Martin Scorsese mixed results, gangster epic "Goodfellas" (1990) was a return to form for Scorsese and his most confident and fully realized film since "Raging Bull". De Niro and Joe Pesci offered a virtuoso display of the director's bravura cinematic technique in the film and re-established, enhanced, and consolidated his reputation. After the film was released Roger Ebert, a friend and supporter of Scorsese, named "Goodfellas" "the best mob movie ever" and is ranked No. 1 on Roger's movie list for 1990, along with Gene Siskel and Peter Travers, the film is widely considered one of the director's greatest achievements. The film
Robert De Niro Corleone, Carlo Rizzi, and Paulie Gatto in "The Godfather". His performance earned him his first Academy Award, for Best Supporting Actor, although Coppola accepted the award as De Niro was not present at the ceremony. De Niro became the first actor to win an Academy Award speaking mainly a foreign language. In this case, several Sicilian dialects, although he delivered a few lines in English. He and Marlon Brando, who played the older Vito Corleone in the first film, are the only actors to have won Oscars for portraying the same fictional character. After working with Scorsese in "Mean Streets",