If you go to the cinema today you are most likely to watch a moie that you will not remember in a couple of months. The flood of romantic comedies and superhero Marvel actions is brainwashing and with a very limited expiry date.
There is one genre, however that never grows old – the mafia crime epics. We have not seen a really good mafia movie ever since The Departed so we can only turn our heads to the past and sink in melancholy. A nostalgia for the good old days when The Godfather and Goodfellas determined the way we understood cinema. And for the years when Tony Montana and Michael Corleone used ot be pop culture icons, not Iron Man or Captain America.
Here is just a short list of the gangster movies you must watch at least once – for the sake of the good old days of cinema!
King of New York (1990)
It is a dark and nihilistic movie about the mafia boss Frank White (played by Christopher Walken) – filthy rich but morally corrupt gangster kingpin who gets out of prison to rebuild his drug empire. He drives around in his shiny limo and sucks the life out of the streets of New York. Walken at his very best, one of his trademark roles.
Donnie Brasco (1997)
Al Pacino and Johnny Depp. Arguably the best story for an undercover cop who infliltrates a mafia syndicate but starts to lose sight of the boundary between his dual identity. Pacino is at his usual sublime level, being the mentor who navigates Brasco’s rise in the gangster world.
Sonatine (1993)
A few members of the Yakuza ae sent to Okinawa to end the local gangster war but instead it escalates into a bloody catastrophy. The movie is among the best and most renowned titles by the legendary Japanese director Takeshi Kitano. Sonatine offers the audience a minimalistic, philosophical, different look on the life of the not-so-secret Japanese mafia.
Casino (1995)
A trademark Martin Scorsese epic that features the long-time partners and brothers-in-arms Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. Money do not stink, not in Vegas anyway. Sharon Stone adds this special, sexy flavour of hers that drives men crazy. A brilliant movie, in the best traditions of the genre.
City of God (2002)
A monstrous movie, one of the best Brazil has ever come up with. A dark, social drama about the hopeless life in the favelas, about the shocking brutality of juvenile crime and a world we pretend does not exist. Quite naturally the movie got four nominations for Oscar and is still one of the most haunting titles of the genre with its naturalistic realism.
Bonnie & Clyde (1967)
The most famous murdering criminal couple of America, played by two acting legends – what more could you want from a movie. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway define what is too be sexy, badass and living on the edge like no other couple on screen has ever since!
Pulp Fiction (1994)
It is tough to put Tarantino’s best movie in a specific genre, but gangster thriller would be a hot favourite. After all the movie is a parody of the classic mafia epics, but it is served in such an original and genius way that you forget about it. There is murder, there is violence, there are drugs, there is even the femme fatale! Yes, this is the most idiosyncratic gangster movie of all time, but does not make it any less mind-blowing and funny! Enjoy!
Scarface (1983)
A movie that has turned into a classic, a cultural phenomenon, an icon and is still the bar in the genre. Can you imagine a more repulsive, disgraceful, degraded gangster than Tony Montana? And still we are captivated by his rise of power, by his animalistic approach to life, by the brutal way he takes anything he likes and then turns it to ash. This is a movie that holds back from nothing – violence, drugs, sex and language, and Al Pacino once more delivers a larger-than-life performance as the Cuban immigrant turned into a cocaine kingpin. If you like gangster movies Scarface should be at the very top of your watching list.
Once Upon A Time In America (1984)
I feel this one is the odd pick in the group. Legendary spaghetti-western director Sergio Leone tells the story of a Jewish boy from New York who rises from modest beginnings to the very top of the mafia world. Unlike Scarface or Goodfellas Once Upon A Time In America is much slower, with prolongued shots and tense scenes without dialogue that remind us of Once Upon A Time In The West.
Robert De Niro is titanic as Noodles, the ghetto boy who uses the Dry Regime to win a fortune. The director’s cut is four hours long – more than even The Godfather.
Heat (1995)
A movie that features the most epic gangster movie showdown of all time – Robert De Niro as the master thief versus Al Pacino as the obsessed detective who is chasing him. Los Angeles is turned into a battlefield between these heavyweights, who would stop to nothing in order to get what they want. The cafeteria scene between De Niro and Pacino is a dream come true for every movie maniac – two legends at the top of their craft facing each other. Priceless!
With supporitng roles by Val Kilmer, Charlize Theron and Tom Sizemore, brilliant screenplay and action-packed sequence, this is one of the most dynamic gangster movies of all time.
Road To Perdition (2002)
A modern Count of Monte Christo spin-off, a tale of revenge and absolution. With almost lyrical scenes of violent brilliance, Road to Perdition is a muct-watch for the lovers of the genre. You can hardly overlook a movie that gathers Paul Newman, Tom Hanks, Daniel Craig and Ciaran Hinds and then swirls them in a whirlwind of violence. The editing and directing are sublime, the cinematography – stunning. It’s one of the last trully great gangster movies, unfortunately.
Goodfellas (1990)
I left the two best movies of the list for last. For me Goodfellas is the ultimate gangster movie – because it is all about how cool is to be a part of the Cosa Nostra. Ray Liotta plays Henry Hill – an Irish boy with a Sicilian mother who grows up among some of the most notorious New York gangsters just to turn into one of them. Joe Pesci and the ever-present Robert De Niro complete the monstrous line-up of gangster-movie legends who deliver some of their most memorable career performances. Just watch the “Why am I funny scene?” with Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta and you will understand immediately why the movie stands tall as #17 in the IMDB top 250 list.
The Godfather (1972)
Anybody surprised? I don’t think so. The Godfather is the greatest gangster movie of all time – plain and simple. Many would actually argue it is the greatest movie overall – and is it that outrageous? Steven Spielberg said after he watched the movie that he considered to quit directing because he did not think he could ever reach such a level of authenticity.
There is not a single blemmish in that movie, not a single poor scene. Balanced to perfection, with the intoxicating music of Nino Rota, the classic gangster atmosphere of post-war New York and the towering presence of Marlon Brando – you cannot ask for a better example of the mafia movie genre!
