The best Joe Pesci gangster movies

Joe Pesci has had a long career in the entertainment business, dating back to the late 1960s. What many do not realise, though, is that his career actually began on the music scene, with bands such as Joey Dee and the Starliters.

He graduated to comedy and low-budget movies, before getting his big break when he was cast in the Martin Scorsese classic Raging Bull. But for all his many achievements, it is for roles as ferocious psychopathic gangsters that he has become synonymous in the eyes of film fans.

These have brought him big industry prizes, including a coveted Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance in the mobster movie Goodfellas back in 1990. He won other awards for that role and subsequent ones in further gangster films.

His Italian-American background and ability to portray characters that shift in seconds from friendly laughter to explosive anger and violence made him a perfect fit for these films. It shocks audiences and gives the movies an edge of genuine unpredictability and threat.

Here are the very best gangster movies that have been blessed with Pesci’s presence.

Casino

Goodfellas might be the most famous gangster film that he has made, but it is the 1995 Scorsese epic that features the ultimate memorable and terrifying Pesci performance. The movie covers a 20-year period, from the late 1960s to the 1980s, and centres on the Mafia-run Tangiers in Las Vegas.

One of the two central relationships in the film is that between Sam “Ace” Rothstein, the sports handicapper played by Robert De Niro who manages the Tangiers on behalf of the mob, and genuine gangster Nicky Santoro – Pesci – who is sent to help him. Detailing the rise and fall of this venture and the friendship between the two men, numerous scenes have gone down in film history. These include a sequence where Santoro tortures a man by putting his head in a vice.

The film was nominated for lots of awards following its release, including one for the entire cast by the ACCA. It captured much of the glamour and danger of the vintage Vegas era, which is now gone.

Goodfellas

This is the other major Martin Scorsese gangster film that Pesci is famous for and both the production and his performance are every bit as strong. Goodfellas is adapted from Wiseguy, a book that tells the tale of ex-gangster-turned-informer Henry Hill.

As with previously mentioned movies, it covers a lengthy time period, starting in the mid-1950s, when Hill is a teenager in awe of the local mobsters, and ending in 1980, when he goes into witness protection after informing on his bosses. Although Ray Liotta stars as Hill, many of the most celebrated scenes feature Pesci as the violent Tommy De Vito. Among these are the “How am I funny?” sequence where he suddenly takes offence and becomes threatening with Hill, seconds after they were laughing together. It shows the scary psychological instability of his character and is one of the scenes that helped Goodfellas win a raft of major prizes, including Academy Awards.

Once Upon a Time in America

Directed by Sergio Leone, this 1984 masterpiece is the final part of a trilogy – following on from Once Upon a Time in the West and Duck, You Sucker!. Running for 229 minutes, it is all about “Noodles”, a prohibition-era gangster portrayed by De Niro, who returns to New York City decades later to try to make up for past mistakes.

Although studded with violence, it has a more reflective tone, with Pesci producing a lower-key performance as Frankie Monaldi. Frequently named as one of the best movies ever made, it is another high point in his filmography.

The Irishman

Pesci emerged from retirement to work with Scorsese and De Niro again in this 2019 film. He was reluctant to return to the gangster theme but was eventually persuaded to play Mafia man Russell Bufalino.

The title character is Frank Sheeran, a truck driver who ends up working for criminal family the Bufalinos. His recollections include helping to murder union boss Jimmy Hoffa during the 1970s.

This is an older Scorsese, Pesci and De Niro, although the movie is still full of eye-watering levels of violence and depicts its world of corruption and criminality every bit as unflinchingly as their earlier collaborations. The film benefits from the presence of Al Pacino, who adds some dark comedy with his performance as the egotistical and foolish Hoffa, while Stephen Graham as Tony Pro takes over from Pesci in providing moments of striking anger and aggression.

The Irishman received glowing reviews and was nominated for no less than ten Academy Awards.

It seems unlikely that we will see any further Joe Pesci gangster films – or indeed any more films starring him at all – but he has left the movie world with many of its most lasting depictions of that criminal milieu.

The editorial unit