10 Best Gangster Movies Of All Time

The best gangster movies of all time date back to the start of cinema, with masterpieces in the silent era, the advent of the talkies, and decades later, continuing on the legacy thanks to names like Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese. In the early days of cinema, there wasn’t anything bigger than Westerns and gangster films. They were based on the same things: good guys vs bad guys, white hats vs black hats, police vs. made men. It was the genesis of movie storytelling.

One of the earliest notable gangster films came in the silent era with Intolerance (1916) by D.W. Griffith, which led to the first major gangster movie of the talkie era, Little Caesar (1931). Every gangster film since owes its existence to Little Caesar, and every gangster actor owes their image to its iconic star, Edward G. Robinson. However, in the decades since, gangster films have taken what Little Caesar originated and improved on it, ensuring it remains one of the best genres in cinema history.

10

The Departed (2006)

An Inside Informant & A Police Mole Manipulate Boston

In 2006, Martin Scorsese remade a brilliant Hong Kong thriller called Infernal Affairs. This was an interesting experiment for Scorsese as he recreated some scenes shot-for-shot from the original movie. However, while that was a surefire way to turn off fans, Scorsese did it in a way that paid homage to what came before, but it was also a brilliant gangster movie on its own. On top of Scorsese’s direction, its success was also thanks to an incredible cast.

Matt Damon is a mobster undercover as a cop in Boston, while Leonardo DiCaprio is a police officer undercover in the mob (led by a brilliant Jack Nicholson). The Departed won four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, and Mark Wahlberg was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. While it is held down somewhat by the fact it is a remake, it still stands tall above other gangster films this century.

9

The Public Enemy (1931)

James Cagney’s Breakout Gangster Role

Little Caesar was the first major gangster movie, and Edward G. Robinson created the template for the gangster. However, The Public Enemy arrived next, and James Cagney mastered the made man. Robinson deserves his place in history, but Cagney is who every actor who played a mobster and crime lord owes his entire existence. In The Public Enemy, Cagney plays Tom Powers, a young man on the rise in the criminal underworld.

While there is much to love about Tom Powers’ rise and fall in the criminal underworld, this film is a product of its time and is not as layered and deeply structured as later movies. However, it will always be remembered for one specific scene, and that is the finale. After a major gunfight, Powers’ enemies deliver him home to his mom in a scene that is as horrifying now as it was when it was released. The Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 1998.

8

White Heat (1949)

James Cagney’s Best Gangster Film

While James Cagney became the face of the gangster genre in the 1930s, he cashed in and delivered his best genre performance almost two decades later when he appeared in the 1949 Raoul Walsh film White Heat. What helped this film stand out was Walsh’s creation of the Cagney character of Cody Jarrett as an unstable mob leader with an Oedipus complex. It was deeper than most gangsters’ backstories at the time, and it was as much film noir as a gangster movie.

The film is comparable to later Alfred Hitchcock movies, with Cody Jarrett sharing much in common with Norman Bates, which makes it unlike almost any other gangster movie of its era. This film led to the advent of 1950s crime cinema releases, inspiring everything from The Asphalt Jungle to The Naked City. The Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 2003.

7

Once Upon A Time In America (1984)

Sergio Leone’s Gangster Movie

While Sergio Leone is best known for his spaghetti Westerns, he also directed one of the best gangster movies ever. This makes plenty of sense because Westerns and gangster movies share the same themes, making this the perfect direction for Leone after mastering Westerns with his Dollars trilogy. 16 years after directing the spaghetti Western, Once Upon a Time in the West, he directed Once Upon a Time in America.

This was Leone’s ninth and final directed film and the only one he made after 1971. The movie is extremely long and detailed, at four and a half hours, but it was shortened to under four hours for distribution and then to almost two hours in America. It tells the story of two best friends who rise to prominence as Jewish gangsters during the rise of organized crime in New York City. The film brought Robert De Niro back to the gangster genre and remains an iconic part of the genre’s history.

6

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Quentin Tarantino’s Breakout Movie

Quentin Tarantino has a strong connection to cinema history. He is a film buff and has watched everything, learning from the best. He knows that Western and gangster movies are the backbone of Hollywood, and almost every movie he made is in one of those two genres. His first was Reservoir Dogs, a heist movie, but then he followed up with Pulp Fiction, which follows two hitmen for an organized crime boss who set out to make things right.

Pulp Fiction is a movie that explores the gangster genre and tells its story in a way that no one has done before. Two hitmen work for the organized crime boss, a boxer betrays that same boss by refusing to throw his fight, and everything merges into a violent and shocking tale told out of order. Pulp Fiction earned seven Oscar nominations and was added to the National Film Registry in 2013, proving its quality.

5

Scarface (1932)

Howard Hawks’s Gangster Masterpiece

The Brian De Palma remake of Scarface is a beloved gangster film, and Al Pacino is brilliant in the story of the immigrant who rises up the ranks of organized crime. However, as great as that remake is, the original is just that much better. Howard Hawks remains one of cinema’s best filmmakers, and he directed one of the best gangster movies in history, with Paul Muni proving to be a match against both Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney as the best mobster in the genre.

Unlike the remake, in this version of Scarface, Tony Camonte is an Italian immigrant who works as a bodyguard for a crime lord he eventually guns down, helping disgruntled lieutenant Johnny Lovo take over the territory. However, in the end, both versions tell the story of Tony’s rise and fall. The original remains one of the gangster genre’s most influential films and was added to the National Film Registry in 1994.

4

On The Waterfront (1954)

Marlon Brando’s Pre-Godfather Masterpiece

Marlon Brando appeared in one of the greatest gangster movies ever with the first Godfather. However, that wasn’t Brando’s first gangster movie. In 1954, Brando starred as Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront, a film by Elia Kazan that remains one of the best movies of all time, regardless of genre. Terry is a former prizefighter who threw a fight for a mob boss and is now a union worker with a reputation as a disgraced former boxer. The plot focuses on union violence and corruption, and was a massive success.

What makes this better than other classic gangster movies is that it hits just as hard today as when it was released over 70 years ago. The script, acting, and direction still hold up. It was honored with 12 Oscar nominations, winning eight of them, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Brando, and Best Supporting Actress for Eva Marie Saint. It was also added to the National Film Registry in 1989 and was one of the first films to receive the honor.

3

Goodfellas (1990)

Martin Scorsese’s Gangster Masterpiece

Martin Scorsese made his name making crime dramas. From Mean Streets and Casino to Gangs of New York, The Departed, and The Irishman, he has made some true genre classics. However, his best gangster movie remains his 1990 release, Goodfellas. Based on a true story, Ray Liotta plays Henry Hill, a mafia worker who betrays his friends and turns informant. Add in Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, and this is a film that hits every note.

It helps that the author of the true-crime novel, Wiseguy, co-wrote the script, but Scorsese is a master filmmaker who turned in a brilliant film in its design, characters, and spiraling storyline. The movie earned six Oscar nominations, with Pesci winning Best Supporting Actor. Goodfellas was also added to the National Film Registry in 2000, just 10 short years after its release.

2

The Godfather Part II (1974)

A Tale Of Two Gangster Generations

Some people might consider The Godfather Part II the best gangster movie of all time and superior to its predecessor. There are good arguments for it, as the second movie has a tighter story, the addition of Robert De Niro as a young Vito Corleone, and a nice parallel storyline with Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone’s slow rise to corruption against what was his better judgment. However, this film wouldn’t exist without the first Godfather.

Regardless of which film a fan might prefer, both movies deserve their status at the top of any gangster movie ranking. This film earned 11 Oscar nominations, becoming the first sequel to ever win Best Picture. It also won Francis Ford Coppola Best Director and Robert De Niro Best Actor. The Godfather Part II entered the National Film Registry in 1993, and thanks to its showing the consequences of the first film, combined, the two Godfather movies might tell the best story in cinema history.

1

The Godfather (1972)

The Film That Mastered The Modern-Day Gangster Movie

While some fans might prefer The Godfather Part II, there is no doubt that The Godfather deserves all the credit it received. The first entry in the franchise sees Marlon Brando star as Vito Corleone, the head of the Corleone crime family. Al Pacino stars as his son, Michael, a war hero who comes home and finds himself sucked into the family business, and this is where his rise and eventual downfall begin.

The cast here was top-notch, with James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, Diane Keaton, and John Cazale all part of the ensemble. In the end, the film was nominated for 10 Oscar nominations, winning Best Picture, Best Actor for Brando, and Best Screenplay. It was also added to the National Film Registry in 1990 and remains the most influential gangster movie ever.