Stars of Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas attend special 25th anniversary screening

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Stars Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Lorraine Bracco and Paul Sorvino were all in attendance for Saturday's special 25th anniversary screening
Not in attendance were director Martin Scorsese, who was filming in Taiwan, and Joe Pesci who had won an Oscar for his role in the 1990 movie
'Joe Pesci couldn't be here, but he sent this email: 'F***, f***, f***, f***ity f***, f***' read De Niro
Scorsese sent a video message and recalled how the movie upset the owner of his then favorite NYC Italian restaurant
Throughout the two-and-a-half-hour screening the audience cheered each major character's first appearance
Jon Stewart then held a Q&A with the actors and Liotta recalled Henry Hill thanking him for 'not making me look like a s***bag'

By David Mccormack For Dailymail.com and Associated Press Reporter

Published: 01:16 EST, 26 April 2015 | Updated: 07:16 EST, 27 April 2015

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The stars of Martin Scorsese's classic 1990 gangster film Goodfellas reunited in New York on Saturday night for a very special 25th anniversary screening of the movie which brought the 14th annual Tribeca Film Festival to a close.

Stars Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Lorraine Bracco and Paul Sorvino were all in attendance although director Scorsese was filming in Taiwan and Joe Pesci, who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1991 for his turn as Tommy DeVito, didn't show.

'Joe Pesci couldn't be here, but he sent this email: 'F***, f***, f***, f***ity f***, f***' read De Niro, introducing the screening at the Beacon Theatre. 'I'll translate: "Dear Bob, sorry I can't be there. Love to all. Best, Joe.'"

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The stars of Martin Scorsese's classic gangster film Goodfellas, Debi Mazar, Paul Sorvino, Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta and Lorraine Branco (from left to right) reunited in New York on Saturday night for a very special 25th anniversary screening of the movie which brought the 14th annual Tribeca Film Festival to a close

Released in 1990, Goodfellas charts the rise and fall of Lucchese crime family associate Henry Hill, played by Liotta, and his friends over a period from 1955 to 1980

Scorsese and producer Irwin Winkler sent video messages to the audience.

'I remember the previews were one of the worst experiences of my life — we had three of them and they were all in California. ... It seemed that the audience had to be prepared for what it was, but there was a lot of controversy,' said the director.

He went on to recall how he and screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi were no longer welcome at their favorite Italian restaurant after the movie - and its depiction of Italian-American mobsters - upset the owners.

'Remember that nice Italian restaurant in Tribeca that we used to go to? And then when the film came out, the owner of the restaurant said we're not allowed in anymore because we apparently denigrated a certain ethnic group for the picture?' said Scorsese.

Throughout the two-and-a-half-hour screening the audience cheered each major character's first appearance along with iconic scenes like Karen Hill's doorbell-yelling session, and memorable lines like Henry Hill's opening narration: 'For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.'

Afterwards, Liotta, Bracco, De Niro, Sorvino and Pileggi recalled making the beloved film in a panel discussion moderated by Daily Show host Jon Stewart.

Actress Lorriane Bracco appeared in Goodfellas as Henry Hill's wife Karen before going on to star as Dr. Jennifer Melfi in The Sopranos

Paul Sorvino, right, who starred as mob boss Paul 'Paulie' Cicero in the movie, revealed during the Q&A that he had come close to quitting just days before filming as he failed to find the character

In the absense of Pesci, it was left to Liotta, who played mob informant Henry Hill, to recall how his co-star's famous 'Do I Amuse You' sequence was almost entirely improvised.

'Joe was just telling a story in rehearsal about something that happened to him in Queens,' said Liotta. 'Some guy, who happened to be a connected guy, said, "You think that's funny?"

The scene helped snag Pesci his Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

Liotta also recalled a bowling alley meeting with Hill, who told the actor he loved the movie.

'The first thing he said was thanks for not making me look like a s***bag,' said Liotta. 'I said, "Did you see the movie?"

Sorvino, who starred as mob boss Paul 'Paulie' Cicero, then revealed that he had come close to quitting just days before filming.

'I was really lost, what do you do, I called my agent up and said, "Get me out!," said the actor, who told the audiance that he is a 'soft guy' and nothing like his character.

No show: Joe Pesci, who won an Oscar for his turn as Tommy DeVito, didn't show for the 25th year anniversary but sent an email which read 'F***, f***, f***, f***ity f***, f***', said De Niro

Twenty five years on: Ray Liotta and Lorriane Bracco starred as husband and wife Henry and Karen Hill in Martin Scorsese's gangster epic Goodfellas, left, and shared a drink at Saturday's reunion, right

Robert De Niro, who founded the Tribeca Film Festival, arrived at Saturday's screening with his wife Grace Hightower

'Then I was going to fix my tie and I saw this guy (in the mirror),' he added, flashing a cold stare. 'And it scared the hell out of me. That's the guy!'

Also in attendance were several actors who had minor roles in the movie including Kevin Corrigan and Debi Mazar, who played Sandy, a friend of Henry Hill's mistress.

Earlier on the red carpet, Liotta had recalled something Scorsese told him before filming began that made him believe he was going to be part of something special.

'He said, 'I want to shoot this like a gangster,'' said Liotta. '''If I want to freeze frame, if I want to voice over, if I want to whatever ..." And that's what he did. It gave him a lot liberty to just be him.'

That mindset paid off. Many regard the Oscar-nominated mob tale as more than just a great film of the genre, but also one of the greatest movies of all time. Scorsese used a compelling narrative with strong visuals married by a powerful rock soundtrack to reinvent the gangster film.

'I don't know if he reinvented it as much as he just created his own version of it,' Liotta said.

Sorvino, who portrayed Paulie the mob capo that takes Liotta's Henry under his wing, thinks Scorsese went beyond reinventing the genre.

'It's not even part of a genre; it's like tearing off that wall and taking a look inside to see what it really is,' Sorvino said of the gritty depiction of life as a mid-level mobster.

Jon Stewart, far right, hosted a Q&A with the film's star during which Ray Liotta, far left, recalled meeting the real Henry Hill, who thanked him for 'not making me look like a s***bag'

In attendance at Saturday's screening of Goodfellas were actors Paul Sorvino, Debi Mazar, Robert De Niro, Lorraine Bracco and Kevin Corrigan (from left to right)

The 76-year-old actor expressed gratitude to have a part in the film.

'It's part of the iconography of American film,' Sorvino said. 'It's one of the three or four greatest movies ever made, and if you get to do that in your career, you're pretty lucky.'

Based on the nonfiction best-seller Wiseguy written by Nicholas Pileggi, the story traces the life of Henry Hill — a mobster-turned-informant — from his childhood and life of petty crime to rise and fall in the underworld. The film also stars De Niro as James 'Jimmy The Gent' Conway.

De Niro is one of the film festival's co-creators.

'The fact that he helped put it together right after 9/11 and bring Tribeca back as well as New York — that was just honorable in itself. And to sustain it for so long now, it represents a great thing in movies, that's great for movies, and a great thing for the city,' Liotta said.

De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff founded the Tribeca Film Festival in 2002 as a means of stimulating the lower Manhattan neighborhood after the Sepember 11 attacks.

But Lorraine Bracco, who played Henry's wife, Karen, thinks the festival did more than revitalize the city.

'It's for the world to see that we're still standing strong,' Bracco said.