Top 10 Best Gangster Films

I've always been interested by this genre because it features characters you never see in ordinary everyday life. It's because they're always hiding their cards with everything they do in public. Whenever I watch a gangster film, I'm interested in EVERYTHING that goes on. You have stealing, gambling, trying to avoid being followed, messengers, heist jobs, engaging conversations and of course... gun action. It may be too violent for some audiences or too frightening depending on the movie, but for me I love them all. That's why I made this list of my personal Top 10 Best Gangster Films that I've ever seen. Enjoy.


1. Once Upon a Time in America

This may be a shock to some that either haven't seen it or are just Godfather and Goodfellas fanboys, but I don't think there could be any gangster film better than this. I do love everything Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese have done, but when it comes to the Best Gangster film of all time for me, Sergio Leone took the spot. It's time setting is perfect because it starts off with the main characters point of view back when they were kids at a time back when Al Capone wasn't even in charge yet. It tells their story all the way to 12 years later in the movie to where you see Robert De Niro and Jimmy Woods hit the screen. The movie is four hours long, but knowing it features everything that a gangster film has to offer like literally everything I listed above in my intro, this movie really only feels like 2 hours long. There's so much to explain about this movie that I can't really say anything else without either spoiling it or just confusing the hell out of you. All I can really say is that it's one of those films you must see before you pass away in life, because you really don't know what you're missing. I will warn you that it is really violent and features adult situations definitely not made for kids. So if you're a parent, make sure you watch this film before you let your kid under age see this. Other than that, this film is terrific and  pretty much defines what a gangster film should be.


2. Pulp Fiction

It may not seem anything like The Godfather, but what does prove itself to be a better gangster film than The Godfather are the characters. To me, Quentin Tarantino knew exactly what his characters should think and say for every situation they're in. At the beginning of the film, you see John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson doing a job by going to get back their bosses suitcase stolen by this guy, Brett. When they're gathering their weapons from the trunk, Samuel L. Jackson says "We should have fucking shotguns." when talking about how many people there could be in Brett's group. That's pretty much the stuff that characters from other gangster movies should be saying, but it never happens due to the focus on the job and lack of character development. Tarantino managed to perfect that with all his characters. He builds them up perfectly to where you know their thoughts instead of just focusing on the job they're doing. It's the dialogue that's top notch to making a great gangster film, and Tarantino builds it up perfectly like no other. 


3. The Godfather Part II

What can I say; I love both Godfather movies. Why do I like this one more than the first? Was there anything I disliked about the first one? Nope. Is it mainly because De Niro is in this one? Not exactly. I just feel like I got to know the Corleone family from this one more than the first one. I became more invested in the characters in this one more than the last. It does show family history back to when Vito was a kid and when he started his business where De Niro does shine on screen. Like I said, De Niro's not the main reason why I love this movie, but one of many. I also saw from Michael's point of view on why he tried to avoid becoming head of the family from the first movie. It's like he knew what he would become and that he would have to make his own decisions/offers he couldn't refuse to make. I do know the story with Fredo came as much of a surprise to Michael as it did for the audience, but Michael knew what he had to do to keep the family business as what the audience probably never would've done. It shows that there's always another side of everyone that you never find out about until you see the sequel. This is a perfect example of that.


4. The Godfather

You may be a little surprised to see that it's not in the number 1 or 2 spot on my list, but be glad it made this list at all. This wasn't an easy one to make. Now what do I love about this film? Well you have the daughter's wedding, the restaurant shoot out, the toll-booth shoot scene, and of course the classic quote "I'm gonna make an offer he can't refuse". That's already enough right there to make the top 5 of my list. Now any criticisms on why it's at number 4 and not higher? Well as much as I love long movies, this one I thought dragged out a bit longer than it really needed to be. For example, I didn't think it needed to show a lot of Michael hiding out in Sicily. It had great cinematography, but it didn't need to show him falling in love with that woman we barely see any development from for about 30 minutes of the movie. Yes we did get to know Michael a bit more, but the same thing is done in the second movie only better because it's the business he's focused on and not some random chick who just pops up on screen. It's a minor complaint, but still worth mentioning. Overall GREAT movie, just drags out a bit.


5. Goodfellas

It is Scorsese at his best when it comes to gangster films. Not only that, it's actually based off a true story. It's narration tells the story so easily and in a good way. It (as like most gangster films) starts off all the way back to when the main character was a kid and how he learned the moves to work his way up the scale and blend in with the big boys. As cheesy and cliche that sounds, it doesn't look that way at all when being told by Scorsese. He pretty much takes us into the heart of what a Gangster movie should look like without making any mistakes with his characters (fiction or non-fiction). Plus you have Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci in this movie who are so entertaining with the characters they play that I could tell they were enjoying it. They have such great chemistry in this movie together that to me they sort of come off like evil gangster versions of Abbott and Costello. This is a film you do not wanna miss out on.


6. El Mariachi

Before director Robert Rodriguez made movies like Sin City and Spy Kids, this was his debut. Still his best today in my opinion. Does that mean his career has gone down since he made this movie? Not really. Some say he's made better films than this. I just think differently. Anyways, the reason why I believe this deserves my number 6 spot is mainly because it shows the point of view from someone who's not apart of "the business", but ends up getting mixed in it when he's mistaken for a killer that this crazy business boss wants dead. So it's interesting to call this a gangster film when you have the main character pretty much trying to escape that genre. That doesn't mean you don't see a lot of action, because you do. There's at least 5 well-shot chase scenes that are entertaining to watch as well as getting to know the main character himself, The Mariachi when he's hiding out in this woman's bar on the second floor. It has good enough character development to keep the story going till the very end without boredom at all. It's a small indie, it's all in Spanish and worth checking out.


7. The Departed

This film is at best when it comes to showing the equal amount of each character that's either a cop or a criminal. You don't have any conflict on asking about what's happening on the other side because you're looking at both sides. The even more interesting is that one gangster is undercover as a cop and vice versa. As great as it was built up and as sad as the way it ended, I couldn't think of a better conclusion to this 2 and a half hour Best Picture winner. Even though it's based off a three part series from Hong Kong, it really comes off better. It had what every gangster film should have, great characters. Once again, same characters but better developed. I give it the number 7 spot not only because it was done by Scorsese and featured a great cast, but also because it was a great remake. You know how most remakes today aren't as good as the original. Thankfully, this one made a difference.


8. The Firm

Now I know for some of those that have seen this film wouldn't really consider this a gangster film. I beg to differ. I consider it to be that genre because of the subject matter. The movie is about a young lawyer named Mitch Malloy (Tom Cruise) who joins a law firm, only to find out that the firm is associated with the mafia. He finds all of his house wire-tapped and tries to find a way to escape it without getting killed or having his identity erased by the FBI who want him to snitch about the firm's system. So you never see any deals going on, or gun fire happening. You still see plenty of action, and not just with all dialogue. There's a couple chase scenes here and there, plus all the performances are intense enough to make it as exciting as any other gangster film. Also, Dave Grusin's score in this is something you don't wanna miss out on. Much better movie than it may seem at first.


9. Hard-Boiled

This film probably influenced that Hong Kong film that was made 10 years after this, Infernal Affairs. It shows both cops/criminals and features one guy undercover. Only difference is that the story is shit and doesn't follow well, but the action scenes are THAT amazing that it makes up the movie almost completely. I'm not trying to sound like a Die Hard fanboy or anything, but it has some of the best shoot out scenes I've ever seen. It has great editing and direction throughout the scenes. My favorite one is a three minute long take which is set in a hospital that shows how great of a director John Woo really is when it comes to action choreography. So the action scenes may be the highlight of the film, but that doesn't mean the rest is boring. It still shows great representation of the subject matter when it comes to the gangster genre. If you're all about the story and don't care about action at all, this movie isn't for you. Thankfully I'm into both.
 

10. The Lookout


Knowing that this was the same guy who wrote the movie Out of Sight directed this movie, I figured I was in for a treat. It did not disappoint. Scott Frank knows how to keep the audience interested when it comes to any gangster/thriller type flick. Great dialogue and great build up. You have our protagonist who starred in later movies like (500) Days of Summer and Inception play a guy with brain damage who's asked by friends of his to be a lookout while they rob the bank he works for. He says okay to it at first but then later as second thoughts about it, oh really? As dumb as the plot sounds, it's the build up that makes it believable. It manages to focus on each supporting character to create enough suspense for out main character which later leads to a terrific climax. I consider this to be a gangster film because the guys trying to rob the bank have done previous jobs like that before, only more than just rob banks. I would consider them gangsters. If it was just a heist movie, I would just put it up there with the Ocean's Eleven flicks which didn't make the list because gangsters want power, but with a low profile. You don't see Danny Ocean trying to take over Las Vegas with a gun. So yeah, this film on the other hand is great enough to make my number 10 spot. Hope you agree.