Goodfellas
Directed by Martin Scorsese , Goodfellasis a classic film that shows the glamorous and ugly true stories of underworld persona , include the real - life Billy Batts . It tells the substantial - living story of the ' 70s and ' 80s New York City maffia and is based onWiseguy , crime reporter Nick Pileggi ’s life history of gangster Henry Hill ( futureMany Saints of Newarkstar Ray Liotta ) . The other characters are inspired by Henry Hill ’s friend Jimmy Burke and Tommy DeSimone , who were bring to life inGoodfellasas Jimmy Conway ( Robert DeNiro ) and Tommy DeVito ( Joe Pesci ) . In the movie , the three are wooden-headed as thief , though Jimmy and Henry are even nearer still because Tommy is a liability . He has a curt - fuse personality and is ready to wrath , which head to some ofGoodfellas’most memorable scenes .
One ofGoodfellas’true story sources is the real - spirit slaying of Batts ( Frank Vincent ) , which helps to establish the three main gangsters ' personality . In fact , Goodfellasopens with his murder . Henry , the also material - life Jimmy Conway , and Tommy are driving in a motorcar at night when they try a strange noise that finally turns out to be Billy . After draw over , they give the trunk to reveal the badly beaten mobster , whom they had presumed was already dead . Tommy then takes a kitchen knife and stabs him multiple times before Jimmy fires a couple of bullets into him for good measure .
relate : Why Goodfellas Deliberately Left A Continuity Error In The Movie
Later inGoodfellas , the moments that precede this dramatic series of events are show . An affray come between Tommy and Billy Batts at a Browning automatic rifle owned by Henry , in which the lately freed from prison Billy mocked Tommy ’s past as a shoeshine boy . It culminated with Billy sneeringly shout , " Now go home and get your f***ing shoeshine box . " Tommy leave alone but take back when only Henry , Jimmy , and Billy were bequeath in the bar . Billy was viciously beaten and stomped by Tommy and Jimmy . However , the actual - life story execution was decidedly dissimilar .
Goodfellas True Story Explained: The Real-Life Billy Batts
The Billy Batts true storyis a mo crueler thanGoodfellasshows . Batts ' literal name was William Bentvena , and he was a close-fitting fellow of unseen but important John Gotti . At the time of his execution in 1970 , he had just finish serving sentence for drug trafficking . The affray between Billy and Tommy , including the shoeshine affront , did fall out in real life , but at a taproom owned by Jimmy .
The murder - by - beating of the real - life Batts , part of theGoodfellastrue tale , did pass at Henry ’s bar in Queens , New York . Tommy repeatedly side arm - pip Billy in the brain until he appear to be all in . Billy was a " made " valet , which meant that his condition protected him from being touched by lower - range members of the ring . Resultantly , Tommy and his pals had to play fast to get rid of the body .
How Goodfellas Changes Billy Batts' Murder
Martin Scorsese’sGoodfellasmakes some changes to the real - life Billy Batts murder . The murder was not as immediate as inGoodfellas . Tommy had to look two week to get his revenge . Like inGoodfellas , the initial drubbing had not done the chore . When found to still be alive , Tommy and Jimmy pummeled Billy with a power shovel and a tyre iron . His real killers did not use the more efficient ( and arguably more merciful ) tools of a knife and triggerman . The Billy Batts true story was even more brutal thanGoodfellasshowed .
Related : One Goodfellas possibility Makes Tommy ’s " Funny How ? " Scene Even Better
Henry Hill Gives Conflicting Accounts Of What Happened Next
Like inGoodfellas , the true history of what come about to Billy ’s body was that it was first fix on the land of a firedog stock breeder in upstate New York but had to be relocate a few calendar month after when the res publica was sold for ontogenesis . Henry Hill , whose memoirWiseguyis the groundwork ofGoodfellasincluding its depiction of Billy Batts , Frankie Carbone , and other gangster , has render two story about what happen next . InWiseguy , Hill mentions that the trunk was squeeze at a New Jersey junkyard , but he has also say that it was reburied elsewhere . As with much ofGoodfellas , any knowledge of what really bechance is filtered through Hill ’s perspective , but most of the history of Billy Batts ' memorable slaying comes from reality .
Why Goodfellas Made The Right Call To Change Billy Batts' murder
moving picture change events taken from literal life , unremarkably for story intent – and in this case , it was the right call . First off , the murder of Billy Batts was used as one of the curtain raising sequences of the moving picture . This provide a large jumping - off point , showcasing what audience were in for asGoodfellasprogressed . The scene introduced watchers toGoodfellas ' version of the mafiaand gave a taste of what was to come , providing tidy sum of expo to mix viewers with the world of the pic .
Secondly , while the brutality of Billy ’s genuine - life death would ’ve been in line with what ’s shown in the rest of the picture , it make more sense that Jimmy and Tommy would utilise a more lethal weapon to finish the job . Batts did n’t get that luxury in material life , but since he was n’t vote out the first time around , it stimulate more sense narratively that Jimmy would use a gun to ensure that he was numb the second time . eventually , point the straight ( and longer ) course of event guide up to Batts ' murder would n’t have changed the film for the better . It would ’ve acted as a pull - out subplot that would ’ve take the focus aside fromGoodfellas ' openingand the residuum of the story .
