Subgenre Sampler

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Capone (2020): Dir. Josh Trank
Feat. Tom Hardy, Linda Cardellini, Jack Lowden…; Tom Hardy plays the legendary Chicago gangster at the age of 47, after a decade in prison, where his untreated neurosyphilis is robbing him of…
Irishman, The (2019): Dir. Martin Scorsese
Feat. Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci…; Unwieldly but fascinating Scorsese crime drama, in which the director reunites with good fellas Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci to tell the…
Lucky Grandma (2019): Dir. Sasie Sealy
Feat. Tsai Chin, Hsiao-Yuan Ha, Michael Tow; Veteran Chinese actress Tsai Chin (THE JOY LUCK CLUB) plays a cranky, chain–smoking, 86–year–old Grandma in this feisty comedy set…
Miss Bala (2019): Dir. Catherine Hardwicke
Feat. Gina Rodriguez, Ismael Cruz Córdova; Mexican crime thriller which marks a gritty turn for director Catherine Hardwicke (TWILIGHT), with Gina Rodriguez (JANE THE VIRGIN) playing a woman…
True Story of the Kelly Gang, The (2019): Dir. Justin Kurzel
Feat. George MacKay, Essie Davis, Nicholas Hoult…; Justin Kurzel (SNOWTOWN) directs this adventurous retelling of the Australian story of bushranger and outlaw Ned Kelly, based on Peter Carey's 2001…
Wild Goose Lake, The (Nan fang che zhan de ju hui) (2019): Dir. Diao Yinan
Feat. Ge Hu, Fan Liao, Lun-Mei Kwei; Chinese noir thriller with impeccable visual flair, following the fates of a rogue gangster and the prostitute he meets whilst on the run from the…
McMafia (TV Series) (2018): Feat. James Norton, David Strathairn, Juliet Rylance; Slow–burning crime TV series following the son of a Russian mafia boss who lives in London with his dad, and becomes pulled into the criminal…
Dog Eat Dog (2016): Dir. Paul Schrader
Feat. Nicolas Cage, Willem Dafoe; Demonstrating that age hasn't tamed him, 70–year–old director Paul Schrader delivers this frenetic, nihilistic black comedy based on the…
Live by Night (2016): Dir. Ben Affleck
Feat. Ben Affleck, Elle Fanning, Brendan Gleeson…; Ben Affleck's love letter to film noir set in Prohibition–era Boston where the flow of booze is controlled by an underground network of…
Black Mass (2015): Dir. Scott Cooper
Feat. Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dakota Johnson…; True crime yarn with Johnny Depp disappearing into the role of notorious gangster Whitey Bulger, who became an FBI informant in order to take down a…
Clan, The (2015): Dir. Pablo Trapero
Feat. Guillermo Francella, Peter Lanzani, Lili Popovich; Swaggering portrait of the Argentina's notorious Puccio Clan who's ruthless kidnap and ransom operation that both terrorized and fascinated the…
Legend (2015): Dir. Brian Helgeland
Feat. Tom Hardy, Emily Browning, Taron Egerton…; Tom Hardy flexes his acting muscle as the identical twin gangsters Reggie and Ronnie Kray in this otherwise unremarkable drama that charts the rise…
Suburra (2015): Dir. Stefano Sollima
Feat. Pierfrancesco Favino, Elio Germano, Claudio Amendola…; Enthralling crime saga follows a gangster named Samurai as he attempts to turn the waterfront of Rome into an Italian Las Vegas.
Westside (TV Series) (2015-2019): Feat. Antonia Prebble, David de Lautour, Reef Ireland; A period prequel to OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE. Legendary safe cracker and career criminal, Ted West and his first wife Rita Build their fortune in the slums…
Equalizer, The (2014): Dir. Antoine Fuqua
Feat. Denzel Washington, Marton Csokas, Chloe Grace Moretz; Hiding from his violent past, a man lives a quiet life working at a hardware store. When he is confronted by a new underground crime syndicate. He…
Fat Tony & Co (TV Mini-series) (2014): Feat. Robert Mammone, Gyton Grantley, Shane Jacobson…; A mini–series that uncovers the story of one of Australia's most notorious criminals, Tony Mokbel.
Gambler, The (2014): Dir. Rupert Wyatt
Feat. Mark Wahlberg, Jessica Lange, John Goodman…; Mark Wahlberg is cast against type as a literature professor whose gambling addiction has him in a continuous state of debt.
Gomorrah (TV Series) (2014): Feat. Marco DAmore, Salvatore Esposito, Maria Pia Calzone…; Euro–crime TV series set in the Scampia neighbourhood of Naples, where a brutal war breaks out between rival gangs in the criminal underworld.…
Honeytrap (2014): Dir. Rebecca Johnson
Feat. Jessica Sula, Lucien Laviscount, Ntonga Mwanza; Based on a true story, this London set drama tells the tale of a teenage girl who lures a lovestruck admirer in a brutal trap set by gang members.
Mafia Kills Only in Summer, The (2014): Dir. Pierfrancesco Diliberto
Feat. Cristiana Capotondi, Pierfrancesco Diliberto, Alex Bisconti…; Italian black comedy set in Palermo follows a young boy from childhood to maturity, and examines the pervasive influence the Cosa Nostra holds over…
Raid 2, The (2014): Dir. Gareth Evans
Feat. Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian, Julie Estelle…; Picking up from where it last left off, this epic sequel to the best martial arts movie in recent memory combines gangland melodrama (reminiscent of…
Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger (2014): Dir. Joe Berlinger; The director of PARADISE LOST helms this multi–faceted documentary that uses the trial of infamous gangster James "Whitey" Bulger to examine…
American Hustle (2013): Dir. David O. Russell
Feat. Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams…; David O. Russell directs a full–house of acting talent in this wild crime drama about a FBI agent and con man collaborating to sting corrupt…
Blood Ties (2013): Dir. Guillaume Canet
Feat. Clive Owen, Billy Crudup, Marion Cotillard…; French dir. Guillaume Canet helms this cagey thriller about a convicted killer (Clive Owen) who returns from prison to live with his younger brother…
Family, The (2013): Dir. Luc Besson
Feat. Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianna Agron…; In this stylised black comedy, De Niro sends himself up (yet again) as the patriarch of a mafia family shipped off to France under witness…
Gangster Squad (2013): Dir. Ruben Fleischer
Feat. Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin…; This straight–shooting, bang–a–minute gangster flick scores as both an entertaining throwback to 40s–era crime fighting, and…
New World (2013): Dir. Hoon-jung Park
Feat. Jung-Jae Lee, Min-sik Choi; Essentially INFERNAL AFFAIRS transposed to the Korean underworld, this brutal gangster flick revolves around an undercover cop whose loyalty to the…
Peaky Blinders (TV Series) (2013): Feat. Cillian Murphy, Sam Neill, Helen McCrory…; A gangster epic set in 1919 Birmingham, England and centered on a gang who sew razor blades in the peaks of their caps, and their fierce boss Tommy…
Siberian Education (Deadly Code) (2013): Dir. Gabriele Salvatores
Feat. John Malkovich, Peter Stormare, Eleanor Tomlinson…; Gabriele Salvatores (I'M NOT SCARED) directs this odd Italian production of Russian gangster memoir, with John Malkovich as the hard–bitten…
Underbelly - Season 7 (TV Mini-series) (Squizzy) (2013): Feat. Jared Daperis, Camille Keenan; Further tales from Australia's underworld, this time centred on the life and times of notorious Melbourne gangster Squizzy Taylor, whose blend of…
Beyond Outrage (2012): Dir. Takeshi Kitano
Feat. Takeshi Kitano, Ryo Kase; A straightforward sequel to Takeshi Kitano's late return to the yakuza genre, continuing the bloody battle between police and rival gangs. As with…
Black's Game (2012): Dir. Óskar Thór Axelsson
Feat. Thor Kristjansson, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson; A young opportunist is drawn into Reykjavik's underworld of gangsters and drug pushers in this hardcore Scandi–crime, an eye–catching if…
Iceman, The (2012): Dir. Ariel Vromen
Feat. Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Chris Evans…; Michael Shannon embodies cold faced killer Richard Kuklinski in this oddly sympathetic portrait of the notorious contract killer, who was as infamous…
Ill Manors (2012): Dir. Ben Drew
Feat. Riz Ahmed, Natalie Press, Ed Skrein…; English rapper Plan B directs this multistory portrait of life in a London housing estate beset by drugs, gangsters, and sexual crime.
Killing Them Softly (2012): Dir. Andrew Dominik
Feat. Brad Pitt, Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn…; Ex–pat Kiwi Andrew Dominik helms this sullen gangland thriller, about a professional enforcer (Pitt) hired to track down the amateur criminals…
Last Dragon Master, The (The Last Tycoon) (2012): Dir. Wong Jing
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat, Sammo Hung, Francis Ng; Chow Yun–Fat lends his charismatic presence to this sumptuous gangster picture detailing the rise of a legendary Shanghai mobster at the turn…
Lawless (2012): Dir. John Hillcoat
Feat. Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce…; Three ambitious brothers from the south turn to bootlegging, only to come up against the might of powerful urban gangsters in this vivid…
Luck (TV Series) (2012): Dir. Michael Mann, Phillip Noyce, Mimi Leder
Feat. Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Farina, John Ortiz…; Heavy–hitting HBO crime drama centred on the deal–makers who frequent a popular Los Angeles racetrack – principally, an aging…
Magic City (TV Series) (2012): Feat. Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Olga Kurylenko, Steven Strait…; Slavishly seductive period drama set in late 50s Florida, where a high–rolling hotel owner is forced to do business with a Miami mob boss in…
My Brother the Devil (2012): Dir. Sally El Hosaini
Feat. James Floyd, Fady Elsayed, Said Taghmaoui; A tough–minded yet unusually sensitive portrayal of gangland ties, centred on two Arab brothers who are drawn into street crime from their…
Underbelly - Season 6 (TV Mini-series) (Badness) (2012): Feat. Jonathan LaPaglia, Matt Nable; Further tales from Australia's underworld, this time centred on the decade–long case built against one Anthony "Rooster" Perish, an elusive…
A Gang Story (2011): Dir. Olivier Marchal
Feat. Gerard Lanvin, Tcheky Karyo, Daniel Duval; French cop–turned–filmmaker Olivier Marchal (36 QUAI DES ORFEVRES, MR73) steps over to the other side of the law with this…
Kill the Irishman (2011): Dir. Jonathan Hensleigh
Feat. Ray Stevenson, Vincent D'Onofrio, Val Kilmer…; Based on the violent exploits of Shamrock career criminal Danny Greene – a union crook, loan shark heavy, and finally, organised crime boss in…
Killing Time (TV Mini-Series) (2011): Feat. David Wenham, Diana Glenn, Colin Friels; Another hard–hitting crime story ripped from Australian headlines, starring David Wenham as a favourite defense lawyer of Melbourne's gangland…
Underbelly - Season 4 (TV Mini-series) (Land of the Long Green Cloud) (2011): Feat. Daniel Musgrove, Damien Avery, Grae Burton…; World famous in New Zealand, drug trafficker Marty Johnstone – aka, Mr. Asia – steals the Underbelly spotlight in this locally made…
Underbelly - Season 5 (TV Mini-series) (Razor) (2011): Feat. Danielle Cormack, Chelsie Preston-Crayford, Felix Williamson; The latest in the Underbelly franchise again features a strong Kiwi (and female) flavour, with Danielle Cormack and Chelsie Preston–Crayford…
22 Bullets (L' Immortel) (2010): Dir. Richard Berry
Feat. Jean Reno, Marina Fois, Richard Berry…; Violent gangland thriller has Jean Reno out for revenge after his former friend shoots 22 bullets into him.
Angels of Evil (2010): Dir. Michele Placido
Feat. Kim Rossi Stuart, Filippo Timi, Valeria Solarino…; Taking a leaf from MESRINE's rap sheet, Italy simultaneously glorifies and moralises the story of its own criminal rock star, Renato…
Boardwalk Empire - Season 1 (TV Series) (2010): Dir. Martin Scorsese, Tim Van Patten
Feat. Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Kelly MacDonald…; Stunning period detail and the endless intrigue of organised crime characterize this marquee HBO production, centred on the empire surrounding…
Brighton Rock (2010): Dir. Rowan Joffe
Feat. Sam Riley, Andrea Riseborough, Helen Mirren…; Graham Greene's 1939 novel is the source material for this prickly British underworld drama about a gangster (Riley) whose rise through the ranks is…
El Narco (2010): Dir. Luis Estrada
Feat. Damian Alcazar, Joaquin Cosio, Ernesto Gomez Cruz…; Intense crime drama that offers a hellish version of Mexico and the drug war seen through the eyes of a man returning to his home country after…
London Boulevard (2010): Dir. William Monahan
Feat. Colin Farrell, Keira Knightley, David Thewlis…; An ex–con turned celebrity bodyguard finds himself unwittingly drawn back into London's criminal underworld in this confident directorial debut…
Love / Hate (TV Series) (2010-2014): Feat. Aidan Gillen, Robert Sheehan, Peter Coonan…; TV series set in Ireland's criminal underworld, where a kingpin (Aidan Gillen) and four members of his small–time drug gang navigate rivalries…
Outrage (2010): Dir. Takeshi Kitano
Feat. Takeshi Kitano, Renji Ishibashi, Ryo Kase; Aging Japanese hard–man Takeshi Kitano returns to the turf of his international film celebrity – the minimalist Yakuza movie – in…
Revenge (Shadow Boxing 2) (2010): Dir. Anton Megerdichev
Feat. Denis Nikiforov, Andrey Panin, Victor Lopez…; Punchy crime thriller with a Russian boxer taking on a Mexican mafia boss after mortally injuring his son in the ring. Leave your brain parked in…
Underbelly - Season 3 (TV Mini-series) (The Golden Mile) (2010): Feat. Mitch Bartlett, Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Emma Booth; Sydney’s infamous Kings Cross, circa 1989, is the setting for this latest airing of Australia’s dirty laundry. Although centred on the…
America's Hardest Prisons (TV Series) (2009): Four–part National Geographic series that takes the viewer into the middle of the hellish place that is prison life in America, where the…
Father and Son (TV Mini-Series) (2009): Dir. Brian Kirk
Feat. Dougray Scott, Sophie Okonedo, Stephen Rea…; Gritty, tough–minded BBC serial examines the reverberations of crime across two parallel storylines: a father (Scott), whose wife was murdered…
Gangs Of Oz (TV Series) (2009): Revealing documentary series looking at various types of organized crime in Australia, with each episode focusing on a particular 'type', from biker…
Give 'Em Hell Malone (2009): Dir. Russell Mulcahy
Feat. Thomas Jane, Ving Rhames, French Stewart…; A tough as nails private investigator squares off with gangsters and their thugs to protect a valuable secret. Malone goes through hell to protect…
Horde, The (La Horde) (2009): Dir. Yannick Dahan, Benjamin Rocher
Feat. Aurelien Recoing, Eric Ebouaney, Doudou Masta; Fist–pumping zombie flick pits cops and criminals in a fight for their life against the walking dead amidst the slums of Paris. Bloody and…
Perrier's Bounty (2009): Dir. Ian Fitzgibbon
Feat. Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson, Gabriel Byrne…; Jovial Irish caper in the vein of Sexy Beast, with Murphy as a petty crim in hock to a local gangster. A talented cast clearly enjoying themselves…
Public Enemies (2009): Dir. Michael Mann
Feat. Johnny Depp, Marion Cotillard, Christian Bale…; Michael Mann transposes the cops–and–robbers psychology of HEAT to depression–era America in this ambitious, if at times inadequate…
Shinjuku Incident (San suk si gin) (2009): Dir. Derek Yee
Feat. Jackie Chan, Naoto Takenaka, Daniel Wu; Jackie Chan turns serious for this gritty, nocturnal gangland drama centered around a Chinese immigrant who is unintentionally drawn into Tokyo’s…
Sicilian Girl, The (La siciliana ribelle) (2009): Dir. Marco Amenta
Feat. Veronica D'Agostino, Gerard Jugnot; A vivid, level–headed account of Mafiaso intrigue, based around real events surrounding a young woman’s testimony in court against Sicilian…
Staten Island (Little New York) (2009): Dir. James DeMonaco
Feat. Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Seymour Cassel…; Ethan Hawke plays a blue collar New Yorker whose plan to fleece a mob boss of his dirty money comes unstuck when a deaf–mute hitman enters the…
Take, The (TV Mini-series) (2009): Dir. David Drury
Feat. Tom Hardy, Brian Cox, Shaun Evans…; Stylish, tough–as–nails gangland mini–series follows the fortunes of a recently released convict set on taking the London…
American Trap, The (2008): Dir. Charles Biname
Feat. Remy Girard, Colm Feore, Janet Lane; Paranoid sixties set thriller has a Canadian criminal becoming an unwitting secret weapon for a covert organisation and bearing witness to a chain of…
Crips and Bloods: Made in America (2008): Dir. Stacy Peralta
Feat. Forest Whitaker; Incisive documentary examining the shared histories and violent rivalries of Los Angeles' most notorious street gangs. Tracing the roots of the…
Gomorrah (2008): Dir. Matteo Garrone
Feat. Toni Servillo, Gianfelice Imparato, Maria Nazionale; Justifiably celebrated, this ruthless expose of the Camorra underworld in Naples paints a stark and brutal picture of organised crime through five…
Il Divo (The Deity) (2008): Dir. Paolo Sorrentino
Feat. Toni Servillo, Anna Bonaiuto, Flavio Bucci; Dazzling, high–end political intrigue from dir. of CONSEQUENCES OF LOVE speculates on the years following Giulio Andreotti’s seventh term as…
In Bruges (2008): Dir. Martin McDonagh
Feat. Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes; A smart, jet–black comedy centred on two Irish assassins who are packed off to Bruges, Belgium by their superior after a hit goes horribly…
Jerusalema (2008): Dir. Ralph Ziman
Feat. Daniel Buckland, Robert Hobbs; A punchy, gun–toting gangland epic following the rise to two Soweto teenagers seduced by crime and violence in South Africa. Although…
Mafia, The (The True Story from the Inside) (2008): Dir. Neil Rawles, Charlie Smith; Balanced hard–hitting crime doco from inside the world of the modern Mafia. Designed for those with a good knowledge of Mafia history keen on…
Mesrine (Killer Instinct, Public Enemy Number 1) (2008): Dir. Jean-François Richet
Feat. Vincent Cassel, Cecile De France, Gerard Depardieu…; Effective, if at times highly sensationalised biopic of career criminal Jacques Mesrine – France’s ‘Public Enemy #1’ throughout the 1960s and…
RocknRolla (2008): Dir. Guy Ritchie
Feat. Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandiwe Newton…; Stylephile Guy Ritchie revisits well–trodden territory with this typically tangled crime caper involving a menagerie of seedy opportunists…
Sky Kids (The Flyboys) (2008): Dir. Rocco de Villiers
Feat. Stephen Baldwin, Tom Sizemore, Jesse James…; Big hearted adventure follows the exploits of a bullied loner and protective best friend who inadvertently cross paths with a scheming mobster (a…
Sons of Anarchy (TV Series) (2008): Feat. Katey Sagal, Ron Perlman, Charlie Hunnam…; Muscular television drama centred on a Californian motorcycle club and its Vice President (Hunnam), whose growing ambivalence towards lawlessness is…
Underbelly - Season 1 (TV Mini-series) (2008): Feat. Vince Colosimo, Kevin Harrington; Gritty, unflinching crime series dramatising the Melbourne gangland killings and seedy underworld, featuring Aussie actors who bear a striking…
A Very British Gangster (2007): Dir. Donal MacIntyre; Gay Manchester mob kingpin/community lynchpin Dominic Noonan is the main subject of this fly–on–the–wall look at his criminal…
American Gangster (2007): Dir. Ridley Scott
Feat. Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor…; Hefty gangster flick in the tradition of SCARFACE, SERPICO, et. al., but based on an amazing true story: Washington plays Frank Lucas, the driver to…
Black Donnellys, The (TV Series) (2007): Feat. Michael Stahl-David, Jonathan Tucker, Tom Guiry…; Haphazard but engrossing antidote to the status quo of gangster TV series (i.e. THE SOPRANOS) centres on four Hell's Kitchen brothers whose…
Brooklyn Rules (2007): Dir. Michael Corrente
Feat. Alec Baldwin, Scott Caan, Freddie Prinze Jnr.…; Three impressionable Italian Americans must choose to resist or surrender to Mob life in this familiar, but soundly acted coming–of–age,…
Checkmate Provenzano (2007): Dir. Claudio Mariano Cirino, Paolo Santolini; Detailed docu–drama recreates the last few months in hiding of notorious Mafia don Bernardo Provenzano whose capture after forty–three…
Concrete Romance (Cemento armato) (2007): Dir. Marco Martani
Feat. Nicolas Vaporidis, Giorgio Faletti, Carolina Crescentini; Brutal Italian thriller focused on a young petty crim unwittingly caught up in a deadly revenge plot by a Mafia kingpin after damaging his…
Eastern Promises (2007): Dir. David Cronenberg
Feat. Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel…; A muscular, satisfying thriller set in the underworld of the Russian mafia in London, this reteams the director and star of A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE,…
Gangland (TV Series) (2007): Hard hitting expose of today's nastiest gangs provides the viewer with both historical context and unprecedented access. Some of the stories are now…
Il Dolce E L'Amaro (The Sweet and The Bitter) (2007): Dir. Andrea Porporati
Feat. Donatella Finocchiaro, Luigi Lo Cascio, Fabrizio Gifuni; Compact underworld drama peddles a familiar crime–doesn’t–pay theme in its story of a young man seduced by the Mafia, only to become…
Lorna's Silence (Le Silence de Lorna) (2007): Dir. Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Feat. Arta Dobroshi, Jeremie Renier, Fabrizio Rongione; Further tales of hardship from the Cannes–winning Dardenne brothers, concerning the plight of an Albanian woman seeking Belgian citizenship…
Mr. Untouchable (2007): Dir. Marc Levin; Sensational true story of Nicky Barnes, the most powerful New York kingpin in the 1970's drug world, covering his incredible rise from junkie…
Rise of the Foot Soldier (2007): Dir. Julian Gilbey
Feat. Roland Manookian, Frank Harper, Lara Belmont; Brutal gangster drama chronicles three decades in the life of Carlton Leach – a football hooligan who went on to become one of the UK's most…
Rogue Assassin (War) (2007): Dir. Philip G Atwell
Feat. Jet Li, Jason Statham; Mildly entertaining actioner pits Statham as an FBI detective hell–bent on revenge after Li kills his partner; titular character Li, meanwhile,…
Smokin' Aces (2007): Dir. Joe Carnahan
Feat. Ben Affleck, Andy Garcia, Alicia Keys…; A high–strung crime caper of competing assassins from the dir. of NARC, dispatching with boyish glee a bevy of visual and narrative bullet…
We Own the Night (2007): Dir. James Gray
Feat. Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes…; Accomplished crime saga concerns a nightclub manager (Phoenix) on the fringe of New York's Russian Mafia, whose lifestyle is jeopardized when family…
You Move You Die (2007): Dir. Ketzal Sterling
Feat. Ketzal Sterling, Bruce Hopkins; Ad hoc gangster thriller out of Auckland concerns a stolen engagement ring, and its ensuing recovery by a desperate fiancée and his posse of…
Brotherhood (TV Series) (2006): Feat. Jason Isaacs, Jason Clarke; Tough, multistoried drama from HBO competitor Showtime builds a crime legacy on par with THE SOPRANOS in focusing on the Irish neighborhood of…
City of Violence, The (2006): Dir. Ryoo Seung-Wan
Feat. Doo-hong Jung, Kil-Kang Ahn; A dazzling, action–fantastic revenger by way of Korea, this draws its considerable bloodletting from the aftermath of a funeral, where two…
Departed, The (2006): Dir. Martin Scorsese
Feat. Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson…; A rip–roaring remake of Hong Kong actioner INFERNAL AFFAIRS, Martin Scorsese returns to the mean streets in this high–performance game of…
Dirty Carnival, A (Biyeolhan geori) (2006): Dir. Ha Yoo
Feat. In-sung Zo, Ku Jin, Tae won Kwon; Dynamite entry in the burgeoning Korean gangster genre explores the meteoric rise – and inevitable fall – of one Byung–du, a lowly…
Election 2 (Triad Election) (2006): Dir. Johnny To
Feat. Simon Yam, Nick Cheung, Louis Koo; Genre exponent Johnny To logically extends the gangland politics of his original film in this punchy, no–nonsense sequel concerning a fresh…
Exiled (Fong juk) (2006): Dir. Johnnie To
Feat. Anthony Wong, Simon Yam, Richie Ren…; Master exponent of genre Johnnie To pays homage to spaghetti westerns and the bygone era of John Woo in this energetic, skilfully dispatched action…
Find Me Guilty (2006): Dir. Sidney Lumet
Feat. Vin Diesel; An against–type Vin Diesel fuels this mob comedy from seasoned courtroom exponent Sidney Lumet, based on the shenanigans of one Jackie…
No Mercy For The Rude (2006): Dir. Cheol-hie Park
Feat. Ha-kyun Shin; A mute hitman limits his contract killings to ‘rude’ individuals, saving up for a voice–restoring operation in this unconventional riff on…
Running Scared (2006): Dir. Wayne Kramer
Feat. Paul Walker, Chazz Palminteri, John Noble; Flashy, hopped–up mob thriller has New Jersey foot–soldier Paul Walker assigned to conceal a snub–nosed revolver, a gun used in a…
Assault on Precinct 13 (2005): Dir. Jean-François Richet
Feat. Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Drea De Matteo…; Effective update of John Carpenter's 1970s classic in which high–impact action and a fairly convincing raw tenseness carry the wellworn tale of…
Beat My Heart Skipped, The (De battre mon coeur s'est arrete) (2005): Dir. Jacques Audiard
Feat. Romain Duris, Niels Arestrup, Jonathan Zaccai…; A star–turn by Romain Duris invigorates this deft remake of James Toback's 1978 thriller FINGERS, playing a reluctant young thug with a…
Bittersweet Life, A (2005): Dir. Ji-woon Kim
Feat. Byung-hun Lee; A suave mob enforcer's mercy for one of his intended victims results in the full wrath of the Korean organised crime world in this slick, ultra…
Crime Novel (Romanzo criminale) (2005): Feat. Kim Rossi Stuart, Pierfrancesco Favino, Claudio Santamaria…; Novel–based Italian crime drama concerning a group of small–town crims who went on to become Rome's most merciless crime family and a…
Domino (2005): Dir. Tony Scott
Feat. Keira Knightley, Mickey Rourke, Delroy Lindo…; Brash, hyperkinetic action rendition of the life and times of Domino Harvey (played by Knightley), the daughter of movie–star Laurence Harvey,…
Election (2005): Dir. Johnnie To
Feat. Simon Yam, Tony Leung (Kar-fai); A terrific gangland power tussle from genre exponent Johnnie To, this combative suspenser embarks on the shady underworld of triad politics in…
Excellent Cadavers (2005): Dir. Marco Turco; The hush–hush war between Sicily’s mafia and the prosecutors who slept with the fishes is recounted in this fascinating documentary, an ideal…
Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005): Dir. Jim Sheridan
Feat. 50 Cent, Terrence Howard; Gangster–rap star "Fiddy" Cent (a.k.a. Curtis Jackson) tells the rags–to–riches tale of his Queens, NYC upbringing and how he saved…
Havoc (2005): Dir. Barbara Kopple
Feat. Anne Hathaway, Bijou Phillips, Freddy Rodríguez…; Two pretty teenage girls in Los Angeles (Hathaway, Phillips) become impatient with the wannabe–gangsta antics of their high–school…
In the Light of the Sun (Alla luce del sole) (2005): Dir. Roberto Faenza
Feat. Luca Zingaretti; Grave Italian drama, set in a time of increased Mafia terrorism and based on the chain of events that led to the assassination of the Catholic priest…
Johnny Slade's Greatest Hits (2005): Dir. Larry Blamire
Feat. John Fiore, Vincent Curatola, Robert Giardina; A down–and–out crooner finally finds success after he is unsuspectingly hired by the mob to sing lounge songs coded with details of…
Manderlay (2005): Dir. Lars Von Trier
Feat. Bryce Dallas Howard, Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe…; Part two of Lars von Trier’s ‘USA’ trilogy reemploys DOGVILLE’s Brechtian framework of stage outlines and minimal props in the odyssey of…
Secuestro Express (2005): Dir. Jonathan Jakubowicz
Feat. Mia Maestro, Ruben Blades; Venezuela comes off second best in this exploitative thriller peddling the country's professional kidnapping trade, where a couple of wealthy young…
Tsotsi (2005): Dir. Gavin Hood
Feat. Presley Chweneyagae; Deserved winner of the 2006 Foreign Language Oscar, this gripping tale of a young homicidal street–thug ('tsotsi') in post–apartheid…
Dead Fish (2004): Dir. Charley Stadler
Feat. Gary Oldman, Robert Carlyle, Jimi Mistry…; The stock British gangster flick gets yet another working over: Gary Oldman plays a hitman who crosses paths with various motley individuals,…
Enter the Phoenix (2004): Dir. Stephen Fung
Feat. Daniel Wu, Karen Mok, Nicholas Tse…; The disowned gay son of a dying triad leader must inherit control of an organised crime family in this typically scattershot Hong Kong comedy…
Old Boy (Oldboy) (2004): Dir. Park Chan-Wook
Feat. Min-sik Choi, Ji-tae Yoo; Wowing audiences wherever it's played (including being nominated for the Palm D'Or at Cannes), this achingly intense thriller from Korea raises the…
One Night in Mongkok (Wong gok hak yau) (2004): Dir. Derek Yee
Feat. Daniel Wu, Cecilia Cheung; A bespectacled 'Mainland' Chinese man is recruited for the assassination of a triad boss in the lusciously seedy Hong Kong district of Mongkok, but…
Redemption (2004): Dir. Vondie Curtis Hall
Feat. Jamie Foxx, Lynn Whitfield, C.C.H. Pounder; Above–average telemovie biopic about Stan 'Tookie' Williams (Foxx), founder of the notorious street gang, 'The Crips', who after years of…
Sucker Free City (2004): Dir. Spike Lee
Feat. Ken Leung, Ben Crowley, Anthony Mackie; Originally a pilot, Spike Lee’s little–known excursion into the realm of Cable TV is an ethnically diverse gang drama converging black,…
American Cousins (2003): Dir. Don Coutts
Feat. Dan Hedaya, Shirley Henderson; Appealingly down–to–earth Glaswegian gangster comedy about a sweet–natured café worker who ends up entangled with the Ukrainian…
Bookies (2003): Dir. Mark Illsley
Feat. Nick Stahl, Lukas Haas, Rachael Leigh Cook…; Four college friends become small–time bookies, only to find their world spinning dangerously out of control when their greed attracts the…
Dogville (2003): Dir. Lars Von Trier
Feat. Nicole Kidman, Paul Bettany, Lauren Bacall…; This fierce parable of hypocrisy, exploitation and revenge set on a “soundstage” version of 1930s America is a brilliant conception of dir. Lars…
Gettin' Square (2003): Dir. Jonathan Teplitzky
Feat. Sam Worthington, David Wenham, Gary Sweet…; A breezy crime black comedy, set around the good intentions and criminal bungling of several smalltimers in Surfers Paradise, Queensland. Various…
Ginji The Slasher (2003): Dir. Takeshi Miyasaka
Feat. Riki Takeuchi; Low profile suspenser, set around a recalcitrant swordsman who goes on the rampage in post–WW2 Japan and 50 years later is released to start…
Gozu (2003): Dir. Takashi Miike
Feat. Sho Aikawa, Hideki Sone, Kimika Yoshino; Rebel iconoclast of Japanese cinema, Takashi Miike, unveils his creepiest film since AUDITION: a hellishly disorientating – yet markedly restrained…
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (2003): Dir. Mike Hodges
Feat. Clive Owen, Charlotte Rampling, Jonathan Rhys Meyers…; Reteaming dir. Mike Hodges with star Clive Owen for a follow–up to the acclaimed CROUPIER, this takes more of a cue from the director’s…
Infernal Affairs 2 (Mou gaan dou II) (2003): Dir. Wai Keung Lau, Siu Fai Mak
Feat. Edison Chen, Shawn Yue, Carina Lau…; Solid prequel to the hit Hong Kong policier, goes back in time to the era of the 1991 and moves forward in three acts to the Chinese handover,…
Infernal Affairs 3 (Mou gaan dou III) (2003): Dir. Wai Keung Lau, Siu Fai Mak
Feat. Andy Lau, Tony Leung (Chiu-wai), Leon Lai…; Actual sequel to the hit Hong Kong gangland–cop thriller attempts valiantly to tie up loose ends, both picking up where corrupt cop Ming (Lau)…
Nicotina (2003): Dir. Hugo Rodriguez
Feat. Diego Luna, Jésus Ochoa, Lucas Crespi…; A stylish crime caper set in Mexico City, featuring an array of storylines, all featuring frustrated cigarette addicts, who finally intersect in a…
Analyze That (2002): Dir. Harold Ramis
Feat. Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal, Lisa Kudrow; Not bearing up to much analysis, this expectedly familiar sequel to the De Niro–Crystal comedy duet runs on repeat gags but enjoys the humorous…
Angela (2002): Dir. Roberta Torre
Feat. Donatella Finocchiaro; A solid, if oblique drama depicting the doings of the 1980s Sicilian Mafia as seen through the eyes of mob–wife Finocchiaro. Although…
City of God (Cidade de Deus) (2002): Dir. Fernando Mierelles
Feat. Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmano da Hora, Phellipe Haagensen; An incendiary Brazilian drama depicting two decades of blood–drenched rivalry between two youth gangs who control a slum area of Rio De…
Infernal Affairs (2002): Dir. Wai Keung Lau, Siu Fai Mak
Feat. Andy Lau, Tony Leung (Chiu-wai), Anthony Wong…; This dynamic cops ‘n’ robbers spectacle is populist Hong Kong film–making at its most slick and sophisticated. Infused with more than a…
Quickie, The (2002): Dir. Sergei Bodrov
Feat. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Vladimir Mashkov, Henry Thomas…; A middling US debut for the dir. of PRISONER OF THE MOUNTAINS, this weaves a drama of moral corruption around a troubled Russian mob family festering…
Returner (2002): Dir. Takashi Yamazaki
Feat. Takeshi Kaneshiro; Kitted out with a charismatic cast, CGI–action that delivers, and tongue–lightly–in–cheek, this slick, big–budget…
Road To Perdition (2002): Dir. Sam Mendes
Feat. Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law…; Handsomely–mounted Chicago gangland flick that casts Tom Hanks against type as a mob hitman who becomes an ‘angel of vengeance’ after he is…
Friends and Family (2001): Dir. Kristen Coury
Feat. Tony Lo Bianco, Greg Lauren; An unassuming, mostly ticklish comedy, in which a gay couple in New York are visited by relations and have to conceal their careers as Mafia hitmen.…
Fulltime Killer (2001): Dir. Johnnie To, Wai Ka-Fai
Feat. Andy Lau, Simon Yam, Kelly Lin…; Two very different hit men face off in this Hong Kong action film, with Andy Lau playing a flamboyant new hotshot who is tracking down the number one…
Heist (2001): Dir. David Mamet
Feat. Gene Hackman, Ricky Jay, Delroy Lindo…; The heisting of Swiss–Bank bullion by professional thieves Gene Hackman, Ricky Jay and Delroy Lindo is given enjoyably intricate spins by…
Knockaround Guys (2001): Dir. Brian Koppelman, David Levien
Feat. Dennis Hopper, Vin Diesel, Barry Pepper…; SOPRANOS–influenced crime drama, which follows aspiring NYC wiseguy Barry Pepper, son of a famous mafioso, but stuck in a menial role.…
Krays, The (The Final Word) (2001): Dir. Aubrey Powell; Although probably not the 'final word' on the notorious East End gangsters who ruled London in the 1950s–60s, this is still an impressively…
Made (2001): Dir. Jon Favreau
Feat. Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Famke Janssen…; The hotly–awaited follow–up to SWINGERS from Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau looks to resurrect the easy–going swing and…
Night at the Golden Eagle (2001): Dir. Adam Rifkin
Feat. Vinnie Jones, James Caan, Ann Magnuson…; A grimly satisfying, verbally violent drama set in a fleabag hotel in L.A. where two aging hoods plan their migration to the not–so–mean…
Ordinary Decent Criminal (2001): Dir. Thaddeus O'Sullivan
Feat. Kevin Spacey, Linda Fiorentino, Peter Mullan…; Fairly decent, but ordinary rerun of the same events covered by Boorman's THE GENERAL, detailing the colourful life of Irish gangster Martin Cahill…
Pistol Opera (2001): Dir. Seijun Suzuki
Feat. Makikio Esumi, Shirley Yamaguchi, Kirin Kiki…; A comeback of sorts for brilliant Japanese director Seijun Suzuki, who brings a self–referential and at times incomprehensibly abstract style…
Sexy Beast (2001): Dir. Jonathan Glazer
Feat. Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, Ian McShane…; Retirement in sunbaked Spain is going nicely for mellowed–out ex–crim Ray Winstone, that is, until a poison–tongued Ben Kingsley…
Shiner (2001): Dir. John Irvin
Feat. Michael Caine, Martin Landau, Frances Barber…; A contemporary British gangster film with a showcase role for Michael Caine as a blindly ambitious, fast–talking East End boxing promoter…
Strictly Sinatra (Cocozza's Way) (2001): Dir. Peter Capaldi
Feat. Ian Hart, Brian Cox, Kelly MacDonald; Smalltime Scottish crooner Ian Hart has a thing about Frank Sinatra and like his idol flirts a little too closely with the criminal element. This…
Yards, The (2001): Dir. James Gray
Feat. Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize Theron…; Shot through with epic ambitions, this crime–drama, set amid the corruption of a New York subway–repair yards, boasts a compelling lead…
Brother (2000): Dir. Takeshi Kitano
Feat. Takeshi Kitano, Omar Epps; Dir. Kitano’s first US film fuses his touch for wincingly intense violence with a ironical, comic streak that plays off the dynamics of the…
Chopper (2000): Dir. Andrew Dominik
Feat. Eric Bana, Vince Colosimo, Simon Lyndon; An unruly character–portrait of Australia's most notorious living criminal, Mark 'Chopper' Read, whose attention–grabbing exploits in the…
Circus (2000): Dir. Rob Walker
Feat. Famke Janssen, John Hannah, Eddie Izzard…; Famke Janssen and hubby John Hannah engage in some tongue–in–cheek British criminality in a Brighton ruled by Brian Conley. With a broad…
Dinner Rush (2000): Dir. Bob Giraldi
Feat. Danny Aiello, Summer Phoenix, John Corbett…; An appetizing New York ‘food movie’ sprinkled over lightly with mobster melodrama set in the bustling, upmarket Italian restaurant of the…
Gangster No. 1 (2000): Dir. Paul McGuigan
Feat. Malcolm McDowell, David Thewlis, Paul Bettany; Ageing gangster Malcolm McDowell recalls his ascendance in the 70s to London’s underworld throne at the expense of the ‘Butcher of Mayfair’,…
Get Carter (2000): Dir. Stephen Kay
Feat. Sylvester Stallone, Rachael Leigh Cook, Mickey Rourke…; Unnecessary remake of the British hard–boiler transposes the action to the Pacific Northwest where Las Vegas mob enforcer Sylvester Stallone…
Lock Stock and Four Stolen Hooves (TV Series) (2000): Dir. Sheree Folkson; Tele–sequel to the hit movie LOCK STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS, gives a reasonably funny riff on the bumbling quartet of lads on the make,…
Love, Honour and Obey (2000): Dir. Dominic Anciano, Ray Burdis
Feat. Jonny Lee Miller, Ray Winstone, Jude Law…; Jonny Lee Miller is appealing as a mischief–making wannabe–crim in this half–serious set of London gangster moves, that basically…
One Hundred Steps, The (I Cento Passi) (2000): Dir. Marco Tullio Giordana; Expansive, fact–based drama set around a young man's fight against local mafiosos in the small Sicilian village of Cinisi in the…
Snatch (2000): Dir. Guy Ritchie
Feat. Dennis Farina, Brad Pitt, Benicio Del Toro…; A LOCK STOCK knock–off by 'im–who–knows–best: the director himself, Guy Ritchie. Like its predecessor, this cockney…
Time and Tide (2000): Dir. Tsui Hark
Feat. Nicholas Tse, Wu Bai; Healthy measures of hard–boiled alienation and gyroscopic fire–fights ignite this Hong Kong kick–butt–fest that somersaults…
Boondock Saints, The (1999): Dir. Troy Duffy
Feat. Sean Patrick Flannery, Norman Reedus, Willem Dafoe…; Irish–Bostonian brothers Sean Patrick Flannery and Norman Reedus become vigilante saints after knocking off some Russkie wise guys, becoming…
Busted (Everybody Loves Sunshine) (1999): Dir. Andrew Goth
Feat. Goldie , David Bowie; North London mobster glory awaits Goldie (the drum–n–bass star) who must reclaim his criminal empire from a…
Essex Boys (1999): Dir. Terry Winsor
Feat. Charlie Creed-Miles, Sean Bean; One of the present wave of British crime–films, this tale of trainee cabbie Charlie Creed–Miles going to work for volatile hard–man…
Heaven (1999): Dir. Scott Reynolds
Feat. Martin Donovan, Joanna Going, Danny Edwards…; Banished into virtual anonymity by Miramax studio indifference, we can only assume they found this 'arty' thriller too slippery to pigeonhole and…
If… Dog… Rabbit… (1999): Dir. Matthew Modine
Feat. Matthew Modine, Bruce Dern, John Hurt…; Directorial debut for actor Matthew Modine (who also stars), coming up with a by now rather familiar gangster caper, set among an eccentric bunch of…
Kikujiro (Kikujiro no Natsu) (1999): Dir. Takeshi Kitano
Feat. Takeshi Kitano; An uncharacteristically easy–going, episodic road movie from one–man movie machine, Beat Takeshi, whose impassive screen persona snugly…
Mickey Blue Eyes (1999): Dir. Kelly Makin
Feat. Hugh Grant, Jeanne Tripplehorn, James Caan; Amusing satire that culture–clashes a vicious Mafia–clan with English 'twit' Hugh Grant, here at his embarrassed, self–deprecating…
Running Out of Time (1999): Dir. Johnnie To
Feat. Andy Lau, Lau Ching-wan; A crackingly–paced, plot–bending Yin–Yang heist drama, with terminally–ill master jewel thief Andy Lau playing against the…
Sopranos, The (TV Series) - Season 1 (1999): Dir. Nick Gomez, John Patterson, David Chase
Feat. James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Lorraine Bracco…; Groundbreaking TV–series that ironically portrays the life of a New Jersey Mafia clan as a parade of suburban neurosis, pop–culture…
Suicide Kings (1999): Dir. Peter O'Fallon
Feat. Christopher Walken, Denis Leary; Post–PULP FICTION black–comedy, that does better than most in juggling a crime setting, a mystery and various comical dialogues, with a…
Two Hands (1999): Dir. Gregor Jordan
Feat. Heath Ledger, Bryan Brown, Steve LaMarquand; Mobster Bryan Brown finds work for Heath Ledger's idle hands, who fumbles the ball and finds himself deep in the crapper… Overcoming the…
Analyze This (1998): Dir. Harold Ramis
Feat. Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal; Robert De Niro's serial tendency of playing violent mobmen stands him in good stead for this inspired self–parody, as a mafioso who seeks…
Hitman (1998): Dir. Tung Wai
Feat. Jet Li; Would–be assassin Jet Li joins in the race to avenge the murder of an evil Japanese businessman for the tune of $100 million, but is encumbered…
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998): Dir. Guy Ritchie
Feat. Jason Statham, Jason Flemyng, Nick Moran…; The independent hit of 1998 is a massively assured directing debut and an entertainment sensation. Cocked with sharp dialogue, intricate plotting,…
Mafia! (Jane Austen's Mafia) (1998): Dir. Jim Abrahams
Feat. Lloyd Bridges, Christina Applegate, Olympia Dukakis; Ever the low–brow, dir. Jim Abrahams (NAKED GUN et al) delivers a fair quota of spoofing lowblows to the goodfella genre, assisted by a gang of…
Payback (1998): Dir. Brian Helgeland
Feat. Mel Gibson, Deborah Kara Unger; Mel Gibson gets to behave badly as an indestructible armed robber who gets carried away on a sadistic get–even mission against a crime…
Sleepless Town (Fuyajo) (1998): Dir. Chi-Ngai Lee
Feat. Takeshi Kaneshiro, Sihung Lung, Kathy Chow; Hybridistic pan–Asian thriller set in the 'sleepless' red–light district of Tokyo, where petty crim Kaneshiro must revisit his gangster…
Donnie Brasco (1997): Dir. Mike Newell
Feat. Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen…; Riveting, true–life tale of an FBI agent's perilous infiltration of the New York Mafia in the 70s. A knife–edge dramatic tension is…
Eight Heads in a Duffel Bag (1997): Dir. Tom Schulman
Feat. Joe Pesci, Andy Comeau, Kristy Swanson; Mob bagman Joe Pesci must transport hard evidence of a mass slaying, but he loses the noggins and has to recoup them by any means necessary from a…
Face (1997): Dir. Antonia Bird
Feat. Robert Carlyle, Ray Winstone, Phillip Davis; The wily Robert Carlyle plays lead 'face' of an armed–robbery gang, in a tense, grabby thriller that more than holds its own in…
Full Alert (1997): Dir. Ringo Lam
Feat. Lau Ching-wan, Francis Ng; Quality police thriller with realistic drama, bracing action and strong sense of locale – regarded as one of the last 'classics' from the…
Hana-Bi (1997): Dir. Takeshi Kitano
Feat. Takeshi Kitano, Kayoko Kishimoto, Ren Osusi; 'Beat' Takeshi cements his reputation as the modern visionary of Japanese cinema with his most celebrated film to date, returning as the formidably…
L.A. Confidential (1997): Dir. Curtis Hanson
Feat. Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kevin Spacey…; Slam–bang adaptation preserves the lacerating edge of James Ellroy's crime novel while polishing up the sheen of 50s Hollywood. Antipodean boys…
Playing God (1997): Dir. Andy Wilson
Feat. David Duchovny; Diverting psycho–thriller for David Duchovny, playing a doctor struck–off for malpractice. After flirting with skid–row he lands in…
Resurrection Man (1997): Dir. Marc Evans
Feat. Stuart Townsend; Cut–above Irish thriller based around the notorious 1970s razor–gang Shankill Butchers, who dealt in drugs and intimidation with Stanley…
Sunset Heights (1997): Dir. Colm Villa
Feat. Toby Stephens, James Cosmo; Bloodthirsty thriller tinted with black comedy in which two rival 'punishment squads' (ie. gangs) in Belfast try to track down a…
Young Thugs - Innocent Blood (1997): Dir. Takashi Miike
Feat. Naoto Takenaka; Gangster shenanigans with cult dir. Takashi, this time taking a more measured approach to the story of four young friends who drift together and…
Albino Alligator (1996): Dir. Kevin Spacey
Feat. Matt Dillon, Viggo Mortensen, Faye Dunaway…; Directing debut for Kevin Spacey, reupholsters a classic crime plot, with all the mordant, cold–blooded wit of his acting. Matt Dillon and his…
Fled (1996): Dir. Kevin Hooks
Feat. Stephen Baldwin, Laurence Fishburne; Violent comedy handcuffs together movie–obsessed computer whizz Stephen Baldwin with no–nonsense criminal Laurence Fishburne. Breaking a…
Fudoh - The Next Generation (1996): Dir. Takashi Miike
Feat. Shosuke Tanihara, Kenji Takano, Marie Jinno; Possibly the first film that gave the Western world an inkling of dir. Miike's unhinged worldview, investing a tale of yakuza vengeance with surreal,…
Funeral, The (1996): Dir. Abel Ferrara
Feat. Christopher Walken, Christopher Penn, Annabella Sciorra…; Indie iconoclast Abel Ferrara delves deeper into the troubled psyches of men–on–the–edge with a brooding chamber–piece.…
Glimmer Man, The (1996): Dir. John Gray
Feat. Steven Seagal, Damon Wayans; Buddhist detective Steven Seagal partners up with a wisecracking Damon Wayans in this LA variation on 48 HRS. Hunting a serial killer linked to the…
Goodbye South Goodbye (1996): Dir. Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Feat. Jack Kao, Lim Giong; Another exemplary, detailed effort from dir. Hsiao–Hsien, this time following a couple of small time grafters trying to put together 'the big…
Gotti (1996): Dir. Robert Harmon
Feat. Armand Assante, William Forsythe, Anthony Quinn; Armand Assante picked up an Emmy Award for his convincing impression of the legendary mobster John Gotti, who ruled the New York Mafia during the…
Kansas City (1996): Dir. Robert Altman
Feat. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte; An all–star cast jam out on the multiple storylines of Robert Altman's homage to the 30s jazz–mecca of Kansas City. The old master stirs…
Kids Return (1996): Dir. Takeshi Kitano
Feat. Ando Masanobu, Kaneko Ken; Two feckless delinquents discover the local boxing–gym, which provides inspiration for one and an entry into a yakuza gang for the other.…
Last Days of Frankie the Fly (1996): Dir. Peter Markle
Feat. Dennis Hopper, Michael Madsen; Dim–bulb mobster Frankie (Dennis Hopper) tires of his sadistic boss Sal (Michael Madsen) and decides to branch out into the LA porn–movie…
Mulholland Falls (1996): Dir. Lee Tamahori
Feat. Nick Nolte, Michael Madsen, Chazz Palminteri…; ONCE WERE WARRIORS director Lee Tamahori goes Hollywood with this tough gangster noir, fitted with an all–star cast and open chequebook. At…
Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1996): Dir. Gary Fleder
Feat. Andy Garcia, Christopher Walken, Gabrielle Anwar…; Things get messy for 'good guy' Andy Garcia under the sadistic tutelage of crippled crime–boss Christopher Walken. Cool and confident…
Trigger Happy (Mad Dog Time) (1996): Dir. Larry Bishop
Feat. Richard Dreyfuss, Jeff Goldblum, Gabriel Byrne…; Grinning mob–boss Richard Dreyfuss is fresh out of the asylum, gunning down wisecracking old friends and enemies alike. Old friends is indeed…
Assassins (1995): Dir. Richard Donner
Feat. Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas, Julianne Moore; A dark, protracted tale of two hitmen, old hand Sylvester Stallone who wants out of the racket, and new kid on the block Antonio Banderas out for…
Bullets Over Broadway (1995): Dir. Woody Allen
Feat. John Cusack, Dianne Wiest, Chazz Palminteri…; Woody takes a welcome acting reprieve here and the result should win him back lapsed fans. A much younger Cusack assumes the Woody persona – a…
Casino (1995): Dir. Martin Scorsese
Feat. Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Sharon Stone; Propelled by Scorsese's cinematic bravado, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Sharon Stone, in 70s duds, carve their way through a richly textured,…
Cyclo (1995): Dir. Tran Anh Hung
Feat. Le Van Loc, Tony Leung (Chiu-wai), Tran Nu Yen-Khe; Brooding expose of corruption, poverty and violence in contemporary Vietnam follows the ill fortunes of a young taxi–cyclist. Has potent…
Fall Time (1995): Dir. Paul Warner
Feat. Mickey Rourke, Stephen Baldwin; A prank backfires for three teenagers who interrupt the plans of hardened gangsters. The innocence lost of '50s America is disturbingly mirrored as…
Get Shorty (1995): Dir. Barry Sonnenfeld
Feat. John Travolta, Danny De Vito, Gene Hackman…; Riding the wave of PULP FICTION, this is the most successful stab at translating Elmore Leonard for the screen. John Travolta is an amiable mobster…
Heat (1995): Dir. Michael Mann
Feat. Al Pacino, Robert De Niro; Epic bank–heist drama matches heavyweight detective Al Pacino against master–thief Robert De Niro. While this dream pairing generates the…
Kamikaze Taxi (1995): Dir. Masato Harada
Feat. Koji Yakusho, Kazuya Takahashi, Reiko Kataoka; An apprentice gangster fouls up his first major assignment and flees Tokyo in a taxi, the driver of which turns out to be a unlikely confident with a…
Shanghai Triad (1995): Dir. Zhang Yimou
Feat. Gong Li; Richly–hued encounter with the criminal high–life of 1930s Shanghai, told through the hired servant of a pampered gangster's moll, and…
Sugartime (1995): Dir. John N. Smith
Feat. John Turturro, Mary-Louise Parker, Elias Koteas…; Charts the infamous, real–life romance between Chicago mobster Sam Giancana (John Turturro) and whitebread songstress Phyllis McGuire…
Getting Gotti (1994): Dir. Roger Young
Feat. Lorraine Bracco, Ellen Burstyn, Anthony John Denison; Lorraine Bracco pre–SOPRANOS stardom takes on the role of a determined U.S. Attorney Assistant tracking down a Mafia Crime Boss that grew up in…
God of Gamblers Return (1994): Dir. Wong Jing
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat; Chow Yun–Fat returns as a charming poker player who enjoys the quiet life until a challenger kills his wife and begins to target his friends. …
Pulp Fiction (1994): Dir. Quentin Tarantino
Feat. John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman…; With just his second film, Quentin Tarantino not only became a household name but a massive cultural phenomenon. He miraculously surpasses…
Bronx Tale, A (1993): Dir. Robert De Niro
Feat. Robert De Niro, Chazz Palminteri; Robert De Niro makes an accomplished directing debut with this vivid '60s rites–of–passage tale about a boy whose loyalty is divided…
Carlito's Way (1993): Dir. Brian De Palma
Feat. Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Viggo Mortensen; De Palma contains his usual showy excess and proves he can be a consummate storyteller with this captivating, multi–layered crime yarn. Al…
Darkness in Tallinn (1993): Dir. Ilka Jarvilaturi
Feat. Elina Aasa, Milena Gulbe, Juri Jarvet; In liberated Estonia, gangsters plan the elaborate ambush of gold bullion being restored from a Paris vault. A humble electrician has the pivotal job…
La Scorta (1993): Dir. Rick Tognazzi
Feat. Ennio Morricone; Bold dramatic thriller draws from real events surrounding the indictment of Mafia collaborators with the focus on the four bodyguards of a maverick…
Sonatine (1993): Dir. Takeshi Kitano
Feat. Takeshi Kitano, Ayo Kokumai, Tetsu Watanabe; Those familiar with 'Beat' Takeshi's films will know what to expect from this latest elegy to gangster violence. His personal demons manifest in…
Young Americans, The (1993): Dir. Danny Cannon
Feat. Harvey Keitel, Viggo Mortensen, Keith Allen; L.A. cop Keitel is roped in to crack a sadistic drug ring that has rooted itself in the London club scene. Thoughtful, suspenseful film with the…
American Me (1992): Dir. Edward James Olmos
Feat. Edward James Olmos, William Forsythe, Pepe Serna; Edward James Olmos directs and stars in this above–average gang drama focused on three generations of a Hispanic–American family from…
Full Contact (1992): Dir. Ringo Lam
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat; Chow Yun–Fat rescues his friend from a loan shark, but the friend leaves him for dead in a botched robbery and takes off with his girlfriend. A…
Johnny Stecchino (1992): Dir. Roberto Benigni
Feat. Roberto Benigni; Celebrated comedian Roberto Benigni, also co–writes and directs this tale of a meek bus–driver mistaken for a notorious gangster. The…
Mad Dog and Glory (1992): Dir. John McNaughton
Feat. Robert De Niro, Bill Murray, Uma Thurman; Wimpy cop Robert De Niro saves the life of smarmy mobster Bill Murray who then obliges him with the dubious services of one Uma Thurman for a week.…
Billy Bathgate (1991): Dir. Robert Benton
Feat. Dustin Hoffman, Nicole Kidman, Bruce Willis; Tempers flare as loyalties are betrayed in this solid gangland tale concerning the indoctrination of a teenager into the mob.
Bugsy (1991): Dir. Barry Levinson
Feat. Warren Beatty, Annette Bening; Glamourous portrait of infamous gangster 'Bugsy' Siegel, whose dream to build Las Vegas turned out to be his fatal flaw. Warren Beatty, Annette…
Men of Respect (1991): Dir. William Reilly
Feat. John Turturro; MacBeth is courageously transposed here into the American gangster milieu, with the dependably good Turturro as the power–hungry tyrant whose…
Mobsters (1991): Dir. Michael Karbelnikoff
Feat. Christian Slater, Richard Greico, Patrick Dempsey; Christian Slater, Richard Grieco and Patrick Dempsey play the infamous trio that changed the face of organised crime. Very violent film attempts to…
Big Man, The (1990): Dir. David Leland
Feat. Liam Neeson, Billy Connolly, Joanne Whalley; An intense morality tale set in the heart of Scotland, ill–fortuned family man Liam Neeson risks life and limb to compete in a…
Boiling Point (3-4x10) (1990): Dir. Takeshi Kitano
Feat. Takeshi Kitano; Director 'Beat' Takeshi captures the relentlessly simmering tensions between yakuza factions mainly focusing on a docile gas station attendant and a…
Dick Tracy (1990): Dir. Warren Beatty
Feat. Warren Beatty, Madonna; A glossy update of the comic–book and 1940s TV serial with Warren Beatty as the suave crime–buster. Superb art–direction, costumes…
Freshman, The (1990): Dir. Andrew Bergman
Feat. Marlon Brando, Matthew Broderick, Penelope Ann Miller…; Chucklesome comedy finds NYC film student Broderick forced to run errands for small time mobster Brando (who does a mirror–perfect parody of…
God of Gamblers (1990): Dir. Wong Jing
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat; Chow Yun–Fat plays a gambling king who is de–throned by amnesia, then embraced by a petty hustler who discovers he can trigger his memory…
Godfather Part 3, The (1990): Dir. Francis Ford Coppola
Feat. Al Pacino; The conclusion of the epic Corleone trilogy, with an aging Al Pacino looking to legitimise his business activities, and find a suitable successor.…
Goodfellas (1990): Dir. Martin Scorsese
Feat. Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro…; The double–edged allure of life in the Mafia is richly detailed in Martin Scorsese's riveting saga that follows a young mobster through three…
King of New York (1990): Dir. Abel Ferrara
Feat. Christopher Walken, Laurence Fishburne, Wesley Snipes…; A ruthless drug lord (Walken) is determined to resume his throne as the king of New York's underworld after five years behind bars. A vicious crime…
Krays, The (1990): Dir. Peter Medak
Feat. Billie Whitelaw, Gary Kemp, Martin Kemp; Excellent biographical account of the rise and fall of London's notorious Kray twins, with Spandau Ballet's Kemp brothers doing an admirable job in…
Miller's Crossing (1990): Dir. Joel Coen
Feat. Gabriel Byrne, John Turturro; Crossings and double–crossings punctuate this complex yet rewarding mobster flick loaded with heart–pounding violence and black humour.
My Blue Heaven (1990): Dir. Herbert Ross
Feat. Steve Martin, Rick Moranis, Joan Cusack…; Steve Martin plays a mob informant who has trouble adapting to his new life–style in suburbia, arranged by FBI dweeb, Rick Moranis.
Narrow Margin (1990): Dir. Peter Hyams
Feat. Gene Hackman, Anne Archer, James B. Sikking…; Gene Hackman stars in this remake of the 1952 classic about a protected witness who must testify against a mob killing. All set on a fast moving…
State of Grace (1990): Dir. Phil Joanou
Feat. Sean Penn, Gary Oldman, Ed Harris; Penn returns to his Irish mob roots in New York's Hell's Kitchen to find tenuous–at–best relations with the neighbouring Mafia. Oldman…
Things Change (1990): Dir. David Mamet
Feat. Don Ameche, Joe Mantegna, Robert Prosky…; Playwright David Mamet's comedy of errors about an elderly shoeshine who takes the rap for a mob crime in exchange for his lifelong dream.
Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989): Dir. Howard Brookner
Feat. Matt Dillon, Jennifer Grey, Julie Hagerty…; An American Playhouse adaptation of four Damon Runyon tales which intersect on New Year's Eve 1928 in a milieu of jazz–age hedonism. A good…
Canton Godfather, The (Miracles; Mr. Canton and Lady Rose) (1989): Dir. Jackie Chan
Feat. Jackie Chan, Anita Mui; Though light on martial arts, this lavish period production is generally considered Jackie Chan's most accomplished movie. At once inspired by THE…
Harlem Nights (1989): Dir. Eddie Murphy
Feat. Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx…; An excellent comic cast can't save this mismatched black American riff on THE GODFATHER series, set amid the 1930s jazz–club underworld of…
Killer, The (1989): Dir. John Woo
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat; Action at break–neck speed with a body–count to match the running time, this smorgasbord of super–violence with lashings of good…
Mack the Knife (1989): Dir. Menahem Golan
Feat. Raul Julia, Richard Harris, Julie Walters…; Muddled adaptation of The Threepenny Opera is notable for some pretty inept dance sequences and some rather overt mugging by some well–known…
Violent Cop (1989): Dir. Takeshi Kitano
Feat. Takeshi Kitano; Popular entertainer 'Beat' Takeshi's directing debut is a stylish, witty yet cynical and disturbing elegy to violence executed with alarming…
As Tears Go By (Wong gok ka moon) (1988): Dir. Wong Kar-Wai
Feat. Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung, Jacky Cheung; Dir. Wong Kar–Wai debuted with this ambitious remake of MEAN STREETS, where best buddies Andy Lau and Jacky Cheung struggle through the…
Colors (1988): Dir. Dennis Hopper
Feat. Sean Penn, Robert Duvall; A grim portrait of law enforcement. Mismatched police partners are assigned to the rife gang–related problems in South–Central L.A.
Flaming Brothers (Jiang hu long hu men) (1988): Dir. Tung Cho 'Joe' Cheung
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat, Alan Tang, Pat Ha; Two close friends from the island of Macao (Tang and Yun–Fat) become dangerously involved in the Chinese triads through decades of prosperity…
Married to the Mob (1988): Dir. Jonathan Demme
Feat. Michelle Pfeiffer, Dean Stockwell, Matthew Modine; Michelle Pfeiffer becomes involved with Dean Stockwell, Matthew Modine and a comically dicey mafia plot.
Orphans (1987): Dir. Alan J. Pakula
Feat. Albert Finney, Matthew Modine; Two delinquents attempt to rob a gangster, but tables turn to a point where he becomes their friend and mentor. Powerhouse drama.
Pick-Up Artist, The (Pickup Artist) (1987): Dir. James Toback
Feat. Robert Downey Jnr., Molly Ringwald, Dennis Hopper…; Serial womanizer Downey gets more than he bargained for when he falls for mobster's daughter Ringwald. Teen sex comedy is more thorny than horny with…
Sicilian, The (1987): Dir. Michael Cimino
Feat. Christopher Lambert, Terence Stamp, Joss Ackland…; Still reeling from the box office catastrophe of HEAVEN'S GATE, Michael Cimino turned his attention to this Mario Puzo–scripted saga about an…
Stormy Monday (1987): Dir. Mike Figgis
Feat. Melanie Griffith, Tommy Lee Jones, Sting…; Mix some American mobsters with Polish avant–garde jazz musicians and set it in Newcastle, England and you have something of a one–off…
Untouchables, The (1987): Dir. Brian De Palma
Feat. Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro; Well–cast and generally classy update of the adventures of Elliot Ness, the earnest law enforcer who took on Al Capone during the prohibition…
Better Tomorrow, A (1986): Dir. John Woo
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat; Chow Yun–Fat stars in the high–octane gangster flick that literally changed the face of the genre. A cop becomes ostracized by the force…
Camorra (1986): Dir. Lina Wertmuller
Feat. Angela Molina, Harvey Keitel; Complicated but well–judged thriller about the Naples underworld and specifically the use of children in the drug trade. More conventional than…
Crime Story (TV Series) (1986-1988): Dir. Abel Ferrara
Feat. Dennis Farina, Andrew Dice Clay; Genre stylist Michael Mann (COLLATERAL) followed up MIAMI VICE with this good–looking crime story set in hardboiled 60s Chicago. Dennis Farina…
Tampopo (1986): Dir. Juzo Itami
Feat. Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Ken Watanabe…; A crazy, satirical comedy in which heroine Tampopo and her cronies strive to create the perfect noodle. A wonderful movie full of hilarious madness…
Tough Guys (1986): Dir. Jeff Kanew
Feat. Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Charles Durning…; A low–brow but likeable vehicle for macho Hollywood icons Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster who play two elderly gangsters who are released from…
Wise Guys (1986): Dir. Brian De Palma
Feat. Danny De Vito, Joe Piscopo, Harvey Keitel…; Mob comedy in which Danny De Vito and Joe Piscopo play errand boys who run off to Atlantic City after losing $250,000 and are set up to kill each…
2019: The New Barbarians (Nuovi barbari, I) (1985): Dir. Enzo G. Castellari
Feat. Fred Williamson, Giancarlo Prete; Third and final episode in the post–apocalyptic BRONX WARRIORS series, escapes the bloody rubble of New York City for a MAD MAX–style…
No Surrender (1985): Dir. Peter Smith
Feat. Bernard Hill, Michael Angelis, Joanne Whalley…; Black comedy has the unfortunate Angelis getting himself into some hot water when he takes over the managment of a seedy Liverpool club. From the pen…
Police (1985): Dir. Maurice Pialat
Feat. Gerard Depardieu, Sophie Marceau, Richard Anconina; Brilliantly idiosyncratic crime thriller co–written by French auteurs Maurice Pialat (who also directs) and Catherine Breillat (A MA SOEUR!),…
Prizzi's Honor (1985): Dir. John Huston
Feat. Jack Nicholson, Kathleen Turner, Anjelica Huston; Jack Nicholson plays a Mafia hitman, embroiled in some ripely comic and sexy intrigues.
Year of the Dragon (1985): Dir. Michael Cimino
Feat. Mickey Rourke, John Lone; Mickey Rourke leads a clean–up of corruption in New York's Chinatown. An arresting melodrama with gut–wrenching violence in the league of…
Alphabet City (1984): Dir. Amos Poe
Feat. Vincent Spano; Crime drama set entirely over one evening and following a NYC drug dealer who decides to get out of the business and escape the the wrath of the mob.
Comfort and Joy (1984): Dir. Bill Forsyth
Feat. Bill Paterson, Eleanor David; Another likeable and quirky comedy from Bill Forsyth, about a disc–jockey who becomes involved in a mob feud over a mobile ice–cream…
Cotton Club, The (1984): Dir. Francis Ford Coppola
Feat. Richard Gere, Diane Lane, Gregory Hines…; Richard Gere heads the ensemble for Coppola's glossy musical melodrama set in the thick of New York's glitzy gangster culture of the 1930s.
Once Upon a Time in America (1984): Dir. Sergio Leone
Feat. Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern…; An all–star cast feature in Sergio Leone's violent but sobering gangland saga, following the rise and fall of four Jewish childhood pals…
Pope of Greenwich Village, The (1984): Dir. Stuart Rosenberg
Feat. Eric Roberts, Mickey Rourke; Perennial no–hoper Eric Roberts cons pal Mickey Rourke into a final heist, but stealing from the Mob proves to be a bad idea.…
Escape From the Bronx (1990: Bronx Warriors II) (1983): Dir. Enzo G. Castellari
Feat. Henry Silva, Giancarlo Prete; Dystopian sequel to the cult 80s dud BRONX WARRIORS, with New York City a wasteland ruled over by vicious motorcycle gangs and corporate villains.…
Scarface (1983): Dir. Brian De Palma
Feat. Al Pacino; Sweat–breakingly violent portrait of a contemporary mobster with Pacino in top gear as the ruthless megalomaniac. Stunning, if you can hack…
1990: The Bronx Warriors (1982): Dir. Enzo G. Castellari
Feat. Vic Morrow, Fred Williamson, Christopher Connelly; Renowned cheese–fest in which youth gangs of the post–Apocalypse Bronx, battle each other and an evil corporate arms manufacturer. Prime…
Balance, La (1982): Dir. Bob Swaim
Feat. Nathalie Baye, Philippe Leotard, Richard Berry; Money, loyalty and death hang in the balance in this gritty, Cesar–winning thriller. A crime king–pin is exposed by an…
Atlantic City, USA (1981): Dir. Louis Malle
Feat. Burt Lancaster, Susan Sarandon; An ageing petty crook finds a new self–respect with a struggling casino worker. Subtly drawn yet satisfying character study, expertly played by…
Contraband (The Smuggler) (1980): Dir. Lucio Fulci
Feat. Fabio Testi; A slight change of pace for dir. Fulci, here concocting a vicious criminal thriller about rival smugglers on the Naples waterfront, but which manages…
Gloria (1980): Dir. John Cassavetes
Feat. Gena Rowlands, Buck Henry, Julie Carmen; Rowlands is devastating as a gangster moll who runs from the Mob after taking protective custody of a neighbour's son, whose parents have fallen…
Long Good Friday, The (1980): Dir. John Mackenzie
Feat. Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren; Electrifying, influential account of hoodlum rivalry in contemporary London with Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren matching an intelligent, gritty script.
McVicar (1980): Dir. Tom Clegg
Feat. Roger Daltrey, Adam Faith, Cheryl Campbell…; Based on the true story of infamous UK criminal John McVicar, this gritty thriller stars Daltrey as the bad boy sent to a maximum security prison…
Blue Collar (1977): Dir. Paul Schrader
Feat. Harvey Keitel, Yaphet Kotto, Richard Pryor; As one might expect from the writer of TAXI DRIVER, dir. Schrader's debut is a gritty, tough–minded drama of macho ethics, set in the grinding…
Assault On Precinct 13 (1976): Dir. John Carpenter
Feat. Austin Stoker, Darwin Joston; A deserted urban jail comes under siege by a ruthless gang in this contemporary reworking of RIO BRAVO. The pin–drop atmosphere is intensified…
Bugsy Malone (1976): Dir. Alan Parker
Feat. Scott Baio, Jodie Foster, John Cassini; Alan Parker's directing debut was this startlingly original feature debut reinvents the gangster movie as a musical pastiche cast entirely with…
Killing of a Chinese Bookie, The (1976): Dir. John Cassavetes
Feat. Ben Gazzara; Cassavetes' most personal film concerns a strip–club owner (Ben Gazzara) who becomes indebted to the mob. An acquired taste for this one as…
Best French Crime Flicks (1975-1981): Dir. Georges Lautner, Jose Giovanni, Alain Corneau
Feat. Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon, Yves Montand; Three seminal French crime dramas in one collection: THE PROFESSIONAL (1981), THE GYPSY (1975), and CHOICE OF ARMS (1981).
Yakuza, The (1975): Dir. Sydney Pollack
Feat. Robert Mitchum, Ken Takakura; Mitchum challenges the sword and secrets of the Japanese Mafia in this accomplished actioner written by Paul Schrader and Robert Towne.
Godfather Part 2, The (1974): Dir. Francis Ford Coppola
Feat. Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton…; The Corleone saga continues with the same passion and exacting standards, it both broadens the scope and bolsters the stature of the original. Hailed…
Cauldron Of Death (Ricco) (1973): Dir. Tulio DeMicheli
Feat. Christopher Mitchum, Barbara Bouchet, Malisa Longo; Masquerading as a B–grade horror, this is actually a melodramatic Italian revenge thriller concerning the son of a murdered mobster who is…
Dillinger (1973): Dir. John Milius
Feat. Warren Oates, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman…; A tough portait of the Depression–era bank robber that like BONNIE AND CLYDE, invests the criminal with the mythic qualities of the outlaw.…
Don is Dead, The (1973): Dir. Richard Fleischer
Feat. Anthony Quinn, Frederic Forrest, Robert Forster; A botched drug deal is at the centre of this competent mafioso film, one of many spawned in the wake of THE GODFATHER's success.
Seven-Ups, The (1973): Dir. Philip D' Antoni
Feat. Roy Scheider, Tony Lo Bianco, Victor Arnold…; Underrated action flick with Roy Scheider on as a tough NYC cop on the trail of his partner's killers. Salty thriller has atmosphere to spare and…
That Man Bolt (1973): Dir. David Lowell Rich, Henry Levin
Feat. Fred Williamson, Byron Webster, Miko Mayama…; Colourful action film blending blaxploitation, martial arts, and spy influences, with Fred Williamson (HELL UP IN HARLEM) starring as a karate sex…
Boxcar Bertha (1972): Dir. Martin Scorsese
Feat. Barbara Hershey, David Carradine; Dir. Scorsese's first 'for hire' effort, constructing an atmospheric and reasonably sturdy period gangster film, set in the Depression. Produced by…
Godfather, The (1972): Dir. Francis Ford Coppola
Feat. Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro…; Adaptation of Mario Puzo's novel is a vivid and immaculately staged chronicle of a Sicilian family's ascension to NY gangland dominance. Seamlessly…
Prime Cut (1972): Dir. Michael Ritchie
Feat. Lee Marvin, Gene Hackman, Sissy Spacek; Gritty underworld thriller set in the fields and meat–packhouses of Kansas, where mob enforcer Marvin is sent to collect money from local…
Scoumoune: Mafia Warfare (La Scounoune) (1972): Dir. Jose Giovanni
Feat. Jean-Paul Belmondo, Claudia Cardinale, Michael Constantine; Punchy underworld tale charts the rise and fall of icy hitman Belmondo who returns to Marseilles to help clear his friend of a murder charge. Told…
French Connection, The (1971): Dir. William Friedkin
Feat. Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Roy Scheider…; An influential crime picture based on the largest narcotics seizure of all time. Won the Oscar for Best Picture for its realistic portrait of New…
Get Carter (1971): Dir. Mike Hodges
Feat. Michael Caine; A small–time London hood takes on tough Northerners while investigating his brother's death. Exciting, violent thriller shows off the once…
Grissom Gang, The (1971): Dir. Robert Aldrich
Feat. Kim Darby, Scott Wilson, Tony Musante…; Crime noir set in Missouri during the Depression, following the kidnapping of a priviledged meat heiress by notorious amateur hoodlums the Grissom…
American Soldier, The (Der Amerikanische Soldat) (1970): Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Feat. Karl Scheydt, Elga Sorbas, Jan George…; The third in a loose trilogy of gangster films directed by prolific German iconoclast Rainer Werner Fassbinder early in his career. A…
Bloody Mama (1970): Dir. Roger Corman
Feat. Shelley Winters, Robert De Niro; 'The family that stays together slays together!'. Shelley Winters is Ma Barker, the mad matriarch who led her brood's violent reign in the '30s.…
Borsalino (1970): Dir. Jacques Deray
Feat. Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon, Michel Bouquet; Delightful seriocomic film of two likeable hoods who become gangland chieftains in 1930s Marseilles. Music by Claude Bolling.
Gods of the Plague (Götter der Pest) (1970): Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Feat. Hanna Schygulla, Margarethe von Trotta, Harry Baer…; The second in a loose trilogy of gangster films directed by prolific German iconoclast Rainer Werner Fassbinder early in his career. In this…
Love is Colder Than Death (Liebe ist kälter als der Tod) (1969): Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Feat. Ulli Lommel, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Hanna Schygulla…; The first in a loose trilogy of gangster films directed by prolific German iconoclast Rainer Werner Fassbinder early in his career. Fassbinder…
Plot Against Harry, The (1969): Dir. Michael Roemer
Feat. Harry Plotnik; Repentent racketeer Harry Plotnik is released from jail, but his plans to go legit in New York's Jewish community become inadvertently thwarted by…
Coogan's Bluff (1968): Dir. Don Siegel
Feat. Clint Eastwood, Lee J. Cobb; Pre–DIRTY HARRY thriller has tough Arizona ranger Clint Eastwood dealing out the law his way in pursuit of an escaped suspect. Exciting action,…
Branded to Kill (Koroshi no rakuin) (1967): Dir. Seijun Suzuki
Feat. Joe Shishido; The height of Seijun Suzuki’s insolence peaked in this coarse and cantankerous tale of rival assassins engaged in a game of…
Point Blank (1967): Dir. John Boorman
Feat. Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, Keenan Wynn…; Fascinating, at times jarring, thriller has underworld hitman Lee Marvin hunting for those who double–crossed him in The Organisation, only to…
St. Valentines Day Massacre (1967): Dir. Roger Corman
Feat. Jason Robards Jr., George Segal, Ralph Meeker…; A great, trigger–happy actioner from cult film–maker Corman, based on events that led to the murder of many of Chicago's underworld,…
Tokyo Drifter (1966): Dir. Seijun Suzuki
Feat. Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara; Yakuza thriller dazzlingly exploits the palette of pop art design. Largely incoherent story involves a young punk in a pale blue–suit who gets…
Mickey One (1965): Dir. Arthur Penn
Feat. Warren Beatty, Hurd Hatfield; A young Warren Beatty plays as an entertainer who assumes a new identity to flee growing debts to the mob, and search for meaning in his life. French…
Sucker, The (Le Corniaud) (1965): Dir. Gerard Oury
Feat. Andre Bourvil, Gerard Oury, Louis de Funès; Quintessential French farce finds the affable Bourvil tricked into driving a Cadillac to Bordeaux containing thousands of dollars of jewelry and…
Tattooed Life, A (Irezumi ichidai) (1965): Dir. Seijun Suzuki
Feat. Hideki Takahashi; Rare period excursion for dir. Seijun Suzuki trades pistols for samurai swords, but not much else as dir’s lurid aesthetic and heady production…
Bande a Part (Band of Outsiders) (1964): Dir. Jean-Luc Godard
Feat. Anna Karina, Claude Brasseur, Sami Frey; One of the dir.’s more accessible films follows the carefree criminal adventures of Anna Karina, Claude Brasseur and Sami Frey, while still…
Robin and the Seven Hoods (1964): Dir. Gordon Douglas
Feat. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby…; A spoof of the Robin Hood legend set in '20s gangland Chicago.
Youth of the Beast (Yaju no seishun) (1963): Dir. Seijun Suzuki
Feat. Joe Shishido, Misako Watanabe; Further yazuka tales from the incorrigible Seijun Suzuki: regular lead thug Shishido plays a rogue gangster who muscles in, SANJURO–style, on…
Classe Tous Risques (Consider All Risks) (1960): Dir. Claude Sautet
Feat. Lino Ventura, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Sandra Milo; French–Italian gangster film following the exploits of a French mobster (Lino Ventura, based on a real life henchman for the French Gestapo)…
Murder, Inc. (1960): Dir. Stuart Rosenberg, Burt Balaban
Feat. Stuart Whitman, Peter Falk, Simon Oakland; Cinemascope gangland film based on the true story of the eponymous Brooklyn gang that operated in the 1930s. It launched the careers of both Stuart…
Never Let Go (1960): Dir. John Guillermin
Feat. Richard Todd, Peter Sellers, Adam Faith…; Solid crime drama about a young salesman (Todd) who has his car inconveniently stolen – leaving him with a large debt – and then…
Ocean's Eleven (Ocean's 11) (1960): Dir. Lewis Milestone
Feat. Frank Sinatra, Sammy Jr. Davis, Peter Lawford…; The definitive 'Rat Pack' movie, with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jnr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop among the eleven confederates who…
Rise and Fall of 'Legs' Diamond, The (1960): Dir. Budd Boetticher
Feat. Ray Danton, Karen Steele, Elaine Stewart…; A professionally–shot thriller about the career of New York gangster Jack 'Legs' Diamond, who rose to prominence in the 1920s and maintained…
Shoot the Pianist (Shoot the Piano Player) (1960): Dir. Francois Truffaut
Feat. Charles Aznavour, Marie Dubois, Nicole Berger…; Part homage to Hollywood film noir, part love story and part and parcel of the new wave, a down–on–his–luck pianist is drawn into…
Al Capone (1959): Dir. Richard Wilson
Feat. Rod Steiger, Fay Spain, James Gregory…; Rod Steiger is a belligerent Scarface in this throwback to the 30s gangster films.
Untouchables, The (TV Series) (1959-1963): Feat. Robert Stack, Paul Picerni; An iconic crime series that once baited controversy for its escalation of television violence, this pulled out the stops to authentically…
Machine Gun Kelly (1958): Dir. Roger Corman
Feat. Charles Bronson, Susan Cabot; A baby–faced Bronson gives an exciting edge to this superior B–movie biopic, based around the criminal career of the Depression–era…
Party Girl (1958): Dir. Nicholas Ray
Feat. Robert Taylor, Cyd Charisse, Lee J. Cobb…; Delicious Nicholas Ray–directed potboiler finds bum–legged Robert Taylor trying to cut ties with the mob. A slinky Cyd Charisse (tearing…
Vicious Circle, The (Circle) (1957): Dir. Gerald Thomas
Feat. John Mills, Derek Farr, Lionel Jeffries; Neatly convoluted mystery has John Mills play an eminent medical specialist who is implicated in a murder when the body of a German actress turns up…
I Died A Thousand Times (1955): Dir. Stuart Heisler
Feat. Jack Palance, Shelley Winters, Lee Marvin…; Enjoyable remake of High Sierra that benefits from a fantastic cast and a rousing finale. Look for a young and uncredited Dennis Hopper.
Pete Kelly's Blues (1955): Dir. Jack Webb
Feat. Jack Webb, Janet Leigh, Edmond O'Brien…; Musical set in 1920's Kansas which blends jazz, gangsters and political corruption. Directed by and starring Jack Webb as a cornet player who is…
Tight Spot (1955): Dir. Phil Karlson
Feat. Ginger Rogers, Edward G. Robinson, Brian Keith…; Tense crime melodrama in which Ginger Rogers is persuaded by attorney Edward G. Robinson to testify against her gangster boyfriend.
Jail Bait (1954): Dir. Ed Wood Jnr.
Feat. Timothy Farrell, Lyle Talbot, Steve Reeves…; Ed Wood gangster pic sees underworld types having plastic surgery to escape the law. Script is a model of logic by Wood's standards, but…
Touchez Pas au Grisbi (Hands Off the Loot) (1954): Dir. Jacques Becker
Feat. Jean Gabin, René Dary, Jeanne Moreau; Laid–back though influential French noir chronicling a wealthy, retired racketeer (Gabin) who is pulled back into the life of crime when his…
Lion Is in the Streets, The (1953): Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. James Cagney, Barbara Hale; Political parable based on Southern governor Huey Long stars James Cagney as the populist peddler–turned–politico who yields to…
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950): Dir. Gordon Douglas
Feat. James Cagney, Ward Bond, Luther Adler; Hard gangster flick about an escaped con who blackmails, betrays and murders his way through a robbery scam. Hits the mark with a great script and…
Stray Dog (Nora Inu) (1949): Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune; An early film noir from Japan’s best–known director tracks police detective Toshiro Mifune into the underbelly of Tokyo in search of a pistol…
White Heat (1949): Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O'Brien; Intense, verging–on–primal performance from a greying James Cagney blasts this straight into the pantheon of greatest–ever crime…
Drunken Angel (Yoidore tenshi) (1948): Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura; The film that made Toshiro Mifune a star – playing a petty gangster with TB, who turns to an alcoholic doctor for help after a shoot–out.…
Dick Tracy - Four Original Serials (1947): Feat. Ralph Byrd, Boris Karloff; Ralph Byrd stars as Chester Gould's comic–strip crimefighter in a pair of original serial movies Dick Tracy's Dilemma, and Dick Tracy meets…
My Favourite Brunette (1947): Dir. Elliott Nugent
Feat. Bob Hope, Peter Lorre, Lon Jr. Chaney; A spoof of Chandler–style detective novels with Bob Hope as a photographer who gets mixed up with mobsters. With Peter Lorre, Lon Chaney.
Dillinger (1945): Dir. Max Nosseck
Feat. Lawrence Tierney; Lawrence Tierney stars in this robust B–Movie biopic as the notorious gangster who declared war on America's banking system.
High Sierra (1941): Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino; Crucial role that steered Humphrey Bogart towards more sympathetic anti–heroes, here playing a prison escapee/gangster facing the end with Ida…
Brother Orchid (1940): Dir. Lloyd Bacon
Feat. Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sothern…; Low–key but interesting star vehicle for Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart with the big guy playing a has–been gangster who joins a…
Johnny Apollo (1940): Dir. Henry Hathaway
Feat. Tyrone Power, Dorothy Lamour, Edward Arnold…; Elegant crime drama stars Tyrone Power as a well–heeled graduate who resorts to underworld activities to assist his imprisoned father.
Roaring Twenties, The (1939): Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Priscilla Lane…; Seminal gangster drama, paired screen–tough Cagney with a then lesser–known Bogart. Becoming buddies during WWI, they later enter and…
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938): Dir. Michael Curtiz
Feat. Pat O'Brien, James Cagney; Childhood pals Pat O'Brien and James Cagney end up as adult enemies, in the priesthood and underworld respectively. Pleasing mix of comedy and…
Dead End (1937): Dir. William Wyler
Feat. Humphrey Bogart, Sylvia Sidney, Joel McCrea…; Highly watchable account of life in the slum tenements of NYC – if you can accept the sentimental touches. With Humphrey Bogart as a gangster…
Whole Town's Talking, The (1935): Dir. John Ford
Feat. Edward G. Robinson, Jean Arthur, Arthur Hohl…; Edward G. Robinson stars in a duel role as a meek office clerk who bares a resemblance to Public Enemy Number One. Entertaining mix of farce and…
Scarface (1932): Dir. Howard Hawks
Feat. Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Karen Morley; The most potent ganster flick of the '30s caused great controversy over its violent content when first released, still makes an impact today.…
Public Enemy, The (1931): Dir. William A. Wellman
Feat. James Cagney, Jean Harlow; The most influential of early crime films exhibits an unglorified depiction of the American underworld, but James Cagney makes a hoodlum sure worth…
Little Caesar (1930): Dir. Mervyn LeRoy
Feat. Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Jr. Fairbanks, Glenda Farrell; Star–making debut for Edward G Robinson as a bullying, Al Capone–style hood, whose unscrupulous methods land him the top job. Like most…
Regeneration (w/ Young Romance) (1915): Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. Anna Q. Nilsson, Carl Harbaugh, Rockliffe Fellowes…; The debut feature of director Raoul Walsh is an early gangster film following the trajectory of a poor orphan who grows up to assume a powerful…
Great Crimes and Trials of the Twentieth Century: This absorbing crime series analyses the grim details of century's most heinous yet fascinating crimes. Five volumes to quench that voyeuristic…
World's Best Dicks: Dir. Various; Compilation tape of gumshoes, gangsters, broads and bombshells including Sherlock Holmes, Mr. Moto, Dick Tracy, Mr. Wong and many more.

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