“It’s not just Italian American gangsters. It’s Cagney and Bogart movies, it’s Westerns. Americans seem to have some kind of fascination with outlaws in general. Maybe it’s because we were an outlaw nation to begin with. This nation was born of rebellion against authority, and in a weird way, that’s what these characters represent. That image is very attractive to Americans. It’s part of the national unconscious. It’s practically in our genetic code.”
― Steven Van Zandt in the article ‘A Harried Godfather struggles to balance his personal and professional lives’. By Matt Zoller Seitz in The Star-Ledger, 1-9-1999
Introduction
As far back as I can remember, I always loved gangster movies. Well, that’s not exactly true; I have always loved watching bad guys, so I definitely recognize myself in that Steven Van Zandt quote above. As a child, I loved cartoons and action films – like the James Bond movies – that featured inspiring villains.
Then, when I was 13, I saw GoodFellas for the first time. It immediately became my favorite film, my love for the gangster genre was awakened, and I have since watched countless gangster films. So now, more than 30 years later, I have decided to put together my personal ultimate ranking of gangster classics.
But what do I mean by ‘gangster film’? First, I had to get my criteria straight: gangsters must play a lead role in the movie. So is Heat a gangster movie? Definitely. Yes, fifty percent of the film is about the cops trying to catch the robbers, but those robbers play a huge role in the movie. In screen time alone, Neil McCauley’s gang can match most of the other gangsters on this list.
Of the final selection, I had the most doubts about The Untouchables and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. The first is really about Elliot Ness and his special police force, but I still felt the gangsters play a very prominent part in the film. Robert De Niro’s Al Capone, in particular, is such a powerful gangster performance that the movie belongs on this list.
As for Lock, Stock: the main characters may not be arch criminals, but they are still up to their necks in crime. Besides, most of the other characters are legendary gangsters such as Hatchet Harry, Big Chris, and Barry the Baptist, so it’s pretty obvious it should be included.
One movie that didn’t make the cut is L.A. Confidential. A brilliant film, surely, but its ‘gangsters’ are mostly crooked cops, and therefore don’t count as gangster characters.
Great movies that almost made the cut: Scorsese’s Mean Streets, which I chose not to include because its characters are so low-level in the underworld and the film features few high-level mobsters.
The terrific A History of Violence, which is more an action thriller focused on the psychology of its characters rather than crime. And Bound, more an erotic thriller in which one main character (Joe Pantoliano’s Caesar) happens to be in the mob.
Movies that do live up to the criteria and almost made it, and therefore deserve an honorable mention: Gotti, A Bronx Tale, The Roaring Twenties, Little Caesar, Scarface (1932), Eastern Promises, and The Public Enemy.
So now, without further ado, I present the 33 gangster films that define the genre for me… Just don’t go busting my balls about the selection, okay?
The 33 Gangster Films You Can’t Refuse
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