill confirmed that it was John Gotti who killed
>Tommy.


I learned something new today ...
499817, Cool shit
Posted by Big Chief Rumbletummy, Thu Jan-28-10 12:20 AM


499833, sidenote, the real-life henry hill is STILL fuckin up
Posted by Cold Truth, Thu Jan-28-10 02:41 AM
he's wanted on a couple failure to appear charges for drunk in public. apparently he's an avid bingo player at a local casino.

he's so well known and doesn't exactly keep a low profile it's hard to understand how he hasn't been murdered yet for being a rat
502863, RE: sidenote, the real-life henry hill is STILL fuckin up
Posted by sithlord, Wed Feb-10-10 05:12 PM
I know these contracts never really expire, but most of the guys Henry was involved with are dead now and I'm sure the feds are waiting for any of the current people to take a shot at him so they can hem them up too.