These are the top 10 Ray Liotta scenes in Martin Scorsese’s classic gangster film, “Goodfellas”:
1. Touch her again you’re dead – This is just a badass scene. He protects the honor of Karen, doesn’t say a word, and sends a clear message to college boy Bruce.
2. Henry calms down Morris – We love the way Henry plays the good guy to everyone. Ray really knocks it out of the park playing a friend and mediator to everyone. You really believe he wants to make everybody happy.
3. Stalling for time – On the other side of the coin, Henry tries to spare Morrie in his conversation to Jimmy while still being on Jimmy’s side. Excellent acting. The voice-over explaining how quickly they decide someone gets whacked just makes it better.
4. Spider is killed – This seems to be the first time Henry shows regret for being in the mob life. Ray’s “He’s dead” line followed by his look of despair shows he is having a hard time justifying the killing. Spider was just a kid.
5. Your murderers come with smiles – In this scene, Henry is internally nervous but trying to act like everything is alright. Ray is acting like he’s acting, which is easier said than done. You can sense the caution in his body language. Your murderers come with smiles.
6. Why did you do that Karen? – This is just a complete loss of hope – rock bottom for the character and couple. Powerful acting.
7. What kind of person are you Henry? – Henry is a terrible husband, and this scene is hilarious and heartbreaking. Not a word is said by Ray but you can see that he doesn’t take his marriage seriously. Getting yelled at by your wife and mother-in-law when you’re coming home from a bender doesn’t seem fun. Maybe Ray really did have a bender and was over it and just skedaddled out of there.
8. Jimmy! – Naked Ray crying in joy. Enough said
9. Lying to Paulie – Bold move for Henry in the film. Ray plays the “aw shucks” part up pretty well. Paulie’s slap was ad-libbed.
10. Gaslighting Karen – We do not condone gaslighting, but Ray plays the part of gaslighting/abusive husband perfectly. “It’s all in your head Karen”. This sets up the relationship between him and Karen for the rest of the movie.