Gangster and crime movies are many people’s favorite types of films. Unfortunately, there are now so many of them, that it can be hard to find one that is both good and original. This is why Michael Briese has developed a top 10 list of best every gangster movies.
Top Gangster Movies According to Michael Briese
- Miller’s Crossing
This is a Coen Brothers’ film set during the Prohibition. Naturally, there is romance, there is mafia, there are bookmakers, and more. Originally, the gangster was supposed to be Jewish, but the Coen Brothers became convinced that an Irish gangster, who famously said “Where’s my hat?”, would be better.
- Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction has to be Quentin Tarantino’s greatest work of art, ever. The movie has an all star cast with fantastic dialogue, and the music is truly amazing. This truly is a movie not to be missed.
- The Long Good Friday
This is a British film, looking at London during the 1970s. A London gangster wants to get in with a US mafia heist, but things end up going wrong. The IRA is involved as well, bringing all the great gangster syndicates together.
- True Romance
This is another Tarantino movie about a man who falls in love with a hooker. He wants to free her from her pimp and accidentally picks up a suitcase full of cocaine, instead of his now wife’s clothes. They see in this an opportunity to get rich and try to sell the cocaine themselves. Another all star cast movie that is not to be missed.
- Heat
No gangster movie list would be complete without a mention of Al Pacino and Robert de Niro, both of whom feature in heat. A heist goes wrong, and both try to figure out what has happened and how the other got busted.
- Mean Streets
This is a Martin Scorceses film about the gangsters at the bottom of the food chain. The main character is torn between his friends and his mafia family. Some see the movie more as a documentary of New York’s Little Italy, and it is certainly a poignant film.
- The Usual Suspects
In this story, two people survive a massacre and we are left to figure out who did it.
- Once Upon a Time in America
Long before Facebook and email, long before the prohibition even, there was the Wild West. And this where Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America happens. A fantastic film full of intrigue, love, and betrayal, it is not to be missed.
- The Godfather (I&II)
This series is, for many, the ultimate in gangster movies. Francis Ford Coppola did the impossible with this movie, and even Steven Spielberg said that he could never be this good.
- Goodfellas
Last but not least, there is Goodfellas. The movie about mobsters and FBI informants. The movie that made many kids want to steal a Rolex and become a gangster themselves. A true fantastic film that can be watched over and over again.