‘God was a Goodfella, and so is Ray’: 8 Ray Liotta movies to stream this weekend 

A “true legend of immense skill and grace” by Seth Rogen’s description, he received his first Golden Globe nomination back in 1989 and has been a movie industry mainstay pretty much since then. Already with quite a hefty stack of film and TV appearances under his belt, the actor was on “a big resurgence” according to Deadline and had several more projects in the works. 

However, time was not on his side and Liotta sadly passed away in his sleep at the age of 67. Fondly remembered by friends, colleagues and fans alike, his loss will be greatly felt – especially by those who knew him personally. “We lost a great today,” JLo wrote of Liotta, with whom she starred on Shades of Blue. 

Getting to play Dean Martin alongside Don Cheadle as Sammy Davis and Ray Liotta as Sinatra was one of the greatest joys of my career.
R. I. P. dear Ray. #RayLiotta pic.twitter.com/WGbWzS1W8J

— Joe Mantegna (@JoeMantegna) May 26, 2022

We will never forget the great times we had working with our friend Ray Liotta on Muppets From Space and Muppets Most Wanted. A tough guy on screen, Ray was one of the sweetest, funniest souls we’ve ever known. Rest in Peace, Ray.

— The Muppets (@TheMuppets) May 26, 2022

The epitome of a “tough guy who was all mushy inside”, his body of work speaks for itself and there’s no better way to honour his legacy than to rewatch some of the world’s favourite Ray Liotta movies. 

Here are eight of his greatest hits and where to stream them. 

Something Wild 

A free-spirited woman “kidnaps” a yuppie named Charles Driggs for a weekend of adventure… introducing him to her mother and taking him to her high school reunion where they pose as a married couple. However, the fun quickly takes a dangerous turn when her ex-convict husband (Liotta) shows up. Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffith also star. 

Watch it on Amazon Prime Video.

Marriage Story 

An incisive and compassionate portrait of a marriage breaking up and a family staying together, Marriage Story follows the lives of an actress (Scarlett Johansson) and a theatre director (Adam Driver), going through a coast-to-coast divorce. Liotta joins part of the supporting cast, taking on the role of fiery divorce lawyer Jay Marotta. The courtroom scene between Marotta and Laura Dern’s character (a performance for which she won an Oscar) is one of the movie’s standout moments. 

Watch it on Netflix. 

Corrina, Corrina 

Ray Liotta and Whoopi Goldberg are the wholesome onscreen pairing we never knew we needed in this 1994 comedy-drama. Liotta stars as Manny Singer, a widowed businessman who needs a reliable nanny to look after his daughter, Molly. Unimpressed by early applicants, he takes to Corrina Washington (Goldberg) after she manages to coax Molly out of her shell again. 

Watch it on Amazon Prime Video.

Narc

 

Jason Patric and Ray Liotta star in this acclaimed crime drama about a disgraced Detroit cop helping a vengeful colleague find his partner’s killer. When the trail goes cold on the murder investigation of a cop killed in the line of duty, undercover narcotics officer Nick Tellis (Patric) is reluctantly drawn back into the force to help solve the case. He’s teamed with the deceased’s ex-partner, Henry Oak (Liotta), who will stop at nothing to avenge his friend’s death. 

Watch it on Amazon Prime Video. 

Bee Movie

Liotta plays a fictionalised (cartoonised) version of himself in Bee Movie, acting as a minor antagonist and the founder of Ray Liotta Private Select Honey, which is harvested and bottled in Scotland. An unexpected addition to the list, but a testament to his huge range as an actor – and let’s face it, it’s a bloody great movie too. Even Liotta himself was a fan of this one, once writing on his official Facebook page, “A job that I would love to do again and again is voice in the Bee Movie with Jerry Seinfeld as the Bee.” 

Watch it on Netflix. 

Cop Land

A 1997 American neo-noir crime drama film, Cop Land has quite the all-star cast with Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro joining Liotta throughout. Stallone is the sheriff of a small New Jersey town who clashes with the corrupt NYC police officers living in the community. When hotheaded superboy (Michael Rapaport) accidentally gets involved in an ugly racially motivated incident, his uncle Ray Donlan (Harvey Keitel) and his band of merrymen (including Liotta as Gary ‘Figgsy’ Figgis) try to sweep it under the rug by helping to fake his nephew’s death. The bungled cover-up leads to investigations by idealistic Internal Affairs officer Moe Tilden (Robert De Niro) and Freddy Heflin (Stallone). 

Watch it on Amazon Prime Video. 

Field of Dreams

A feel-good movie through and through, Field of Dreams is one of the rare flicks in which Liotta plays the good guy. It tells the story of Iowa farmer Ray (Kevin Costner) who – inspired by a mysterious voice he hears in his cornfield – decides to build a baseball diamond on his land. When he does, the Chicago Black Sox come back to play, including the ghost of disgraced ball player Shoeless Joe Jackson (Liotta).  

Watch it on Amazon Prime Video. 

Goodfellas

And of course, no Ray Liotta movie roundup would be complete without Goodfellas. The high-water mark of both his and director Martin Scorsese’s careers, the 1990 gangster classic continues to be a fan favourite to this very day. Centred on Henry Hill (Liotta) and his rise and fall as a member of the mafia, Joe Pesci put it best when he said “God was a Goodfella, and so is Ray”.

Watch it on Amazon Prime Video.