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
Frank Vincent piano, and trumpet, Vincent originally aspired to a career in music but turned to acting in the 1970s, when he co-starred in the low-budget gangster movie "The Death Collector" (1976) along with Joe Pesci, where they were spotted by Robert De Niro. De Niro told Martin Scorsese about both Vincent and Pesci; Scorsese was impressed by their performances and hired Vincent to appear in a supporting role in "Raging Bull" (1980), in which he once again appeared with Pesci and co-starred with De Niro. Vincent soon thereafter appeared in small roles in two Spike Lee films: "Do the Right Thing"