Favorite Gangster Movie
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i'm gonna have to say that scarface is rubbish. al pacino is fantastically vulgar, over-the-top, and absurd, but even that ridiculous performance can't save the film. there's just an insane amount of self-indulgent wankery goin' on in that movie. it can hardly be called a "gangster" movie. tony montana is no gangster. he's an amateur reactionary. carlito's way is a much better role for pacino, and its one that you can buy, as opposed to the ludicrousness of scarface.
The Untouchables.
It isn't as good technically as The Godfather flicks (hack director vs. a master) but its good cheesey fun and was my first introduction to the "Odessa Steps" sequence.
I'd also like to give a shout out to the new series Brotherhood airing on Showtime right now. Anyone who lived in Boston knows what/who this is really about and its a great little series that apparently isn't getting good ratings. If you have Showtime check it out on Sunday nights or through On Demand.
It isn't as good technically as The Godfather flicks (hack director vs. a master) but its good cheesey fun and was my first introduction to the "Odessa Steps" sequence.
I'd also like to give a shout out to the new series Brotherhood airing on Showtime right now. Anyone who lived in Boston knows what/who this is really about and its a great little series that apparently isn't getting good ratings. If you have Showtime check it out on Sunday nights or through On Demand.
I got way too many.. but godfather 1 and 2 along with casino and goodfellas are among my favorites without a doubt. i also dig scarface, a bronx tale, the last don and many, many others. also, if they fit in this category i also really like boyz-n-tha hood, menace to society, juice and much, much more.
Being much, much, much, much older than most of you, my favorite gangster flicks go back to classic Hollywood:
1. Little Caesar (1930) - Edward G. Robinson
2. Scarface: The Shame of a Nation (1932) - Paul Muni and George Raft
3. The Public Enemy (1931) - James Cagney
These movies were made when the people they were patterned after were still alive. It took courage to even make them. And although they're dated now, they are the real beginning of the gangster genre.
Cagney teamed with Humphrey Bogart in three movies that are also classic:
1. The Roaring 20s (1939)
2. They Drive by Night (1940)
3. High Sierra (1941) - This one has Bogart as a softer character, but it's still vintage Bogie.
...
And yes, the crime/gangster genre is one of my favorites from back in the Golden Days of Hollywood.
1. Little Caesar (1930) - Edward G. Robinson
2. Scarface: The Shame of a Nation (1932) - Paul Muni and George Raft
3. The Public Enemy (1931) - James Cagney
These movies were made when the people they were patterned after were still alive. It took courage to even make them. And although they're dated now, they are the real beginning of the gangster genre.
Cagney teamed with Humphrey Bogart in three movies that are also classic:
1. The Roaring 20s (1939)
2. They Drive by Night (1940)
3. High Sierra (1941) - This one has Bogart as a softer character, but it's still vintage Bogie.
...
And yes, the crime/gangster genre is one of my favorites from back in the Golden Days of Hollywood.
Being much, much, much, much older than most of you, my favorite gangster flicks go back to classic Hollywood:
1. Little Caesar (1930) - Edward G. Robinson
2. Scarface: The Shame of a Nation (1932) - Paul Muni and George Raft
3. The Public Enemy (1931) - James Cagney
These movies were made when the people they were patterned after were still alive. It took courage to even make them. And although they're dated now, they are the real beginning of the gangster genre.
Cagney teamed with Humphrey Bogart in three movies that are also classic:
1. The Roaring 20s (1939)
2. They Drive by Night (1940)
3. High Sierra (1941) - This one has Bogart as a softer character, but it's still vintage Bogie.
...
And yes, the crime/gangster genre is one of my favorites from back in the Golden Days of Hollywood.
1. Little Caesar (1930) - Edward G. Robinson
2. Scarface: The Shame of a Nation (1932) - Paul Muni and George Raft
3. The Public Enemy (1931) - James Cagney
These movies were made when the people they were patterned after were still alive. It took courage to even make them. And although they're dated now, they are the real beginning of the gangster genre.
Cagney teamed with Humphrey Bogart in three movies that are also classic:
1. The Roaring 20s (1939)
2. They Drive by Night (1940)
3. High Sierra (1941) - This one has Bogart as a softer character, but it's still vintage Bogie.
...
And yes, the crime/gangster genre is one of my favorites from back in the Golden Days of Hollywood.
Ive heard about the original Scarface. Is it somewhat similar to Pacino's or do they simply share the same name?
Here's some info. about the original. It's interesting to note this film was considered so raw and so brutal in its day that it was cited as one of the reasons the Hollywood Code of Ethics was necessary.
http://www.filmsite.org/scar.html
http://www.filmsite.org/scar.html
Thanks for the link, I had never visited that site before but may do some poking around in the future.
As goofy as the Codes were, they largely helped define my favorite classic genre, the noir
Another gangster film I liked was Miller's Crossing. I'm really partial to the prohibition stuff, next to the 50s the 20s are my favorite era from the last century.
As far as more modern stuff, Ichi the Killer is a relatively recent favorite. Not for everybody though (Japanese and ridiculously over the top amounts of blood and violence).
As goofy as the Codes were, they largely helped define my favorite classic genre, the noir
Another gangster film I liked was Miller's Crossing. I'm really partial to the prohibition stuff, next to the 50s the 20s are my favorite era from the last century.
As far as more modern stuff, Ichi the Killer is a relatively recent favorite. Not for everybody though (Japanese and ridiculously over the top amounts of blood and violence).
