- The Godfather (1972)
- Goodfellas (1990)
- The Public Enemy (1931)
- Scarface (1983)
- Road to Perdition (2002)
- Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
- The Departed (2006)
- Infernal Affairs (2002)
- Donnie Brasco (1997)
- The Untouchables (1987)
They know how to wield a gun, intimidate and take care of their own, all with an air of professionalism (to varying degree). We speak of course of the stars and supporting cast of gangster movies; the organized crime families and the men of law who pursue them.
Killing fellow criminals is one thing, but for those entrepreneurial souls ready to build an empire in society’s margins – and defend it at all costs – their struggle for greatness and eventual fall is the stuff moviegoers yearn for.
How will the star-studded cast of this week’s Gangster Squadstack up against the films that came before? We thought we’d look back to see just how far the bar has been raised on gangster movies over the years.
10. The Untouchables (1987)
Al Capone: the undeniable king of Prohibition-era Chicago with cops and public officials in his pocket. Enter the Bureau of Prohibition agent Eliot Ness, and his handpicked team from every branch of law enforcement, intent on hitting Capone where it hurts: his bank accounts. Publicize Capone’s useless attempts to buy them off, and they’ve even got a name –The Untouchables.
Ness’ autobiographical account of the same name spawned several spin-offs, but Brian De Palma’s film adaptation with Kevin Costner as Ness and Robert De Niro embodying Capone is a classic. Not just because of the cast assembled for the film, but for exploring how much good men can do in the name of law and order – and that famous train station shootout scene.
Links to Read and buy:
Wikipedia, Google, IMDB, Youtube Trailer, Rotten Tomatoes
Buy at: Flipkart.com, Amazon
9. Donnie Brasco (1997)
The story is one that would be made up, if it hadn’t already happened. Based on the autobiography of FBI agent Joseph Pistone, Donnie Brasco follows Johnny Depp as the titular agent, taken under the wing of Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino) for a six-year undercover infiltration of New York’s Bonanno crime family. It was an investigation that led to Brasco almost becoming a made man, and resulted in over 100 criminal convictions.
Links to Read and buy:
Wikipedia, Google, IMDB, Youtube Trailer, Rotten Tomatoes
Buy at: Flipkart.com, Amazon
8. Infernal Affairs (2002)
An organized crime family plants one of their own into the police force, while an undercover officer manages to infiltrate the crime family simultaneously. The inevitable eventually happens, as both moles seek out the other among friends and betrayed associates.
That’s the premise of Wai-keung Lau’s Infernal Affairs – a film strong enough to not only prove that Honk Kong cinema is still a hotbed of creativity.
Links to Read and buy:
Wikipedia, Google, IMDB, Youtube Trailer, Rotten Tomatoes
Buy at: Flipkart.com, Amazon
7. Once Upon a time in America (1984)
As one of the directors responsible for (almost single-handedly) creating the ‘spaghetti western’ genre of films, it should come as no surprise that Sergio Leone’s tale of Prohibition-era America should be just as influential.
Casting Robert De Niro as David “Noodles” Aaronson, Once Upon a Time in America chronicles the lives of both he and his fellow Jewish-ghetto-dwelling friends in 1920s Manhattan up through 1968. With a story spanning fifty years and following the boys’ rise from small-time thugs to mob pawns, the epic tale of love, friendship, betrayal, violence, and ambition leaves few stones in the road to the ‘American dream’ unturned.
Links to Read and buy:
Wikipedia, Google, IMDB, Youtube Trailer, Rotten Tomatoes
Buy at: Flipkart.com, Amazon
6. Road to Perdition (2002)
We could say that just having Tom Hanks portraying Irish mob hitman Michael Sullivan makes Road to Perdition one of our favorites; luckily, the rest of the cast and the emotional ground it walks are just as inspired. The Prohibition-era setting is familiar, but themes of fatherhood, family, and vengeance steal the show.
Links to Read and Buy:
Wikipedia, Google, IMDB, Youtube Trailer, Rotten Tomatoes
Buy at: Flipkart.com, Amazon
5. Scarface (1983)
The perversion of the American Dream that was Brian De Palma’s Scarface is one that has stood the test of time in the film industry, and not because it adorns the walls of approximately half the college dorm rooms in America. Following Cuban refugee Tony Montana in his ascent (and, you guessed it, downfall) due to organized crime and the drug trade, the film may have been hotly debated when it was released in 1983, but has since cemented its spot among the world’s best gangster films.
Links to Read and buy:
Wikipedia, Google, IMDB, Youtube Trailer, Rotten Tomatoes
Buy at: Flipkart.com, Amazon
4. The Public Enemy (1931)
For decades, actor James Cagney was synonymous with ‘gangster,’ and rightly so. Portraying the scoff-law as something more than merely a criminal, none of Cagney’s films better illustrates the modern-day rebel and revolutionary of the fedora-donned gangster than The Public Enemy.
Based on the novel “Beer and Blood” by two real-life henchmen, the initial release of The Public Enemy was met with mixed reactions from critics, who claimed that the film was either a new benchmark for gangster movies, or simply another entry in the genre. What wasn’t disputed was Cagney’s performance as one of the most unlikable, offensive and downright nasty career criminals the screen had seen.
Links to Read and buy:
Wikipedia, Google, IMDB, Youtube Trailer, Rotten Tomatoes
Buy at: Flipkart.com, Amazon
3. Goodfellas (1990)
Ray Liotta may not be the name that comes to mind when the term ‘gangster’ is thrown around, but as Goodfellas‘ protagonist Henry Hill, being welcomed into the Lucchese crime family was all he’d ever wanted. Aided by Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, the trio’s ventures into heists, drugs, and everything in between is regarded as one of the best movies ever, period.
Based on the non-fiction novel “Wiseguy” by Nicholas Pileggi – the book director Martin Scorsese claimed he’d been waiting for “my entire life” – Goodfellas distinguishes itself as a story not of the most famous or feared mobster in history, or the most infamous crimes, but of the mundanities of mob life in addition to the excitement.
Links to Read and buy:
Wikipedia, Google, IMDB, Youtube Trailer, Rotten Tomatoes
Buy at: Flipkart.com, Amazon
2. The Departed (2006)
This gritty crime drama from director Martin Scorsese takes us into the lives of two cops: Colin Sullivan (Damon), smart and unabashedly ambitious, appears to be on the fast track in the Massachusetts State Police Department’s elite Special Investigations Unit, whose prime target is powerful Irish mob boss Frank Costello (Nicholson). Billy Costigan (DiCaprio), street-smart and tough, is purported to have a violent temper that costs him his badge and eventually lands him back on the rough streets of South Boston, where he is recruited into Costello’s ranks. But neither man is what he seems and, as they work at cross purposes, they are plunged into a dangerous game of cat and mouse in which the stakes could not be higher. (Warner Bros.)
Links for more info:
Wikipedia, Google, IMDB, Youtube Trailer, Rotten Tomatoes
Buy at: Flipkart.com, Amazon
1. The Godfather (1972)
Mario Puzo’s novel “The Godfather” is due nearly as much credit for the gangster genre as any film, as it familiarized the public with terms like “consiglieri” and “Cosa Nostra” and showed that gangster stories and a criticism of the American Dream walked hand-in-hand. Of course, it was Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of The Godfather, that made Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) a household name, and the story of the Corleone family one of the greatest ever told on screen.
Links for more Info:
Wikipedia, Google, IMDB, Youtube Trailer, Rotten Tomatoes
Buy at: Flipkart.com, Amazon
The List of Top 10 
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