DISCOVER--thirty great gangster films
This list is in alphabetical order, including the Chinese and Japanese titles. Thirty classics to get you started, there are others, the most notable absentee being Al Pacino as Scarface--that was no. 31. A deliberate absentee that turns up on other lists is the movie version of The Untouchables, I love the original TV series too much to include that one. Amazing how many other lists leave out Warren Oates as Dillinger, a top five entry in my book. Hit the see all lists button to see my separate lists under the DISCOVER pre-fix for James Cagney, Chow Yun Fat, and crime sprees...
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30 titles
- DirectorBarry ShearStarsAnthony QuinnYaphet KottoAnthony FranciosaTwo New York City cops go after amateur crooks who are trying to rip off the Mafia and start a gang war.
- DirectorJohn WooStarsLung TiLeslie CheungChow Yun-FatA reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break.
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsShelley WintersDon StroudPat HingleA psychologically disturbed matriarch presides over her damaged family of bank-robbing misfits.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroSharon StoneJoe PesciIn Las Vegas, two best friends - a casino executive and a mafia enforcer - compete for a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite.
- DirectorJohn MiliusStarsWarren OatesBen JohnsonMichelle PhillipsJohn Dillinger and his gang go on a bank robbing spree across the midwest, but one G-Man is determined to bring him down.
- DirectorTung Cho 'Joe' CheungStarsChow Yun-FatAlan TangPatricia HaA tale between two brothers: One has left the triads and gone legit, the other has decided to stay and keep the triad from going to the ways of drugs and gun running.This is Flaming Brothers.
- DirectorMike HodgesStarsMichael CaineIan HendryBritt EklandWhen his brother dies under mysterious circumstances in a car accident, London gangster Jack Carter travels to Newcastle to investigate.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMarlon BrandoAl PacinoJames CaanThe aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsAl PacinoRobert De NiroRobert DuvallThe early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed, while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroRay LiottaJoe PesciThe story of Henry Hill and his life in the mafia, covering his relationship with his wife Karen and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito.
- DirectorJohn WooStarsChow Yun-FatTony Leung Chiu-waiTeresa MoA tough-as-nails cop teams up with an undercover agent to shut down a sinister mobster and his crew.
- DirectorJohn WooStarsChow Yun-FatDanny LeeSally YehA disillusioned assassin accepts one last hit in hopes of using his earnings to restore vision to a singer he accidentally blinded.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsLee MarvinAngie DickinsonJohn CassavetesSurprised that their contract victim didn't try to run away from them, two professional hit men try to find out who hired them and why.
- DirectorGordon DouglasStarsJames CagneyBarbara PaytonHelena CarterStarting with a violent prison break, clever, ruthless Ralph Cotter corrupts everyone around him.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsElliott GouldNina van PallandtSterling HaydenPrivate investigator Philip Marlowe helps a friend out of a jam, but in doing so gets implicated in his wife's murder.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroHarvey KeitelDavid ProvalIn New York City's Little Italy, a devoutly Catholic mobster must reconcile his desire for power, his feelings for his epileptic lover, and his devotion to his troublesome friend.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsRobert De NiroJames WoodsElizabeth McGovernA former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan 35 years later, where he must once again confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.
- DirectorJohn FlynnStarsRobert DuvallKaren BlackJoe Don BakerEarl Macklin robs a bank owned by the mob, serves his prison time and is released, only to start a private war against the crime outfit that owned the bank.
- DirectorDonald CammellNicolas RoegStarsJames FoxMick JaggerAnita PallenbergA violent East London gangster undergoes a transformation of identity while hiding from his former colleagues in the home of a jaded Bohemian rock star and his two girlfriends.
- DirectorJohn BoormanStarsLee MarvinAngie DickinsonKeenan WynnAfter being double-crossed and left for dead, a mysterious man named Walker single-mindedly tries to retrieve the money that was stolen from him.
- DirectorMichael RitchieStarsLee MarvinGene HackmanSissy SpacekA vicious Kansas City slaughterhouse owner and his hick family are having a bloody "beef" with the Chicago crime syndicate over profits from their joint illegal operations. Top enforcer Nick Devlin is sent to straighten things out.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsJames CagneyJean HarlowEdward WoodsAn Irish-American street punk tries to make it big in the world of organized crime.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJohn TravoltaUma ThurmanSamuel L. JacksonThe lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
- DirectorJohn IrvinStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerKathryn HarroldSam WanamakerA former FBI agent turned small-town sheriff agrees to help the FBI chief infiltrate the Chicago mafia when the FBI chief's son is killed by them.
- DirectorTaylor WongStarsChow Yun-FatAndy LauAlex ManTo pay off his debt as a gambler, a man drags his sister and step-brother into a life of crime and a violent war between rival gang lords.This is Rich and Famous