The 1990 mafia classic Goodfellas is widely considered one of the greatest movies ever made, praised for both its breathtaking storytelling and realism. Touching on this second point, the Martin Scorsese epic – based on the 1985 book Wise Guy: Life in a Mafia Family by journalist-turned-screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi – is often hailed as one of the most authentic depictions of the mafia, by mobsters and law enforcement alike. For example, in a 2020 Vanity Fair interview, retired FBI agent Mike McGowan called the iconic film “very accurate” regarding one particular element it highlights about mafia life: telephones.

One of the most memorable moments in Goodfellas occurs during the flashback to Henry Hill’s childhood, wherein we see the up-and-coming mobster running back and forth through the rain to answer phone calls for crime boss Paul “Paulie” Cicero (Paul Sorvino). According to McGowan, although the understated scene does take some cinematic and artistic liberties, it is one of the most accurate depictions of the Italian mafia, encapsulating both LCN’s (La Cosa Nostra) fear of wiretaps and the creative steps they took to avoid surveillance by the FBI.

Goodfellas’ Paranoia About Wire-Tapping Was Totally Accurate, According To FBI Expert

The Real-Life Mafia Were Just As Wary Of Phones

The brief, 20-second scene in Goodfellas begins with a legendary line from Ray Liotta’s Henry Hill voiceover: “Paulie hated phones—he wouldn’t have one in his house.” From there, we see a lanky, teenage Henry holding an umbrella for Paulie’s cigar-chomping brother “Tuddy” Cicero (Frank DiLeo) as the pair dash across the rain-soaked street from Paulie’s house to a nearby payphone. This romantic snapsH๏τ of mafia life is then complemented with Henry reminiscing over the strange yet matter-of-fact ritual, saying, “There were guys, that’s all they did, all day long, was take care of Paulie’s phone calls.”

After viewing the short clip, Mike McGowan called Paulie’s fear of telephones “very accurate,” saying that although the mob used to feel free on the phone, “once the federal government…started to wiretap their phones, they became extremely cautious.” Though McGowan praised the scene for its authenticity, he criticized the use of the payphone across the street, explaining that the FBI would’ve recognized that that’s the phone they’d need to wiretap. Furthermore, McGowan also pointed out that while some disciplined mafia members would only meet in person, others more “sloppy or lazy” would use the phones anyway and get caught.

How Accurate Goodfellas Is To Henry Hill’s Real Life

The Film Goes Above And Beyond In Its Depiction Of The Mob

Apart from its accurate portrait of mafia phone use, Goodfellas is also an excellent biography of mobster-turned-informant Henry Hill, who outlined the real-life practices of the mob in the book that would eventually become the film’s blueprint. Yes, some of Goodfellas‘ most legendary scenes are lifted straight from Pileggi’s Wise Guy, such as Henry’s childhood as a mobster-in-training, the 1970 murder of “Billy Batts” (Frank Vincent), and even several snippets of Ray Liotta’s narration throughout the film, including the iconic “To me, being a gangster was better than being President of the United States” line (though in the book the term used is “wiseguy.“)

Furthermore, another step Martin Scorsese took to pursue accuracy in Goodfellas occurs during the sequence outlining Henry Hill’s real-life downfall and subsequent entry into the Witness Protection Program. During the scene where Henry and Karen Hill (Lorraine Bracco) agree to testify against Jimmy Burke (Robert De Niro) and Paulie, Scorsese hired U.S. attorney Edward McDonald to play himself, since he was the real federal prosecutor who secured Hill’s participation as a mafia informant. It’s this kind of attention to detail that separates Scorsese’s filmography from the pack, and why Goodfellas is hailed today as not just a great film, but the greatest gangster movie ever made.