"For as long as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster. To me that was better than being president of the United States. To be a gangster was to own the world."

Join us at the Rio Theatre on June 5 and 8 as we raise a glass and toast the late, great Ray Liotta, who passed away on May 26. A gifted character actor, Liotta's natural intensity often bled into those parts that required a somewhat quirky or even mildly psychopathic quality, in films like Jonathan Demme's SOMETHING WILD (for which he won a Golden Globe Award) or in his small, but entirely memorable turn as "Shoeless" Joe Jackson in FIELD OF DREAMS. By the same token, this deep intensity parlayed itself into roles on the other end of the sensitivity spectrum, as in DOMINIC AND EUGENE (opposite Tom Hulce) or as a grieving husband and father entering a budding inter-racial romance in CORRINA, CORRINA (with Whoopi Goldberg).

Without question, though, the role for which Liotta will most surely be best remembered is that of "wiseguy" Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese's 1990 gangster drama GOODFELLAS; a complete and total masterpiece that has come to define the genre. Liotta carries the film with an earnest intensity, his portrayal following the arc of Hill's tumultuous life from small-time thug to full-fledged mobster, over the span of decades. It is this quiet, self-assured confidence that anchors the film and navigates its narrative trajectory, and allows for the ensemble to shine in performances that are, seemingly, more stylistic.

GOODFELLAS is based on the real-life story of Lucchese crime family associate Henry Hill and adapted from Nicholas Pileggi's (who also co-wrote the screenplay with Scorsese) book 'Wiseguy." With Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, and Paul Sorvino.

Wednesday, June 8
Doors 8:15 pm | Movie 8:45 pm
Advance tickets $13 | $13 at the door

GOODFELLAS (Martin Scorsese, 1990 / 146 mins) The true story of Henry Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian Brooklyn kid who is adopted by neighborhood gangsters at an early age and climbs the ranks of a Mafia family.