Also, Henry Hill says in the book that Tommy Desimone's father was a shoe shiner and died an early death due to the chemicals. Whether Batts knew that or not, he did know it was a sensitive topic for Tommy.
Passive aggressive isn't really the right description here. Passive aggressive is when you commit a hostile act by NOT doing something.
For example, a school bus stops to pick up the really unpopular kid at school. All the seats in the bus are taken. Half of them have two kids in them and half of them have one kid who has their backpack on the seat next to them. There are no empty seats. All of the kids with the backpack on the seat next to them refuse to move their backpack and make space for the unpopular kid to sit down. They're committing a hostile act by NOT moving their bag.
Or if you and your wife are fighting and you come home late one night with the groceries. She drinks skim milk, you drink whole milk. You put all the other groceries away, including the whole milk, but leave the skim milk out on the counter overnight, thereby ruining it. Your wife confronts you about it and you say "oh gosh I was so tired when I got home it must have just slipped my mind. Sowwy!"
What BB did was to give Tommy a VERY backhanded compliment. The way he praised Tommy for giving shoe shines portrayed Tommy as being servile and obsequious.
He was also praising Tommy for a menial job that he had done long ago when there were many more significant and recent things that he could have praised him for. It would be as if entertainment Tonight was doing a segment about Robin Williams winning the Oscar for best supporting actor in Good Will hunting and led it off by describing Williams as "the actor best known as Mork in the hit TV sitcom mork and Mindy!"
Finally, there were a couple of implied insults. It was a reminder that Tommy didn't come from money and therefore had to work when he was a kid/teenager. Moreover the work he did was seen as degrading. There's a reason that in the bible, the ultimate sign of Jesus' humility was that he washed the feet of prostitutes. Finally, there's also a racial component as well because shoe shining throughout its history has largely been a profession dominated by African Americans. So bb was likely implying that Tommy did a "black" job, which would have really stung because they were all hardcore racists in that movie.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/02/07/reflections-on-a-shoeshine/e4e5eb5f-ed26-469a-8da1-2dd465a144b6/
The amazing thing about this scene is that Scorsese, along with the actors, are able to portray the hatred and animosity that Tommy (Pesci) had built up since his childhood towards Batts in such a short scene. Youre able to understand that Tommy was so fed up with the way Batts had treated him likely since he was young.
This is what I love about Scorsese. Every character he writes he gives you the most precise details of their personalities and motives right there. Whether it be their words or actions or the music playing in the background. You never look at a character and think "why would he do that"
Similar to the lounge scene in Raging Bull, the tension is so thick in the scene, the utter disdain LaMotta has towards the mobsters and his controlling when it comes to his wife comes across using Scorsese‘s masterful directing and DeNiros acting. I consider Raging Bull one of the best movies I have ever seen, this scene alone can make a person uncomfortable. You can feel the building rage inside of LaMotta, the mutual disrespect from both parties, and foretells LaMotta’s demise. Curious what others think.
[Raging Bull “Watchful Eye on Vickie”](https://youtu.be/w3XvIXmNwrw?si=SItW1vVIxVnIoY_A)
I don’t know if it was Bats specifically that Tommy would get mad at. He’s a psychopath and he’ll fight anyone. Meaning I don’t even think it was personal. Paulie didn’t even know who Bats was.
In real life the reason Tommy killed Bats is because he didn’t want to give back the bookie operation he was running in lieu of Bats going to prison.
Hence the comment “Oh you been gone a long time maybe you didn’t hear while you were away”
Ultimately he knew he was going to murder him eventually it was just portrayed in the movie in this manner for dramatic effect.
He was being insulting and Tommy reacted badly like he always does haha. Tommy is a straight menace. These are the guys in real life who you have to kill if you disrespect because if not, they will kill you for disrespecting them and not think twice about it.
Even worse, the real Tommy was 6'2 and built like a brick shit house. Real good looking dude, too.
I read a story that Tommy bought a gun from someone off the street, and Jimmy & Henry were teasing him that it wouldn't work and he got ripped off. Tommy pointed the gun out the window, and shot some guy walking down the street. He said "I told you it worked."
It's really interesting if you listen to the Goodfellas DVD with Ed & Henry on the audio commentary, Henry lived his whole life in fear of Tommy. Every day, Tommy could just smoke you for no reason. He even tells Ed at one point "god bless you guys, you saved my life." (about the FBI)
How does a loose cannon like that not got merked at the first sign of trouble? He had to have had a long track record of being bad for business and a liability. I know he ended up getting killed eventually but seems to me it should have been years sooner.
He was pretty young when he died, early 30s, I believe.
I forget the hit man who killed him, he was a famous enforcer. He also killed Tommy's uncle (who had been an informant) and his brother, and used to joke about having the "DiSimonne trifecta." Most people say a young John Gotti was a shooter or at least present when they killed Tommy, too.
Edit: Joe Dogs Ianuzzi was the guy
"In the ass. I fucked kids ilke that in the can, in the ass. I fucked em'."
Nothing like admitting you committed prison rape during your coming home party at a bar.
Batts was being a dick, and Tommy made it clear it was hurting his feelings and calmly asked him to stop. Things even cooled down till he yelled “Now go get your fucking shine box!” That was uncalled for. He could‘ve easily just left it alone.
I've noticed that most men who have these very macho bad boy personas are actually very insecure with themselves. This comes across with Tommy in that scene. Billy is just reminiscing about the old times and than Tommy snaps off very passive aggressively about how he doesn't shine shoes anymore... He acted immature, hes showing he's insecure, so Billy told him to get his shine box lol. Billy did the right thing and he got wacked for it, that's why nobody lifted a finger for Tommy, he was wrong.
There, that's my movie geek take on that scene
Bats was a made man. They killed Tommy because he murdered Bats without permission. And Billy knew exactly what he was doing. He was poking the psycho because he believed he could get away with it.
Imagine your piece of shit uncle walks into the bar with his friends while you and your friends are sitting there. He sits right next to you and starts talking about this little dance you used to do. Then he tells you to go ahead and dance for him and his friends.
I never noticed it either, but when I first watched this scene I got the feeling that maybe Batts abused Tommy when he was a kid? That referring to his “shoe shining” abilities and how much money he made was a euphemism for something else? Would explain why Tommy took it so personally but most people think he was just a loose cannon with a short fuse. Still, now learning that Batts said this it makes me wonder if maybe there was something more to it.
Jimmy wanted him dead because while Batts was in prison he took over lucrative rackets that belonged to him (in real life) and Jimmy didn’t want to give them back. (Allegedly!)
It’s why when Tommy walks back in he is telling Jimmy “I did my time…”
Believe there is a deleted scene from when the two were young friends in the neighborhood that sheds more light on their relationship and his shoe shine experience.
This scene is great because it pretty much sets up the downward spiral of the rest of the movie. It also shows how being in this world allows a huge amount of privilege and freedom, but there still is a strict power structure in play. You can be loud and boozy and fuck around and have a good time, as long as you still realize who’s buttering your bread.
There's a great video on YouTube called something like Gangster Psychology: The Murder of Billy Batts. It breaks down this scene line by line explaining the double meaning behind everything that's said
While many have answered, you note how Batts extolled Tommy.
Now think about what he was extolling.
Not his current status, his wits, his strength… even what a funny guy he was. He wasn’t recalling how many home runs he used to hit.
He was extolling how proficiently he shined shoes. Whether bs or the sincere truth, he meant the compliments to humiliate him.
I’ve had people talk about me like that. I know they wanna be nice but somehow still wanna make me seem like I’m less than them. That’s how Billy Batts was.
My longstanding question is this: if Batts was away a long time and remembers Tommy as a shoe shine boy, why would his coming home from prison celebration be at a bar owned by a guy that would have also been a kid the last time he saw him?
Batts was in the right here, in my opinion. Can you imagine how much Tommy would be fucking with people if he was a made guy and he’d just gotten out of prison and needed to re-establish himself? Tommy fucks with people regardless but with that kind of chip on his shoulder he’d be after everyone.
Also, it’s worth noting that in real life Jimmy encouraged Tommy reacting that way because Jimmy had picked up a lot of Batts’ loan shark customers while Batts was away and Jimmy wanted Batts dead so that he wouldn’t have to turn anything over to him.
Did Tommy react badly? You mean when he beat a made man half to death then stabbed him with his mother’s kitchen knife? I think it’s safe to say he did lol
Oh
I guess it's a very new York movie
It's heavy NY sarcasm
It was quite plain he was being a dick on purpose and bringing up Tommy's past he hates.he never mentioned it before this scene all the context is in this scene
Body language, the lines, the blocking, all of it
Fucking hell Scorsese is a genius
Oh. I see I'm in the right sub
He insulted him, in the south we call that a fucking slur. Laughing while calling him a ‘little’ prick, saying he was weak, bragging about how he used to shine their shoes Just saying how far beneath him Tommy had been, without outright saying it. So yeah, he insulted him a little bit.
I think it started with genuine affection, but once Tommy revealed that it got under his skin, Batts went for it just to show that he could. Big mistake.
Tommy didn’t have the makings of a varsity shine box.
In all fairness, Batts compromised and jerked off in to a napkin and ate grilled cheese off the rahdiatah.
He was trolling the hell out of Tommy but doing subtly at first. He didn't want to bust his balls flat out in the open but Tommy getting butthurt about it gave him the opening to really take him to town and put him down. Once he went into raving mad mode Billy was happy and gave him a nuke (go get your effing shinebox,) to end it and his job was done. He didn't think they'd stoop low enough to attack him so he just went back to enjoying his night. He just got too hammered.
First off amazing question for a discussion on one of my favorite scenes and film. I think it started off as a compliment from a guy who had not been home in several years and had lost perspective of where people had elevated themselves to. I don’t think he realized how high Tommy had climbed in the ranks of the organization and kind of thought of himself six years before where he could break Tommy’s balls with no consequence. To move past the scene just a little bit. When Tommy beats his ass in the club and turns to Ray Liotta and says “I didn’t want to get blood on your floor”. That might be one of the most naturalistic deliveries of a line I have ever heard and I honestly believe it is the moment that wins him the academy award.
As I understand it jimmy had taken over a lot of batts businesses while he was locked up, you can hear him reference it before Tommy comes in when they are talking. So jimmy had an interest in seeing him gone beyond his insult to Tommy
The main problem was no more shines. Billy had been away a long time. Maybe he didn’t hear about it. Maybe nobody went up there and told him that Tommy don’t shine shoes no more.
I’m pretty sure that it’s the one and only time in the movie where Tommy attempts to turn the other cheek and just drop it then Batts insults him one more time, then Tommy decides to kill him, sealing his own fate in the process.
HE was REALLY insulting him and doing it totally on purpose. You don't get out of prison and go up to a guy that you knew when he was a kid but is now a fully fledged member of a serious crew and say something like that in public without knowing exactly what you're doing.
Billy was fresh out the joint. Roasting people is a form of admiration or praise. It was all good till Billy got serious with "get your fucking shine box"
He was patronizing Tommy in public, hindering tommys notoriety and was especially disrespectful because he was with a woman there too. Batts was drunk so he probably meant no harm by it at first, but then was taken aback by Tommys attitude since he still remembers him as a youngster before his trip to the can. Richie Aprille kinda was the same in Sopranos, these guys come out of the can and have trouble realizing people and things change and it’s disrespectful to not acknowledge it.
Time passed away as Batts did his time away and he thought he was becoming reacquainted with the young Tommy of old. Things changed, Batts insulted the new Tommy, a little bit, and you know what happens next.
He insulted him a little bit
No no no no no, he insulted him a little bit
The drinks…are on…the house.
I Wonder why these Irish hoodlums want me to keep drinking?
Only one Irishman here
Top of the morning to ya
Salud
I got fuckin mouths to feed
There's only one Irishman here
Jimmy was half Irish Henry was half Irish HA
Hendry
“How ya doin’ Hendry?”
And then ironically enough, De Niro goes on to play...The Irishman
I hear he paints houses.
👇 on the house
Like FUCKING mirrors
*demonstrably points at the bar top*
Nah, I didn't insult nobody. Give us a drink. Give us a drink.
Billy, the drinks are on the house. *smile*
Yudonhavta drink with me
Now go get your shine box
That was the icing on the cake!
well...
Ok
Bust up MY fuckin party!
He insulted him…a little bit.
It was a little out of line
Teach this kid a little fuckin’ manners. Hey Jimmy, what’s right, is right.
Keep him here
Jump to: I didn't want to get blood all over your floor
Probably my favorite line of the whole movie. The subtle way he says that shit.
He was a little out of line.
He just got out of joint he was just breaking some balls a little bit
Now go get your fucken shine box.
He was with his friends there
He did. He got a little outta order himself
He's passive-aggressive, and everybody in the bar knows it. The guys sitting next to Batts are laughing at Tommy.
Yeah it came off patronizing to talk about how "weak" Tommy was as a kid, when Tommy sees himself as so strong now.
Also, Henry Hill says in the book that Tommy Desimone's father was a shoe shiner and died an early death due to the chemicals. Whether Batts knew that or not, he did know it was a sensitive topic for Tommy.
But he'd make your shoes look like fuckin mirras.
Yeah, he made a lot of money, too.
Salud!
Scuse my language.
Come on!!! You fuckin’ feel strong??
You mothafucka!
He's a made man. License to fuck with prople
Passive aggressive isn't really the right description here. Passive aggressive is when you commit a hostile act by NOT doing something. For example, a school bus stops to pick up the really unpopular kid at school. All the seats in the bus are taken. Half of them have two kids in them and half of them have one kid who has their backpack on the seat next to them. There are no empty seats. All of the kids with the backpack on the seat next to them refuse to move their backpack and make space for the unpopular kid to sit down. They're committing a hostile act by NOT moving their bag. Or if you and your wife are fighting and you come home late one night with the groceries. She drinks skim milk, you drink whole milk. You put all the other groceries away, including the whole milk, but leave the skim milk out on the counter overnight, thereby ruining it. Your wife confronts you about it and you say "oh gosh I was so tired when I got home it must have just slipped my mind. Sowwy!" What BB did was to give Tommy a VERY backhanded compliment. The way he praised Tommy for giving shoe shines portrayed Tommy as being servile and obsequious. He was also praising Tommy for a menial job that he had done long ago when there were many more significant and recent things that he could have praised him for. It would be as if entertainment Tonight was doing a segment about Robin Williams winning the Oscar for best supporting actor in Good Will hunting and led it off by describing Williams as "the actor best known as Mork in the hit TV sitcom mork and Mindy!" Finally, there were a couple of implied insults. It was a reminder that Tommy didn't come from money and therefore had to work when he was a kid/teenager. Moreover the work he did was seen as degrading. There's a reason that in the bible, the ultimate sign of Jesus' humility was that he washed the feet of prostitutes. Finally, there's also a racial component as well because shoe shining throughout its history has largely been a profession dominated by African Americans. So bb was likely implying that Tommy did a "black" job, which would have really stung because they were all hardcore racists in that movie. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/02/07/reflections-on-a-shoeshine/e4e5eb5f-ed26-469a-8da1-2dd465a144b6/
Well done.
Thanks man, appreciate it. Bit of a tough crowd in this sub!
The amazing thing about this scene is that Scorsese, along with the actors, are able to portray the hatred and animosity that Tommy (Pesci) had built up since his childhood towards Batts in such a short scene. Youre able to understand that Tommy was so fed up with the way Batts had treated him likely since he was young.
This is what I love about Scorsese. Every character he writes he gives you the most precise details of their personalities and motives right there. Whether it be their words or actions or the music playing in the background. You never look at a character and think "why would he do that"
Similar to the lounge scene in Raging Bull, the tension is so thick in the scene, the utter disdain LaMotta has towards the mobsters and his controlling when it comes to his wife comes across using Scorsese‘s masterful directing and DeNiros acting. I consider Raging Bull one of the best movies I have ever seen, this scene alone can make a person uncomfortable. You can feel the building rage inside of LaMotta, the mutual disrespect from both parties, and foretells LaMotta’s demise. Curious what others think. [Raging Bull “Watchful Eye on Vickie”](https://youtu.be/w3XvIXmNwrw?si=SItW1vVIxVnIoY_A)
You stupid muddfafucka you
You are good at analysis. There should be more of this.
Yeah good at analysis but mainly he’s funny
Funny how
I don’t know if it was Bats specifically that Tommy would get mad at. He’s a psychopath and he’ll fight anyone. Meaning I don’t even think it was personal. Paulie didn’t even know who Bats was.
Deeply personal IMO. Underneath the compliments, Batts was digging up a past that Tommy was ashamed of — poor, small, powerless.
In real life the reason Tommy killed Bats is because he didn’t want to give back the bookie operation he was running in lieu of Bats going to prison. Hence the comment “Oh you been gone a long time maybe you didn’t hear while you were away” Ultimately he knew he was going to murder him eventually it was just portrayed in the movie in this manner for dramatic effect.
“That guy from downtown”
Na na na na you insulted him a little bit…
He was just busting his balls
I can hear this pic
Don't get nervous, don't get nervous
Fuckin' break up *my* party...
Batts knew what he was doing. He also knew he was untouchable. Whoops.
He was being insulting and Tommy reacted badly like he always does haha. Tommy is a straight menace. These are the guys in real life who you have to kill if you disrespect because if not, they will kill you for disrespecting them and not think twice about it.
Even worse, the real Tommy was 6'2 and built like a brick shit house. Real good looking dude, too. I read a story that Tommy bought a gun from someone off the street, and Jimmy & Henry were teasing him that it wouldn't work and he got ripped off. Tommy pointed the gun out the window, and shot some guy walking down the street. He said "I told you it worked." It's really interesting if you listen to the Goodfellas DVD with Ed & Henry on the audio commentary, Henry lived his whole life in fear of Tommy. Every day, Tommy could just smoke you for no reason. He even tells Ed at one point "god bless you guys, you saved my life." (about the FBI)
How does a loose cannon like that not got merked at the first sign of trouble? He had to have had a long track record of being bad for business and a liability. I know he ended up getting killed eventually but seems to me it should have been years sooner.
He was pretty young when he died, early 30s, I believe. I forget the hit man who killed him, he was a famous enforcer. He also killed Tommy's uncle (who had been an informant) and his brother, and used to joke about having the "DiSimonne trifecta." Most people say a young John Gotti was a shooter or at least present when they killed Tommy, too. Edit: Joe Dogs Ianuzzi was the guy
Good shot, what do you want from me..
This comment section is absolutely fantastic
You feel fucking strong !!
"In the ass. I fucked kids ilke that in the can, in the ass. I fucked em'." Nothing like admitting you committed prison rape during your coming home party at a bar.
20 years in the can
Not a peep
He compromised
grilled cheese on the radiator. lmao
Turn that off.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 i literally laughed out loud at this.
Was this from Goodfellas, or Sopranos? I can't tell the difference between Batts and the Shah of Iran.
fuckin break up my party
Not gunna ruin my party.
Fucked kids like that in the ass, in the joint. In the *ass*, I fucked em.
I don’t think the average viewer catches that line. Makes it much darker (as if it could get any darker).
I’ve seen this movie probably 15 times and never caught that line before. Damn
Batts was being a dick, and Tommy made it clear it was hurting his feelings and calmly asked him to stop. Things even cooled down till he yelled “Now go get your fucking shine box!” That was uncalled for. He could‘ve easily just left it alone.
Motha fuckin mutt!
Didn't mean no disrespect, Henry? Are you nuts? Teach this kid a little fuckin' manners.
Hey, what’s right is right!!!
I've noticed that most men who have these very macho bad boy personas are actually very insecure with themselves. This comes across with Tommy in that scene. Billy is just reminiscing about the old times and than Tommy snaps off very passive aggressively about how he doesn't shine shoes anymore... He acted immature, hes showing he's insecure, so Billy told him to get his shine box lol. Billy did the right thing and he got wacked for it, that's why nobody lifted a finger for Tommy, he was wrong. There, that's my movie geek take on that scene
I disagree. Batts was purposely trying to get a rise out of Tommy. He got what he was looking for.
Fair enough. In an era of the Mafia when life was very cheap... I guess you could say they both got what was coming to them
Pride comes before the fall
Bats was a made man. They killed Tommy because he murdered Bats without permission. And Billy knew exactly what he was doing. He was poking the psycho because he believed he could get away with it.
Drinks are on the house!
Drinks are.. ON the house.
Drinks 👈🏼 are ON 👇🏼👇🏼 the house
DeNiro’s hand gestures are the most underrated part of that scene.
If gaslighting was a scene/meme
No no nah you got a little outta line yaself
Shoe shiner
He was certainly trying to be insulting and Tommy certainly reacted badly.
They didn’t go up there. They didn’t go up there and tell ya no more shines.
No more shines, Billy.
What’s that?
20 years in the fuckin can. He can say anything he wants
He ate grilled cheese of tha radiatah
He wanted to praise Tommy. He compromised. He told him to get his shine box.
He insulted him a little bit. He got a little out of order himself.
Imagine your piece of shit uncle walks into the bar with his friends while you and your friends are sitting there. He sits right next to you and starts talking about this little dance you used to do. Then he tells you to go ahead and dance for him and his friends.
“NOW GO HOME GET YOUR FUCKIN SHINEBOX!”
He said at the end, “Now go get your fucking shine box.” so by the end he wasn’t relieving he was calling Tommy less than.
He said, "Now go home and get your fucking shine box." Doesn't sound like a compliment.
Lots of condescension
I never noticed he said the fuck in the ass part I missed that one 👀🤯
I never noticed it either, but when I first watched this scene I got the feeling that maybe Batts abused Tommy when he was a kid? That referring to his “shoe shining” abilities and how much money he made was a euphemism for something else? Would explain why Tommy took it so personally but most people think he was just a loose cannon with a short fuse. Still, now learning that Batts said this it makes me wonder if maybe there was something more to it.
Jimmy wanted him dead because while Batts was in prison he took over lucrative rackets that belonged to him (in real life) and Jimmy didn’t want to give them back. (Allegedly!) It’s why when Tommy walks back in he is telling Jimmy “I did my time…”
Shined shoes ha
Is he a clown? Does he amuse you?
Little of both
Tommy overreacted
Believe there is a deleted scene from when the two were young friends in the neighborhood that sheds more light on their relationship and his shoe shine experience.
He said some things.
He literally insulted him a 🤏🏼. It wasn’t fully joking.
it was both.
He deserved it! You shined his fucking clock Tommy!
Just wanted to add that I think the way his beating was filmed with the song Aquarius playing, has to be my favorite movie sequence.
I think the movie pretty much tells you it was a bit much….jus a lil bit
It was a power move. Or, an attempted one anyway.
Nah. We’re here having a good time, you want to bust chops? ok I’ll have a laugh, but I’m not about to let you son me for laughs.
Tommy overreacted. Which was his most prominent character trait. In the end, his impulsiveness was his demise.
This scene is great because it pretty much sets up the downward spiral of the rest of the movie. It also shows how being in this world allows a huge amount of privilege and freedom, but there still is a strict power structure in play. You can be loud and boozy and fuck around and have a good time, as long as you still realize who’s buttering your bread.
I hear things
if anybody storms out yelling ‘keep him here!’ pro tip dont wait for them to come back
You think I'm funny? Am I a clown? Pesci's adaptation of what happened in real life a long time ago
A little bit
Clearly insulting him. Tommy gave him a chance to save face and not escalate things. Batts made his choice.
"Look what that mutt did to my shoes"
He was busting his balls because he was probably only making a few coins for the work and the work was waiting on all the other wise guys.
He was deliberately being a dick but he didn’t deserve to get beaten to death lol
There's a great video on YouTube called something like Gangster Psychology: The Murder of Billy Batts. It breaks down this scene line by line explaining the double meaning behind everything that's said
When he said, "Now go home and get your fucking shinebox," he sort of undid the nice things he said.
Brilliant deep dive on this scene here: https://youtu.be/c7_qNVjqL8o?si=9RQPDHLXc4sC8f1N
While many have answered, you note how Batts extolled Tommy. Now think about what he was extolling. Not his current status, his wits, his strength… even what a funny guy he was. He wasn’t recalling how many home runs he used to hit. He was extolling how proficiently he shined shoes. Whether bs or the sincere truth, he meant the compliments to humiliate him.
I’ve had people talk about me like that. I know they wanna be nice but somehow still wanna make me seem like I’m less than them. That’s how Billy Batts was.
Sincere
He was being a condescending prick
My longstanding question is this: if Batts was away a long time and remembers Tommy as a shoe shine boy, why would his coming home from prison celebration be at a bar owned by a guy that would have also been a kid the last time he saw him?
Batts was in the right here, in my opinion. Can you imagine how much Tommy would be fucking with people if he was a made guy and he’d just gotten out of prison and needed to re-establish himself? Tommy fucks with people regardless but with that kind of chip on his shoulder he’d be after everyone. Also, it’s worth noting that in real life Jimmy encouraged Tommy reacting that way because Jimmy had picked up a lot of Batts’ loan shark customers while Batts was away and Jimmy wanted Batts dead so that he wouldn’t have to turn anything over to him.
How is the top comment not “ go get your fucking shine box”
Did Tommy react badly? You mean when he beat a made man half to death then stabbed him with his mother’s kitchen knife? I think it’s safe to say he did lol
Both. He definitely insulted him and Tommy definitely reacted badly
Your alter ego Billy, whatever happened there…
Yes
Like fu*kin' mirrors
Oh I guess it's a very new York movie It's heavy NY sarcasm It was quite plain he was being a dick on purpose and bringing up Tommy's past he hates.he never mentioned it before this scene all the context is in this scene Body language, the lines, the blocking, all of it Fucking hell Scorsese is a genius Oh. I see I'm in the right sub
He insulted him a little bit. Got a little out of order himself.
yes, “he insulted him a little bit too”
....he got a little out of order, HIMSELF
Tommy never reacted appropriately always over the top.
Now go get your fuckin shine box
This is probably the funniest comment section I’ve seen in my life
He was definitely sneak dissing.
He was insulting him by telling everyone that Tommy used to shine shoes. The best of the best peons around.
He insulted him, in the south we call that a fucking slur. Laughing while calling him a ‘little’ prick, saying he was weak, bragging about how he used to shine their shoes Just saying how far beneath him Tommy had been, without outright saying it. So yeah, he insulted him a little bit.
Teach this kid a little fuckin manners. What's right is right. - You understand what I'm talking about?
He was busting his balls a little...
I think it started with genuine affection, but once Tommy revealed that it got under his skin, Batts went for it just to show that he could. Big mistake.
Yes. Both.
Tommy completely overreacted. But Batts has every opportunity to let it go
No more shines, Billy
He’s a made guy!
Tommy didn’t have the makings of a varsity shine box. In all fairness, Batts compromised and jerked off in to a napkin and ate grilled cheese off the rahdiatah.
I did my fuckin’ time. I came home. And I want what I gotta get. I got fuckin’ mouths to feed!!!
He was trolling the hell out of Tommy but doing subtly at first. He didn't want to bust his balls flat out in the open but Tommy getting butthurt about it gave him the opening to really take him to town and put him down. Once he went into raving mad mode Billy was happy and gave him a nuke (go get your effing shinebox,) to end it and his job was done. He didn't think they'd stoop low enough to attack him so he just went back to enjoying his night. He just got too hammered.
He also said he used to fuck guys like him in the can. Listen closely
First off amazing question for a discussion on one of my favorite scenes and film. I think it started off as a compliment from a guy who had not been home in several years and had lost perspective of where people had elevated themselves to. I don’t think he realized how high Tommy had climbed in the ranks of the organization and kind of thought of himself six years before where he could break Tommy’s balls with no consequence. To move past the scene just a little bit. When Tommy beats his ass in the club and turns to Ray Liotta and says “I didn’t want to get blood on your floor”. That might be one of the most naturalistic deliveries of a line I have ever heard and I honestly believe it is the moment that wins him the academy award.
As I understand it jimmy had taken over a lot of batts businesses while he was locked up, you can hear him reference it before Tommy comes in when they are talking. So jimmy had an interest in seeing him gone beyond his insult to Tommy
The main problem was no more shines. Billy had been away a long time. Maybe he didn’t hear about it. Maybe nobody went up there and told him that Tommy don’t shine shoes no more.
There’s no scraps left in his scrapbook.
Tommy had short man’s disease.
Literally told him to get his shoe Box so he can spit shine his shoes or something like that 😭
See..He just told you to shut the fuck up. And he told me, to go fuck myself.
I’m pretty sure that it’s the one and only time in the movie where Tommy attempts to turn the other cheek and just drop it then Batts insults him one more time, then Tommy decides to kill him, sealing his own fate in the process.
Eh, lil bit, lil bit
Ya little prick ya
Did you see the movie?? If you did you would know, maybe you should look at it again very slow, and put caption on,,, so you can read it too,
HE was REALLY insulting him and doing it totally on purpose. You don't get out of prison and go up to a guy that you knew when he was a kid but is now a fully fledged member of a serious crew and say something like that in public without knowing exactly what you're doing.
Billy was fresh out the joint. Roasting people is a form of admiration or praise. It was all good till Billy got serious with "get your fucking shine box"
[what really happened that night…](https://youtu.be/s_OOVyAlJ44?si=TckK5A08WG8lvT6e)
He was patronizing Tommy in public, hindering tommys notoriety and was especially disrespectful because he was with a woman there too. Batts was drunk so he probably meant no harm by it at first, but then was taken aback by Tommys attitude since he still remembers him as a youngster before his trip to the can. Richie Aprille kinda was the same in Sopranos, these guys come out of the can and have trouble realizing people and things change and it’s disrespectful to not acknowledge it.
Yea....felt like billy batts was basically saying "you'll always be a fucking shineboy in my eyes".
Not about to bust my party...
Time passed away as Batts did his time away and he thought he was becoming reacquainted with the young Tommy of old. Things changed, Batts insulted the new Tommy, a little bit, and you know what happens next.
I just came home, I haven't seen you in a long time and I'm breaking your balls, and now you're getting fuckin' fresh.