The Sympathetic Gangster | Henry Hill Character Analysis (Goodfellas)

Goodfellas features no shortage of memorable characters, but none is more complicated than the main character - Henry Hill. Henry tells us that he was destined for the mafia lifestyle, a lifestyle that allows him to take what he wants without resistance from the victimized. Despite having the temperament of a gangster, Henry is far different than Tommy and Jimmy, his two associates who enjoy violence and stealing. In this video, I explore the worst aspects of Henry and how he occasionally contradicts the gangster attitude by showing empathy for the weak.
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#rayliotta #goodfellas

[@speedracer2008]

Rest In Peace, Ray Liotta. Your performance as Henry Hill will never be forgotten.

[@Jimmy1982Playlists]

🎯🎯🎯💯 Absolutely... RIP, Ray.

[@overweight_chungus3307]

Nah, Tommy Vercetti death (CANON!)

[@formulajuan6038]

"I'm gonna go get the papers, get the papers"

[@MunworthCrowell]

need a character analysis on jimmy two times

[@formulajuan6038]

@@MunworthCrowell Two analysis might be more suitable

[@peterthegreat996]

One of the people depicted in that scene resides in Vegas , living well…there is no justice

[@scottdelo8485]

I think this is Ray Liotta’s best work and this iconic movie will secure his place in history.

[@hwanjung8230]

He was better in Something Wild

[@sole__doubt]

He made the biggest scumbag in history look attractive, kudos to Liotta.

[@thatoneguyiscool556]

​@@sole__doubtI'd say there have been bigger scumbags tho he is a big one

[@johnsellas4455]

Ray Liotta just did a really good job narrating that movie. He was extremely ahead of his time.

[@michaelhill3305]

Liotta was incredibly talented. Even when he wasn't the main character I always felt he delivered the best scenes. Such as his role opposite Johnny Depp in Blow.

[@NeutralGuyDoubleZero]

The films final shot did a fantastic job of silently but suddenly pivoting the way I felt for him, the sympathetic mobster of the bunch turned to an ungrateful shmuck. One last chance for him to realize the value of what he has outside of the mob, gets the best ending someone like him could possibly hope for in that situation. And he still chooses to sneer at it.

[@gabbybaggins69]

Plenty of people glamorise something that has a real ugly side. The entire entertainment business for example. Which makes his glamorising of mob life relatable, the audience can just see past the glamour, just as somebody else can see the ugly side of what we ourselves romanticise and glamorise. Henry Hill is a lot of people. He's me and he's probably you. RIP Ray Liotta

[@GrtSage]

The moment he saw Tommy and Jimmy murder Billy Bats it was two fold. It was the splash of cold water to the face that made Henry see exactly what he had gotten himself into. He saw his friends brutally murder a guy for the pettiest reasons. It’s also the moment of no return for him. Because he was an accessory. There’s no way out of the life now, he’s stuck there or he’s a dead man. His story was all down hill from there. I don’t think Henry belonged there because at the end of the day he couldn’t stomach them at their absolute worst.

[@self-proclaimedcomedian1037]

The movie is much different than the actual stories. Go onto see interviews of Henry Hill, you can tell he was a scummy guy who took joy out of being a mob associate. (To an extent)

[@GrtSage]

@@self-proclaimedcomedian1037 oh ya I know the movie isn’t 100% accurate to the real guy. He did try to get out though. But the Billy Bats murder effectively trapped him there.

[@self-proclaimedcomedian1037]

@@GrtSage no doubt about it man. Ig to an extent rats aren't cut out for the life. It's just astonishing they're still able to commit the crimes and evils that they do

[@GrtSage]

@@self-proclaimedcomedian1037 it’s profitable and people want power.

[@overweight_chungus3307]

Fun fact: Henry hill was 5 years older than Tommy DeSimone

[@jojobubs5637]

this was great!! i hold this movie dear to my heart! maybe a tony soprano video in the future?

[@danieljohnson2005]

This was an outstanding analysis! It should be seen by a lot more people.

[@oscarvillarreal8951]

Ray Liotta Nailed this Character to a "T" with being an Antihero, rat, charismatic, dangerous, light hearted person that the audience have sympathy for.

[@SilverScarletSpider]

1:50 relatable 2:39 my dad despised his life too and used a belt

[@demonicusa.k.a.theblindguy3929]

After years of hiding out heralda Rivera had Henry hill on his show. After the introduction and pleasantries Rivera asked are you high now? It completely shut hill down. Just another alcopons vault for Mr. Rivera. Blown opportunity.

[@GoldenFava]

There’s hours of him on Stern in the 90’s…must listen. Henry was a character for the ages.

[@demonicusa.k.a.theblindguy3929]

@@GoldenFava Cool that info is much appreciated. Headed there now.

[@478TV]

“Got all eyes on us can we chill? Eating with snakes prolly get em killed, cause trust me every family had a Henry Hill” - The Butcher

[@mariolisa2832]

i dont get it...

[@478TV]

@@mariolisa2832 exactly..

[@mariolisa2832]

@@478TV ok

[@russellseilhamer4552]

I don’t believe it. I think since Hill is telling the story, he’s making himself look good omitting ugly details. His own kids wrote a derogatory book about him. It’s impossible for me to believe that he’s around murderers and they let him stand around and watch and he never gets his hands dirty. Nah, not buying it

[@lsporter88]

Superb analysis.

[@teekaa2520]

Thanks for this video.

[@DanTarrant1]

Great analysis.

[@jasonpalacios1363]

Actually Henry Hill is a good man but he's also a weak-minded guy because he didn't have the guts to stay away from that life and then in his later years, he did drugs and became an alcoholic until his death and RIP to Ray Liotta for playing a fantastic role in this movie, great actor.

[@barbados_ririfenty8553]

He choose that life do he had deal with what comes with it

[@mphrdldn]

I think he tried by starting the restaurant but the mob guys patronized it.

[@orangewarm1]

We also have to bear in mind that this is Hill's version of events. He says he was in the shower when the Lufthansa heist was happening. He says he was locking the door when Billy Bats was getting kicked. He says Jimmy wacked his crew but, 'it had nothing to do with me'. Even though his two best friends were at the heart of the plan. Yeah right.

[@blackbatman3152]

I'm Surprised no one has done an analysis on Jimmy

[@peterthegreat996]

It’s been done

[@mirrlamp]

One of the greatest films of all time and Ray Liotta gave the performance of a lifetime. May he rest in eternal peace.

[@Under_Sky_Third_Gaia]

Not for nothing, rest in Peace Ray Liotta

[@devilghost]

dude why do you gotta make us think about this so much!

[@Exodus26.13Pi]

The nerdy guy who had a family in Police Academy. He was a Zen master. We missed it the first time.

[@TriceyDiva]

Henry was a walking contradiction

[@The_Com-Mentor]

Nah u nailed it man. Ray Liotta will never top this performance anymore than Al Pacino will out do Tony Montana...NEVER!

[@trueromani7262]

its just the eyes on the dude.. speak a million words alone

[@agayweirdo5404]

what makes me sympathetic towards Henry Hill is that he never killed anyone and he always didn't like it when people did get killed deep down he could never be a murderer sure he could beat someone to a bloody pulp but he could never kill them.

[@davidemelia6296]

You have to remember that this movie, and the book it's based on, are from Henry Hill's mouth, or at least his perspective. There's no statute of limitations (for the purposes of being prosecuted) for murder, or a wide range of other serious crimes. Why would he tell on himself?

[@radhiadeedou8286]

*according to him

[@aprilcanipe2614]

This movie is my age! I love it 👌

[@sahilkamal1499]

rip ray liotta

[@PAPAxBLITZ]

Instant click.

[@TheWExplain]

ong bro

[@williamf.buckleyjr3227]

4:42 Whoa, Dude. Slow down. Henry didn't "feel slighted" by Karen's "neighbor". Karen's "neighbor" tried to R@PE her!! And he got what he had coming.

[@Papas223]

Try Scarface pls. Tony Montana

[@Bibidrego578]

How about a video on Christopher Walken - King of New York Or deceptive heroin addict Mark Renton in Trainspotting

[@vtecanddohc]

My favorite Ray Liotta character was in BO2 Mob of the Dead

[@radhiadeedou8286]

I think people giving you envelopes full of cash at your wedding is just an Italian thing

[@timreeves7963]

people need to remember that Henry Hill told this story and sold it to Hollywood, so everything in it was taken from a VERY unreliable point of view. Of course he never killed anyone and revolted at killing the weak and defenseless..because it was in his interest to do so. He is never shown actively doing anything morally reprehensible (other than the drug business, but even there it is seen to be more pathetic/funny then a "bad" thing. He seems to only admit guilt in his drug business and "being in the life". The people who could refute him were dead or in jail for worse. So analyzing goodfellas always has to be about analyzing the fictional "Henry Hill" they portrayed onscreen, not the person, as that is unknown.

[@russellseilhamer4552]

The Ray Liotta performance was one of the best in the history of acting. The real Henry Hill was not such a goodfella. His kids Gina and Greg wrote a book about their life with him. Of course, this is Henry Hill telling the story written for posterity. A ton of ugly details were left out. This man was far worse than what Ray Liotta portrayed in this movie. I wish Tommy, Jimmy, and Paulie were all alive to offer their rebuttal. I’m quite sure that Hill was involved in beatings, murders and all kinds of things. He was not an innocent bystander. Everyone had to get their hands dirty. He was not a nice guy. Goodfellas is an ironic title for the movie because these dudes are all bastards. I’d stay a country mile away from all of them. I wish you’d do an analysis on Casino and my favorite character in that movie which is Frank Lefty Rosenthal played by Robert DeNiro. I am fascinated by Lefty

[@orangewarm1]

I don't agree with some -- that you have to like a character in a film. Hill's story was engaging -- likeJordan Belfort or Barry Lyndon. I didn't like them or dislike them.

[@IELTSguru1120]

I watched Goodfellas for the first time last week and was not crazy about it. I felt that there was no real conflict in most of the film, just this sort of mob pornography which glorified the life without exploring how brutal and costly it could be. So sure Hill makes faces when he has to kill people but I really wanted to see the conflict created by living that life and it just wasn't there through most of the movie. Just a bunch of dislikable men who treat everyone around them like garbage...

[@jessicapinkman-hd4bw]

pornography!? also glorification i think you're confusing it with the godfather the film was actually intended as a counter to the romanticized image of the mob and why did you expect something grand from a film that's based on real life event's

[@jharris3267]

I don’t know why you said glorify.Everybody I mean everybody was straight trash! There were no good guys.Not one. You listen to how Henry tries to white wash it and then see oh something honorable is in the very next breath real grease ball sh*t.

[@itsreallyreal1337]

Name a better movie ?

[@plasticweapon]

he wasn't sympathetic. you're always wrong.

[@sole__doubt]

He is very different, Jimmy and Tommy would NEVER have ratted. Which actually makes him the worst of the three.

[@exhinhadaking7607]

He's a snitch. End of story

[@cyruscheng499]

The snitches tell the story

[@wimvaughdan7032]

He is a snitch the moment that the very group of people he would snitch where out to get him and his family. So he was the one being betrayed in the first place.

[@jayyy1677]

Weird

[@peterthegreat996]

Most mobsters were snitches , garbage human beings.