The 30 Greatest Gangster Movies
Mobsters, molls, heavies & hoods. An offer you can't refuse...
BY Jun 16th 2009 13:13PMFILED UNDER: Features
User Comments (8)
3. Army In The Shadows (1969)
Between gangster films proper Le Samouraï and Le Cercle Rouge, Jean-Pierre Melville tapped both his history with the Free French and a novel by Joseph Kessel for a subtextual gangster movie about the French Resistance.
Key themes are honour, betrayal and revenge. The bottom lines are sacrifice and loyalty, the former being the high price of the latter.
But as Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers argues, “Melville refuses to truck with myths of heroism and glory,” instead directing the grandeur and fatalism of gangster convention to the urgent call of grim truth. Quite brilliant.
Killer Scene: Death by towel: silent, ruthless vengeance meted out to a snitch.
2. The Godfather, Part II (1974)
Murder, fratricide, damnation: it’s all just business in Francis Ford Coppola’s two-tone sequel.
In the past, Vito Corleone (De Niro) rises from anonymous immigrant to Robin Hood hoodlum, while in the present his son Michael (Pacino) broods in darkened backrooms, a troubled conscience the price he pays for the absolute power he possesses.
Coppola styles the dynasty’s damnation as epic, operatic tragedy – an Italian-American Dream turned sour.
“After winning all the battles and overcoming his enemies, I wanted Michael to be a broken man, a condemned man.”
Killer Scene: Michael’s kiss of death. “I knew it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart.”
Print Comments (8)
1: ebrown2112 says
I disagree about the exclusion of The Departed, but I agree about Goodfellas at #1.
Posted: Jun 23rd 2009 // 2:04PMAlert a moderator
2: weirdr0b0t says
i had forgotten about the departed, and i agree that should have been in there!!
What about Road to Perdition as well!! That movie should definitely be in there!!
Posted: Jun 23rd 2009 // 6:53PMAlert a moderator
3: adammiller2k says
forget the departed, infernal affairs is so much better! and having both in the list would have been stupid. great list though. i know i might get hounded for this, but if you had room for only 1 new wave "gangster movie" i'd replace breathless with truffaut's "shoot the pianist" that's a stonking good movie.
do the vengance triology not count as gangster movies? i know they are revenge tragedies, but then so is get carter (what a movie).
ps tokyo drifter rocks!
Posted: Jun 24th 2009 // 1:43AMAlert a moderator
4: Desperation says
I think Carlito's Way should have been higher.
Posted: Jun 24th 2009 // 11:39AMAlert a moderator
5: weirdr0b0t says
and you figure s****h or lock Stock or even RocknRolla would have got a mention!!
Posted: Jun 24th 2009 // 6:38PMAlert a moderator
6: Film2517 says
a pretty accurate list but Gomorrah is the most notable exclusion on it.
Posted: Jun 25th 2009 // 3:26PMAlert a moderator
7: SUPERmovieFREAK says
Okay this isn't that bad a list. You've definitely got some all time classics in there like the Godfather Part 1 & 2, Mean Streets, Goodfellas etc, etc. I disagree with Goodfellas being number 1, The Godfather is the greatest movie and greatest gangster movie EVER made (but okay I can deal with Goodfellas being Number 1).
But there are some films in there I've never even heard of. What the hell is Casque D'or, never heard of it. Or The Killing, never heard of it. The Big Heat, never heard of it.
Instead the complete shmucks you are, you’ve gone and missed major classics out like The Untouchables. How could you forget that? It’s got a small but classic role by Robert DeNiro and the legendary Sean Connery.
Plus like people have said above you’ve also missed out major modern classics like The Departed, Gommorah, Road To Perdition and Rock ‘n’ Rolla.
AND WHAT THE HELL ABOUT Eastern Promises and A History Of Violence. Two great movies by a great director and I still can’t believe you missed them out.
If I was a Don and I saw that list I’d have you all whacked you shmucks.
Posted: Jun 25th 2009 // 5:25PMAlert a moderator
8: Hip2thabone says
Seriously this list is totally f****d up.
How can u have pulp fiction higher than donnie brasco or infernal affairs?
What about a movie called "SHOTTAS"?
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