Classic Gangster films (any time period will do)

Last edited by Banjo on Thu Sep 04, 2008 11:04 am, edited 2 times in total.

All this talk in the Goodfella's thread made me realise that no one's mentioned the truly classic gangster flicks back in the twilight of Hollywood's Golden Age and before. Feel free to mention any other gangster flicks you're fond of, time period doesn't matter. I'll open the floor with my favourite, Angels With Dirty Faces.

Mentioned this in a thread a while back in which me, Chris and Commander Jameson were reeling off classic films in an attempt to entice Burt over here. It's simply amazing, two of Hollywood's all time greatest leading males, a great director at the helm (Michael Curtiz, he of Casablanca fame), it creates one of the most memorable gangster films I've ever seen. That final exchange between Cagney and Pat O'Brien is magnificent, one of my favourite scenes in a film.

Anyone else (apart from the obvious) seen this gem of a film? Any other classic gamngster films you feel are worth a nod?

White Heat - "Made it Ma, top of the world"

I think you should broaden what we can include, or just make the thread about Gangster films.

Done. And good call on White Heat.

Bugsy Malone. The scene with the pie throwing at the end is as tense as it is epic.

I know. Had me biting my nails the entire way through.

Miller's Crossing

City of God

Mobsters

Brighton Rock- A British classic.

Talking of British classics, The Long Good Friday. Brilliant film, so many recognisable faces as well.

Banjo wrote:Talking of British classics, The Long Good Friday. Brilliant film, so many recognisable faces as well.

Brilliant ending in that film, the look on Hoskins face!!

Banjo wrote:Talking of British classics, The Long Good Friday. Brilliant film, so many recognisable faces as well.

Yeah it is good. Wasn't there a sequel made as well?

I don't recall one, I don't see how they could. It's actually rumoured that Paul WS Anderson is planning on remaking it :fp:

Any thing by Guy Ritchie...

Commander Jameson wrote:Any thing by Guy Ritchie...

Anything.

For the record, I thought Lock Stock and Snatch were highly entertaining.

Drunken_Master wrote:
Commander Jameson wrote:Any thing by Guy Ritchie...

Anything.

For the record, I thought Lock Stock and Snatch were highly entertaining.

They were indeed. Everything else has been shite though.

The Godfather, it didn't need to be said but I thought I'd say it anyway

As for classic gangster films. First off there's The Public Enemy, starring Jimmy Cagney. In an era when Hollywood delivered film which reflected the mood of the population, this 1931 film was released in the midst of the Great Depression and prohibition. The film's portrayal of Tom Power's rise from small time criminal to a successful bootlegger, therefore contains a number of digs at US authority (who were blamed for the economic crisis.) Another one worth seeing is The Roaring Twenties, which also stars Jimmy Cagney and takes the return of First World War veterans to a United States ravaged by unemployment as its central theme. The idea is that in difficult times, even decent citizens who have fought for their country are susceptible to a life of crime in-order to survive.

I mentioned Howard Hawks in the Westerns thread yesterday, but in a directorial career which spanned a number of genres he also made one of the defining gangster films of Classical Hollywood, that being Scarface in 1932. Starring Paul Muni as the titular Scarface, the film is at least in certain respects inspired by the life of Al Capone. It's an excellent film and far better than Brian de Palma's turgid remake of the 1980s. It's also very important in terms of film history, because the censorship wrangles over the film's content were key in the enforcement of the Hays Code after 1934.

It's probably worth mentioning a couple of gangster films made outside of the USA, specifically the work of Japanese director Kinji Fukasaku. Perhaps best known as the director of Battle Royale, he also made a number of excellent Yakuza films earlier on his career. Films such as Graveyard of Honour (1975) and Cops vs Thugs (1975), are well worth watching if you can get hold of them.

Good to see you have sense regarding the 80's remake of Scarface, Chris. It is a huge mess.

Thankfully, this isn't based on real life, for the Spy Catchers were probably the most feared gang going.

Rise of Footsoliders

Classic Gangster films (any time period will do)

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