Ray Liotta: Remembering America's Hollywood gangster

It's not necessarily out of school to say "Goodfellas" is one of the greatest films of all time, with the trials and tribulations of Henry Hill serving as its proverbial anchor.

I'll never forget my first watch in my late teens, after being raised on films like "The Godfather," Humphrey Bogart movies and other classic noir crime staples. There was the obvious violence and crime associated with such stories, but they weren't anything compared to Martin Scorsese's 1990 masterpiece.

When those opening shots rolled with Ray Liotta, Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci opening the trunk to discover a wheezing Billy Batts (RIP Frank Vincent) still alive after a brutal beating, triggering Pesci's Tommy DeVito to angrily stab him repeatedly to finish the job, I knew I was in for a different kind of mob movie.

It's arguably one of the greatest openings to a film, one which told its audience, "Strap in kids, this is going to be a bumpy ride."

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In my college days, "Goodfellas" was on a regular rotation in my dorm. I must have watched it at least 30 times during the first couple of years, much to the annoyance of my roommates and friends. Sorry, it was just that good of a movie, with endless quotes and classic scenes you can watch over and over.

Liotta, who died this week at 67, was an icon and will always be tied to that movie despite having a long career in film, which included many other notable roles like "Field of Dreams," "Cop Land" and "Blow." Seeing him pop up in movies was always a treat. He just seemed to bring a unique kind of coolness to any role he played.

Even if the movie wasn't particularly "good," it was always great to see Liotta on screen, such as "The Sopranos" recent prequel film "The Many Saints of Newark." While that movie has its issues and disappointments for fans of the HBO show, it was awesome seeing him finally be a part of the landmark series that is, to this day, considered the cream of the crop.

There's one Liotta memory I'll never forget, one in which the film he was in literally had a physical effect on me while watching it.

It was in 2001, I was in middle school, and everybody was talking about this new "Hannibal" movie that had just come out.

I'd seen "The Silence of The Lambs" and was all too familiar with the saga of Hannibal Lector. My friends couldn't stop talking about how the sequel was much more violent, gruesome and full of scenes you wouldn't believe could be made on film.

A few of us went to the theater one weekend with plans to see a Chris Rock movie, "Down to Earth." But about 20 minutes into the film, we all realized it was not the movie for us.

So, we decided to wander into a screening of "Hannibal" and see what all the fuss was about. By the time we sat down, the film was well into its third act, where Anthony Hopkins is preparing "dinner" to a drugged up Liotta and Julianne Moore.

If you've seen the movie, you know exactly which scene I'm talking about.

Long story short, it was so gross, yet so awesome that I literally could not watch it. I got up, went to the bathroom and the next thing I know my friends are picking me up off the floor after passing out. Perhaps a movie about a homicidal cannibal wasn't the best decision for a 14-year-old kid to watch at the time.

Hearing about Liotta's death brought back memories like that, and of course the need to pop on a film like "Goodfellas" for the 100th time, shout quotes at the screen, laugh at Pesci's "funny how?" scene and enjoy it like you're watching it again for the first time.

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While there are other real-life tragedies and turmoil happening every day, at least we have films like that to escape, enjoy and be entertained, which is why actors like Liotta mattered, and why he'll be missed.

Jay Powell is a reporter for The Daily Herald. Contact him at jpowell@c-dh.net or follow him on Twitter @JayPowellCDH.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Ray Liotta: Remembering America's Hollywood gangster