Martin Scorsese details devastating reaction from audiences during the first screening of his iconic 90s film

By CYDNEY YEATES FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Published: 15:37 BST, 6 June 2025 | Updated: 15:41 BST, 6 June 2025

Martin Scorsese has revealed that the audience walked out in disgust during one of the first ever screenings of Goodfellas.

The 82-year-old director recalled how his acclaimed 1990 gangster film had not gone down well with initial viewers due to its unrelenting violence and dark humor.

Speaking to audiences at Tribeca Film Festival’s 30th Anniversary Screening of Casino at the Beacon Theater on Thursday night alongside Robert De Niro, he said: ‘The previews were terrible. They got mad at us.

‘The first ten minutes was like an exodus from Egypt.

‘[They were] walking down the aisle like prophets were beating them out of the theater.’

Scorsese reasoned that it was the film’s humor and violence that left those early theatergoers shocked.

‘Well, to be fair, they hadn’t expected… I think they were really upset by… the dark humor of it. The humor and the violence together…’

Martin Scorsese has revealed that the audience walked out in disgust during one of the first ever screenings of Goodfellas

The 1990 gangster film starred Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Paul Sorvino, and Joe Pesci

De Niro, who starred in the film as gangster James ‘Jimmy’ Conway, praised his longtime collaborator for holding ‘firm’ on his vision of the project.

‘He’s so tough with the pressure of making a movie and the money,’ he said.

Goodfellas, adapted from Nicholas Pileggi’s book Wiseguy, famously starred Ray Liotta as American mobster Henry Hill and Joe Pesci as hardened criminal Tommy DeVito.

Despite the unsavory first reviews, the picture would go on to gross $47 million at the box office against a budget of $25 million.

The film – which is regarded as one of the best ever to be made – also achieved worldwide acclaim and received an impressive six Academy Awards nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Pesci won Best Supporting Actor for his role as Tommy.

Turning his attention to the connection between Goodfellas and Casino, which was released five years later in 1995, Scorsese said: ‘The idea was to take the last 15 minutes before he [Henry Hill] gets arrested in Goodfellas and make that one film: let’s take that even further and just go.’

‘Goodfellas is like a stand-up routine,’ he added.

Scorsese recalled how Goodfellas did not go down well with initial viewers due to its unrelenting violence and dark humor

However, today, Goodfellas is thought of as one of the greatest films of all time

Scorsese and Robert De Niro reunited for the Casino 30th Anniversary Screening at Tribeca Film Festival 2025 

‘You take that and extend that and see how far it can stretch until it all blasts away.’ 

Giving advice to the filmmakers of today, Scorsese implored up and coming directors to not lose their ‘amateur’ status.

‘Often if you get a bigger budget, it’s worse in terms of production,’ he said. It’s horrible issues.

‘It’s also the more money the more risk and therefore the pressure means taking less chances aesthetically and artistically.’

He said that the love one has for the art form is ‘the thing you’ve got to hold onto with all the money flying around.’

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Martin Scorsese details devastating reaction from audiences during the first screening of his iconic 90s film

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