With shady characters, wise guy patter and round upon round of ammunition, you can’t beat a great gangster movie. I’ve listed five of my favourites. Do you agree?
1. Snatch (2000)
When most people think of gangsters, they think of the established Italian-American characters that frequent so much of this area of popular culture. However, when given the grimy example of London’s criminal elite by director Guy Ritchie, you’re shown that bad people on this side of the pond are just as capable of extreme violence and instilling fear. Where Snatch prevails though is not by showing the gory details of such things but by the inference of what these characters do. Doused with a healthy amount of British sardonic humour, this film solidly stays in the realms of cheerful entertainment without straying into parody. Chock full of amusing one-liners as well as excellent use of cockney slang, you’ll be quoting lines from Snatch for many a year after seeing it. Star performances from Jason Statham and Stephen Graham as boxing promoters, Alan Ford as the chilling head gangster Brick Top as well as a hilarious turn by Brad Pitt as an Irish traveller Micky make this film excellent watching regardless of who’s on the screen.
2. The Departed (2006)
A remake of the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs, Martin Scorcese’s version of the tense thriller opened to critical acclaim upon its release as well as earning an Academy Award for Best Director and 5 other nominations. It tells the story of two police officers, one (DiCaprio) placed as a mole by the Boston Police inside the criminal gang of Frank Costello (Nicholson), and the other placed by Costello as his mole inside the Boston Police. Both become aware of each other, though not their identities, and are trying to expose who the other is before they themselves are discovered. A star-studded cast of Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin means that there’s always quality acting on the screen with Nicholson particularly good as the aging gangster. It’s a heavy film (not that gangster films tend to be light and cheerful) but the payoff as the film goes on is worth it, though your nerves may not thank you afterwards!
3. Scarface (1983)
If ever there was a film that showed the lifestyle of excess that gangsters are capable of leading, it’s Scarface. In this remake of a 1932 film loosely based on Al Capone, Al Pacino stars as Cuban refugee Tony Montana, who starts climbing the ladder once arriving in Miami and becoming part of the local drug cartel. Uncaring of who gets in his way or who suffers, Montana soon becomes a force to be reckoned with regardless of whether those higher or lower in the organisation oppose him. Uncompromising in its intense violence and savage repercussions, it’s a no holds barred story of the depths that ambitious criminals will sink to in order to gain power. At times shudderingly terrifying, it’s scenes of lavish opulence are in contrast to the inevitable fall of someone who’s burnt every bridge in their life. At the time of release, the film was highly criticised for its level of violence and gratuitous language which many felt was over the top. Over the years however, it has been reevaluated by many and gained acclaim (though not from all corners of the industry) and is one of the most intense crime films ever made.
4. Goodfellas (1990)
Considered by some to be one of the greatest films ever made, Martin Scorcese’s Goodfellas is based on the non-fiction book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi. Co-written by Pileggi himself, the film covers the life of Henry Hill, a member of a mafia crime organisation from 1955 to 1980. As with most great films, there’s strength in depth as far as acting goes with Ray Liotta as Henry Hill and Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro as his close associates. Even the bit parts are played with relish because every actor puts in a great performance. It sits on the right side of every aspect that we expect from gangster films; violence, flashy opulence, dark humour, snappy dialogue, Goodfellas has it all, but unlike Scarface, it doesn’t rely on gruesome scenes or profanity to shock you. The story is told in first-person, narrated by Liotta’s Henry Hill himself which creates a likeable factor to their enterprise despite their bad deeds. It’s also a cracking performance by Joe Pesci (who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor) as the archetypal short-man-with-a-huge temper.
5. The Godfather (1972)
Arguably the film that shot Al Pacino to fame, the film adaption of Mario Puzo’s novel of the same name was once the highest grossing film ever made. It won 3 Academy Awards out of 9 nominations and meets near universal approval from film critics. Not only that, but the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in America. Starring Pacino as Michael Corleone, the youngest son of Don Vito Corleone (played by a wheezy Marlon Brando), it tells the story of Michael’s firstly reluctant, then complete slide into the role as mob boss for the Corleone Family. Producing many scenes and themes that have been parodied over the years (the infamous scene of waking to a horse’s head in the bed springs to mind), many real life mobsters even mentioned when interviewed that it was the closest film representation to their lives that they had ever seen.
Bonus Film…
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
The feature-length debut by Quentin Tarantino remains a classic film in the genre with his clever choice of non-linear plot and stylish direction. A diamond heist goes wrong and those who escape try to figure out who tipped off the police in a tense standoff. As an independent film, it was produced on a relative shoestring budget of less than $2 million and therefore relies heavily on the quality of the acting and the excellent choice of cinematography and editing. The paternal relationship between Tim Roth’s Mr Orange and Harvey Keitel’s Mr White is in contrast to the gleeful violence from Michael Madsen’s Mr Blond, who’s distaste of the police is shown in a brutal interrogation of a captured officer. Though it kept relatively under the radar upon its release, it became a cult classic as time went on and Tarantino became more prominent as a director.
Author – Steve, Bristol store
