Continuity mistake: When Paulie and Jimmy go to visit Henry at his girlfriend Janice's apartment to talk to him, after Paulie sits down and begins the conversation with Henry, both a Star of David pendant and a crucifix pendant can be seen hanging from the necklace around Henry's neck. At first the Star of David is hanging over the crucifix, then it has switched to the crucifix hanging over the Star of David. (01:16:15)
Goodfellas (1990)
Ending / spoiler
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Paul Sorvino, Lorraine Bracco
Tommy is supposed to get made, but instead is killed for murdering Billy Batts. Henry gets arrested on narcotics charges. In a panic, Karen flushes the last of Henry's supply down the toilet, which he was counting on after she bails him out of jail. Left with nothing, Henry asks Paulie for money; he gives him $3,200 and is forced to turn his back on Henry. Jimmy asks Henry to do a hit in Florida, but Henry is worried that he won't return from the job. He joins the Witness Protection Program and gets Jimmy and Paulie convicted and put into prison. After that, Henry comments on finding it hard leaving the gangster life and living the rest of it like a 'schnook'. The end credits reveal that Henry was arrested again on drug charges in 1987, but has been clean thereafter, Karen left him after 25 years of marriage in 1989, Paulie died in prison in 1988 at the age of 73, and that Jimmy is not eligible for parole until 2004 when he would be 78 years old.
Mirel
More mistakes in Goodfellas
Henry Hill: What happened?
Jimmy Conway: They whacked him. They fucking whacked him. I can't fucking believe it.
Trivia: In the book Wiseguy, it is stated that even in the gangster world, discipline and order had to maintained. No one could kill anyone they wanted whenever they pleased. Dead bodies were not allowed to be haphazardly left in the streets for all to see. People who had grudges against certain individuals had to sit down with mob chiefs to get their okay to have them 'whacked'. Since Tommy killed Billy Batts and several others without permission, he sealed his own fate. There are similar cases mentioned in the book regarding loose cannons, deadbeats, and snitches and their ultimate demise. Henry put it so in the case of Stacks Edwards: "It was Jimmy who gave the order, but it was Paulie who gave Jimmy the look."
Question: In the scene where Tommy believes he is being made, right after he walks into the room you hear him say "Oh no!" right before he is shot. Tommy obviously realizes that he was set up. However, what is it that he sees in the room that tips him off?
Answer: A man being 'made' is an event shrouded in ceremony. The top people in the family are there, among others to congratulate the new soldier. Tommy walked into an empty room.
Just as others have pointed out, the film implies Tommy realised something was wrong the moment he walked in and saw the place was empty...no other "made men" there for the ceremony. However, I always wondered why he hadn't caught on to what was happening when he saw there were only a couple vehicles parked out in the driveway.
Answer: Either the fact that the room was empty (being made is a big ceremonial event with many people) or he felt the gun pressed against the back of his head right before they shot him.
Answer: There should have been more people waiting for him.
Answer: Wasn't the floor covered with a plastic sheet? That would have given it away.
Or it was a floor with no carpet (tiled, I believe)...easier to mop up.
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Answer: He was expecting a crowded room full of friends congratulating him. Also it was common knowledge among the mafia that being walked into an empty room when you were due to be made meant you were about to be executed, so Tommy likely knew he'd met his end just moments before the shot.
William Bergquist