How groundbreaking/original was Goodfellas when it came out?

yeah, sure, just like Wonderland is.

I like Goodfellas but I would rate Boogie Nights a bit higher for charting unexplored to that point territory. A lot of us could have projected Henry Hill's life without much of his input. NYC mob is a known quantity to a fair number of people. Knowing somebody that was in the porn business decades ago is not quite as rare as a unicorn but close. I grew up about an hour from a midsized Northeastern city that had an active sex industry decades ago and some of the stories I heard would make for a good movie. A former high school classmate of my wife's was a medium-high end call girl for out of town businessmen back when such cities were still thriving in manufacturing. There was also a mostly underground porn industry around as well in the days before the internet. The guy that would have been my boss in my first job in that city specifically requested to be assigned to that city because of the nightlife found there that is not found in most other cities. It became very concerning to his father who was the head of the business and from a conservative Midwest city as they were looking for investors to grow the business. The son's lifestyle if it became known would have made securing money from dad's business acquaintances very difficult.

I just saw Scarface with Pacino. Didn't like it although there was a certain entertainment value. Talk about unlikable characters. I think the Mom was the only good person. I wonder how these people all managed to leave Cuba? On a boat illegally? I did think it was pretty funny when his buddy told him how he should pick up women.

Solid picks. Can't argue with those. Strange Scarface is one of your favorites but you don't like Goodfellas. Nobody's perfect I guess, lol.