The Best Goodfellas Quotes: Every Line Worth Remembering
Goodfellas is one of the most quotable films ever made. The density of memorable lines per minute of runtime is exceptional even by Scorsese's standards — the film rewards repeated viewing partly because you keep finding lines that didn't register the first time. Here are the quotes worth memorizing, organized by character.
Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci)
"Funny how? Like I'm a clown? I amuse you?" — The scene that won Pesci the Oscar. What makes it work is the ambiguity: is Tommy genuinely offended or is he running a con? By the time you understand it's both, the damage is done.
"I'm funny how? Funny like a clown? I amuse you? I make you laugh?" — The escalation before the deflation. The best piece of sustained improvisational comedy in serious American cinema.
"You know Spider? This kid comes up to me, I give him a shot in the foot, I didn't expect him to go round telling everyone about it." — Tommy's version of an apology. Entirely characteristic.
Henry Hill (Ray Liotta)
"As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster." — The most famous opening line in American crime cinema. Sets the film's tone — the romance before the horror — in a single sentence.
"Now the guy's got Paulie as a partner. Any problems, he goes to Paulie. Trouble with a bill? He can go to Paulie. Trouble with the law? Paulie. But now the guy's gotta come up with Paulie's money every week." — The voiceover that explains the entire business model of organized crime in 30 seconds.
Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro)
"I'm not mad, I'm proud of you. You took your first pinch like a man and you learned two great lessons. Never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut." — The code, delivered with warmth that makes the subsequent betrayals more devastating.
"Never put it on paper. It's all up here." — Jimmy's operating principle, which explains why the Lufthansa heist was so difficult to prosecute despite everyone involved knowing who did it.
Karen Hill (Lorraine Bracco)
"It turned me on." — The most honest thing anyone says in the film, delivered after Karen describes watching Henry punch a neighbor in the face. The audience's discomfort with their own reaction to it is the film's most sophisticated moment.
Billy Batts (Frank Vincent)
"Now go home and get your shine box." — The provocation that ends Billy Batts. Said with the casualness of a man exercising social power he considers absolute. He's wrong about that.
Paulie Cicero (Paul Sorvino)
"Thirty years I'm married to a man. He won't even tell me what he does for a living." — Actually said by Paulie's wife. Captures the code of silence that governs the entire world of the film in a line that isn't even about crime.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most famous Goodfellas quote?
"As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster" (Henry Hill's opening voiceover) and "Funny how?" (Tommy DeVito's "am I a clown?" monologue) are the two most frequently cited Goodfellas quotes. Tommy's "funny how" scene is generally considered the most iconic single sequence in the film.