25 Definitively Best Movies EVER (According To Critics AND Fans)

23. Goodfellas (1990)

Score: 91

Rotten Tomatoes: 96 Audience: 97 IMDB: 87 Letterboxd: 88 Metascore: 89

While the Godfather movies are generally held up as the pinnacle of the gangster genre in terms of artistic weight and pure performances, the admittedly more "poppy" Goodfellas deserves just as much credit. Scorsese's eye for shots - including that stunning tracking shot through the kitchens is just stunning.

Yes, it glamorises the criminal underworld, the same way The Wolf Of Wall Street would later, but it also makes all of its characters grotesques and the fundamental message of degraded humanity is impossible to ignore. It's cool but it's also tragic and it's easily one of the most compelling stories ever told.