I don't know if you agree but the best acting I've seen Ray do is in this film. I first saw this film when i was about 8 (ooops) and have thought he was cool ever sinse but other acting he's done in the other films doesn't compare to the acting that he put into this. In this film he seems completely different; especially his voice seems different compared to what he sounds like in his other films.
shareThis was his big break and he truly 'broke'. His entrance, in the midst of the slow dance is one of my favorite movie transitions of all time. Up till that moment the movie is kind and zany. The movie changes tone entirely in less than a second and becomes a whole 'nother movie. It still gets to me.
If you'll forgive the use of a word that's gotten over-used in the last five years, Ray was 'edgy' in a way that few actors can be. He was sort of like this as the cop in Unlawful Entry, but he hasn't had this kind of role since Something Wild. In an earlier era the kind of role would've belonged to Richard Widmark.
Anyway, I like my man Ray Liotta!
It is one of the great breakout performances of the '80s. There is another side of Ray Liotta that comes out in movies like "Corrina, Corrina" and "Field of Dreams" (he played Shoeless Joe Jackson in that).
Goodfellas called on both sides of his acting. He played tender and likeable very well but did a great psycho turn when he confronts the guy who molested Karen Hill.
Human Beings...Wowshare
Robbotnik, I agree. During the dance sequence, Griffith & daniels are twirling and others are passing in & out, of the camera. Then, those two twirl out of the camera & it locks on Liotta's scary blue eyes.
Ray scared the Hell outta me, in this film.
Seeing how schizoid, fit & handsome he was in this, I was hoping Burton would pick him for Bruce Wayne/Batman.
I agree that most of his subsequent work doesn't leap out @ you, like this, but that's because THIS character, he could play, like no one else. He chose not to. He said he got offered every psycho role, that came along.
Him playing regular guys just isn't as edgy. Think about the few times James Woods has tried to play a pleasant person (Immediate Family). It felt like the roles weren't fully utilizing his particular 'gift'. This is similar.
Can't blame the guy for not wanting to be typecast, tho.
Carpe Noctem
Liota in Goodfellahs is as good as it gets. That performance is wayyy underated. He was good recently in Narc.
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Yes Ray Liotta has to be the best in the industry for this type of part. Check him out in "Wild Hogs" with John Travolta if you liked this film.
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I thought Ray Liotta was amazing in this movie. I didn't think
i was gonna be alone in thinking that. I watched this movie again recently and I loved it as much as the first time I saw it.
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This was the first movie I saw him in. I was blown away. I've been looking for that Ray Liotta ever since.
shareThis was the first movie I saw him in. I was blown away. I've been looking for that Ray Liotta ever since.Amen. I feel the EXACT same way and I couldn't have put it better myself.
Ray most definitely flipped this film with his presence alone when it was obviously running out of steam. This is his most underrated performance and just took this film on an entirely different and unexpected level.
"A commitment to cinema means to lead a technically deviant lifestyle."
Had heard about this film for years, finally saw it tonight. Total meander the first 45 minutes, but I always remembered critics pointing to Liotta as the real reason to see it. So I stay tuned and, sure enough, the film becomes immensely more watchable after he shows up.
He was so understated as Henry Hill for most of Goodfellas, that Unlawful Entry is probably my favorite performance of his. It follows basic thriller lines, but w/o him in it, it would be have no life.
Much like Something Wild.
If you loved him in this, you will also love him in a film called Pilgrim (1999), co-starring Armin Mueller Stahl and Gloria Ruben.
shareFirst time I ever saw Liotta was in this film and boy did he make me sit up, grab the end of my seat and pay attention. A wonderful, chilling performance of which he can count as his finest work. And I am a big Liotta fan!
An exceptional film, sadly much mis understood and overlooked.
Though I am a woman, I can totally relate to the Jeff Daniel's character and Ray certainly had the complicated psychopath role down pat. Even these days, I am inclined to watch movies he is in even though they are generic and half-assed. He needs to be in a tv show, though. SOMEBODY put him back on tv! LOL
Don't threaten me, Al! You're out of shape, I'll kick your arse. -Lisa Weird Science