Goodfellas. Brilliant director. Fantastic cast. Riveting story. Now, 20 years old… and a victim of a horrible, no good, low-down, dirty rotten "double-dip" attempt by the studio. It pains me to write this review.

THE FILM:
Do I really need to go into exposition here? The gangster-film genre is now over 100 years old. Within those 100+ years, 100+ movies have been made to tell different tales of our American anti-heroes. On a short list of the best that were ever made, Goodfellas sits proudly; where exactly is up for debate between personal tastes - to each his own - but you can bet it's in everyone's Top 10.

Based on the real-life story of Henry Hill, Scorsese's 1990 masterpiece tells the story of the rise and fall of one mob family over the course of three decades. Ray Liotta gives an incredible performance as Henry Hill, who was taken under the wing of Paul "Paulie" Cicero (Paul Sorvino) and his associate, Jimmy "The Gent" Conway (Robert De Niro). Aside from all the regular guys in the group, one stands out beyond the rest, Tommy DeVito, played by Joe Pesci, who won the Oscar for his performance.

The story opens when 13-year-old Henry gets a job working at a store operated by the local tough guys, and ends with his arrest for drug trafficking and his testimony that put his life in danger and resulted in a life in witness protection. From start to finish the story is enthralling and so deep in character and portrayal of the lifestyle that whether you enjoyed the film or not, you cannot argue it is a fine piece of cinema.

Unfortunately, this Blu-ray release is nothing more than the exact same previously released disc, in shiny new packaging with an also-previosuly-released DVD as a bonus…

HD SOUND + VISION:
Goodfellas saw both Blu-ray and HD DVD release during the format wars in 2007. The disc in this new Goodfellas: 20th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray is the exact same disc that was pressed in 2007 for the Blu-ray format. What this boils down to is a transfer that is a huge improvement over the 2004 Two-Disc Special Edition DVD, but not nearly as good as some of today's newer titles. Obviously, a film from 1990 is not going to look as good as a film from 2009, but the fact that zero attempt was made to make another pass through in restoration is sad.

That being said, this VC-1 encoding in 1080p of a 20-year-old 35mm print is very good. There are some flaws in the 1.85:1 picture, but most of it has to do with colors that appear off and blacks that lose luster. There is, of course, also the infamous line that runs right down the center of the frame at 1:16:43. But still, this is the best Goodfellas has ever looked, but not the best it could had Warner paid a little more attention to it. Here's looking forward to the inevitable 25th Anniversary…

Audio is, literally, crap. You get the same Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track that was not only available on the previous Blu-ray (remember, same exact manufactured disc in new package), but also appeared on the 2004 Two-Disc Special Edition DVD. The old-school AC3 compression is nothing like the lossless tracks of current Blu-ray titles. To the non-scrutinizing ear, it won't matter; for the high def audience, it's a downer. There are also French and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround tracks.

Subtitles are available in English, Spanish and French.

PACKAGING/ LAYOUT:
There are only two "new" components of the Goodfellas: 20th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray; one of them is the packaging. This new release takes shape as a hardcover digibook; a Blu-ray disc is found inside each cover, and there are 34 color pages of photos, liner notes, bios and film facts in between. An absolutely gorgeous package that I am thrilled to have on my shelf. Regarding disc layout, the main feature disc is an exact replica of the 2007 Blu-ray release. The movie actually starts right away, skipping over a main menu. The second disc is a previously-released standard definition DVD that contains a feature-length film on the golden era of gangster films (the 1930s) and some classic Warner Brothers shorts. See below for more on this… Goodfellas runs 145 minutes and is split into 47 chapters.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
The main feature disc is a replica of the 2007 Blu-ray, which contained the exact same special features on the 2004 Two-Disc Special Edition DVD, thus everything here is in standard definition. There are two audio commentaries, three featurettes, a storyboard-to-screen comparison and theatrical trailer. There are no deleted scenes and no new bits concerning the film.

The second disc in the set has been imported from a previously release DVD, which was issued as its own title and as a disc in the Warner Brothers Gangsters Collection Volume 4. While the documentary is good, it has nothing to do with Goodfellas, except that Scorsese is an interview subject and there are a few brief clips of his films.

In other words, everything here - we have seen before:

DISC 1

• Cast and Crew Audio Commentary - Director Martin Scorsese, author/screenwriter Nicolas Pileggi, producers Irwin Winkler and Barbara De Fina, cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, editor Thelma Schoonmaker, and cast members Ray Liotta, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino and Frank Vincent all participate in this recorded-separately-and-spliced-together-style commentary track. Very insightful, and due to the style in which it was pieced together, always moving and jumping around from voice to voice and story to story, this is absolutely worth listening to. Scorsese's comments are especially interesting, as you would expect.
• Cop and Crook Audio Commentary - The second commentary features the real Henry Hill and FBI agent Edward McDonald. This is especially interesting for the real-life comparisons Hill relates. McDonald actually does a great job of asking questions and keeping the conversation going.
• Getting Made (29:36) - This is the standard making-of for the film. Interviews with cast and crew highlight the production, with lots of emphasis put on character building and editing.
• Made Men: The Goodfellas Legacy (13:33) - This shorter piece is more of a tribute, as a younger generation of filmmakers (e.g. Jon Favreau, Richard Linklater) discuss the impact of Goodfellas on their career and life.
• Paper is Cheaper Than Film (4:27) - This is a presentation of Scorsese's drawn storyboards and written notations, alongside clips of the film. " The Workaday Gangster (7:58) - The final featurette in this set is a discussion on the lifestyle of the mob. Constantly working, the real-life wiseguys were always on the ready…
• Theatrical Trailer (1:28)

DISC 2

• Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film (105:43) - This feature-length documentary from 2008 is incredibly detailed and exhaustive! While it starts and ends great, you may get a bit lost in the middle. This piece does a serious break-down of the gangster genre in Hollywood, starting with Burglar on the Roof from 1898 (that's not a typo) and ending with The Departed . The heaviest concentration focuses, as the title indicates, on the golden era of the genre, which is considered to be the 1930's. There are great interviews with film historians and critics, authors and filmmakers. There is also great use of vintage interviews from the filmmakers and stars of the golden era, plus clips of those films (even silent era stuff!). This is a great piece for anyone who has an interest in film history. Though it may get dry in the middle there, it's still absolutely worth watching on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
• Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes (30:39) - There are four Friz Freleng cartoons here. "I Like Mountain Music" is from 1933 and in black and white; "She Was an Acrobat's Daughter" is from 1937 and in color. These first two are hard to watch and have nothing to do with gangsters. There are obviously way better choices in the catalogue and I am not sure why they were chosen for inclusion here. But then "Racketeer Rabbit" (1946) and "Bugs and Thugs" (1954) come on and all is forgiven. Both of these are classics, staring the infamous rabbit and some bumbling gangsters.

DIRTY, ROTTEN, LOW-DOWN, NO GOOD, DOUBLE-CROSSING DOUBLE DIP!
So the bottom line is thus: a recycled Blu-ray disc in new, very nice packaging, with a previously released DVD containing a documentary on 1930s gangster films. If you already have the film on Blu-ray, DO NOT make the double-dip. If you have the DVD and are contemplating the upgrade, or don't own the movie yet at all, here are your choices: spend $12 on the 2007 Blu-ray; spend $24 on this new Goodfellas: 20th Anniversary Edition; or stick with the DVD (or catching it on cable) and wait until 2015 and see if Warner decides to give the film a new high definition facelift.

FILM SCORE: A+
HD SOUND: C-
HD VISION: C+
PACKAGING/ LAYOUT: A
SPECIAL FEATURES: B
OVERALL BLU-RAY DISC SCORE: C