American Gangster

#1 Scarface

Stars Al Pacino in the role of Tony Montana a miami gangster drug dealer. He is a tough gangster who kills everyone he meets and says fuck all the time. He stars off as a poor dishwasher former criminal who just came to America Florida from Fidel Castro’s communist Cuba. Montana in America dreams the American dream. Montana similar to Jimmy Cagney in White Heat wants the world and everythings thats coming to him. The movie contains the famous lines such as “Say Hello to my little friend” and “In American first you get the money, then you get the power, then you get the women”. The movie is wonderfully done and shows the legend of an actor Al Pacino is. The movie is very bloody and contains lots of bad language especially the word fuck. This is probably one of the best gangster movies ever made because it has a lot of wackings and blood what a good gangster should always have.

2. The Godfather part 2

The Godfather part 2 continues the Godfather story going back to the beginning in a prequel to Vito’s Corleone’s early life. What makes Godfather part 2 so amazing is the fact Robert Deniro is in it and Al Pacino gets to star more in the film without boring Marlon Brando taking his spots. The fact that the movie stars Robert Deniro and Al Pacino in the same movie even though they never actually act together is mind blowing because these two are famous gangster movie actors its like James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart teaming together. Godfather part 2 has a amazing movie setting one of the best I ever seen of Little Italy.

#3 The Godfather

The Godfather is the most famous of the gangster movies. Starring big name movie stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, John Cazale, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton. The Godfather might be the best movie ever made it has the best story line, score, and setting in cinema history. But it can be very boring there is not enough blood and killings but more dialogue. The movie can be very depressing to watch. I think the Godfather is very hyped and a movie like Scarface is more entertaining to the American audience.

4. Once Upon a Time in America

Is one of the best gangster movies ever made. It is one of the most underrated gangster movies ever as well. It stars Robert Deniro and James Wood. Directed by the legendary Sergio Leone of Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Western films. Once upon a time in America portrays a beautiful story about life dealing with love, hatred, betrayal and the lost of innocence. One of my favorite scenes is when this boy is eating a cupcake which he was about to give so he could get a blowjob but decided to eat it instead. Once upon a Time in America has one of the best scores in movie history by the legend Ennio Morricone.

5. Goodfellas

Goodfellas has famous movie stars like Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, and Robert Deniro. It has a lot of blood and shootings during wackings which the godfather did not. Joe Pesci also has a oscar performance. While Robert Deniro is just as amazing in a supporting role. And that guy from Romeo and Juliet’s dad is in there. And a great music score.

#6 White Heat

White Heat is one of the most greatest and unappreciated gangster films of all times. It stars Jimmy Cagney who was the first original gangster 50’s movie stars in Hollywood. He is the inspiration for Pacino and Deniro. The Movie is about a crazy gangster who is obsessed with his mother. His mother is apart of his life as a gangster. And Cagney shouts his famous line ” Ma! Made it top of the world”. Jimmy Cagney is widely considered the best actor of all time and this movie proves it. A interesting fact to note was that Jimmy Cagney was considered the role of Godfather Marlon Brando but turned it down to paint.

#7 On the Waterfront 

On the Waterfront is a 50’s movie with Marlon Brando and Eva Marie Saint and Karl Malden. The movie is really good and looks darker and scary because its black and white. Eva Marie Saint is young and beautiful in black and white. Marlon Brando delivers his famous ” It was you Charlie…..” speech. And Karl Malden is wonderful as the priest he’s today’s John C. Reily.

#8 Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction is one of the best films ever made in our generation the 90’s. It has many famous stars like Bruce Willis, John Travolta, Uma Turman, Sam L. Jackson. The film is very weird and funny. It has one of the best diagolues which is so funny. And John Travolta revived his career because of this film.

#9 Kill Bill

Kill Bill is really good staring Uma Turman. A lot of blood the first film that really shows blood spraying. It stars Uma Turman is who is a girl looking for revenge on Bill who tried to shoot her with his possee of 4 head gangsters. The movie has a great music. And it shows the Japanese mafia The Yakuza something never hardly shown enough.

#10 Reservoir Dogs

The first film by Quentin Tarantino. About 7 strangers that come together to pull a bank robbery. But everything goes wrong, some of them are killed. And the rest come together in a warehouse, screaming at each other trying to find a rat in the group. Reservoir Dogs has lots of blood. It contains some scenes that are really nasty like the earing cuting scene. It has lot of great killing cops scences. It is a great little movie. It changes scences like pulp fiction it also resembles pulp fiction. You can really see that Tarantino was experimenting in his first film. Reservoir Dog feels like a little movie not a big one like the godfather or scarface but its one of the best gangster movies ever created.

#11 Angels with Dirty Faces

Is a wonderful film starring James Cagney as Rocky Sullivan. As a young gangster kid Sullivan was arrested. Now he just came out of 15 years in jail. Sullivan goes back to his old neigborhood. He meets his old girlfriend and old gangster buddy who is now a priest. He also meets a group of troubled gangster kids like him. Sullivan out of prison gets in trouble again with other gangsters like Jim Frazier played by Humphrey Bogart who does not play him his money. This film has a great shooting scene in the end where Sullivan is caught. He is sentenced to death and the priest his old best friend tells Sullivan for the troubled kids that look up to you do it for them be a coward before you die. Cagney listens and dies screaming like a coward which makes the troubled kids stop looking up to and wanting to be like gangsters. This is an awesome film and shows how great of a legend James Cagney is.

#12 Infernal Affairs

Great chinese gangster film that the Departed was based on. Infernal Affairs is about a gangster who is undercover as a head cop. And a cop who is undercover as a gangster. Then the cop loses his idenity. It is a great gangster film.

#13 The Departed

Taken from Interal Affairs Martin Scorsese does a great job. Won a Oscar for best picture and Scorsese finally got a Oscar. The film has the same story. But its filled with big stars like Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Matt Damon, Leonardo Dicaprio. It has an Irish touch to it. It is not better than Interal Affairs but its still a great movie.

#14 Casino

Is a gangster movie by Scorsese again starring Robert Deniro and Joe Pesci again. Casino is a movie about gangsters running Las Vegas. Casino is a great movie but I recommend you do not watch Goodfellas before like I did. Because if you do watch it Goodfellas before Casino is like the same movie except missing Ray Liotta. The only thing that bothers me about Casino is the narration it is so annoying when Deniro and Pesci always talk and talk and talk in narration it’s like their telling us the whole movie without even acting in it. Anyways Casino has great acting with stars like Sharon Stone in it. And the end scene with the shovel hitting was amazing. But overall I would not recommend this film I would watch the Godfather or Scarface first.

#15 Gangs of New York

Gangs of New York is a amazing movie directed by Martin Scorsese. The movie is about the historical 19th century the Boss Tweed era of gangsters. Its stars the new Robert Denrio former Titanic star Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis from just recently won a Oscar for There will be Blood who just might be the best actor right now in Hollywood. Daniel Day Lewis’s character Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York is similar in character and looks in the There Will be Blood’s Daniel Plainview.

#16 Mean  Streets

The Mean Streets staring Harvey Keitel and Robert Deniro. It is pretty boring to much talk and no blood or killing. It’s basically talking their not really gangsters. It’s a pretty bad movie. But the trailer is really good. There is great nudity as well. And the movie could of have been really good if their was a story to it.

#17 The Untouchables

Is about Eliot Ness played by Kevin Costner as a cop along with his many partners trying to catch Al Capone played by Robert Deniro. A lot of people say this is one of the best gangster films. But I thought the story was boring and done before. The movie is basically about the side of the cop. The only good part of the movie is Robert Deniro as Al Capone but Deniro’s scenes are cut to short. Sean Connery as Jim Malone also has an Oscar winning performance. The movie has many nice shootings and nice costuming of gangster suits. But I would not recommend this movie it is too boring.

#18 Donnie Brasco

Donnie Brasco directed by Mike Newell stars Al Pacino, Michael Madsen and Johnny Depp. The movie has a great story line but not enough wackings and blood that make a gangster movie good.

#19 Little Caesar

Is a gangster movie classic starring Edward G. Robinson. The movie is old. It has basically no story and is so boring. Robinson though acts great and looks so cool as a gangster. I would not recommend this film.

~ by Travis on October 28, 2007.