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Posted (edited)

I looked and couldn't find a thread on this. If there is one, ban me and delete my account, I guess. 

Anyway, I just watched The Departed for like the 15th time the other day and thought about this. Not just the mafia, but any gangster movie. There are tons. Here are my top 5:

1) The Godfather II

2) The Departed

3) The Godfather

4) The Untouchables

5) Snatch

Thought about Boyz N the Hood and Road To Perdition in there too. Good Fellas and at least Scarface could be "closetojumping is a dipshit" omissions, I guess. 

Also, Pulp Fiction isn't a gangster movie. 

Edited by closetojumping
I never even liked Boyz II Men. WTF?
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Posted

The Underworld Podcast guys produce great content, but they love Gangster Squad. I just can’t. I guess international audiences responded better to it. 
 

Off the top of my head, in no particular order:

Goodfellas

Casino

The Godfather 

Godfather II

Mean Streets

The Departed had so much potential and should be on this list. Allegedly Nicholson and Scorsese had different ideas, and I think it hurt the film. For instance, Jack insisted on the dildo scene.

I like the Sexy Beast shoutout. It’s a gangster and a heist movie which is pretty great.

Once Upon a Time in America is just too long, but it works better if you break it up. Rinse and repeat for The Irishman. 

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Posted
  On 2/3/2025 at 10:16 PM, closetojumping said:

I looked and couldn't find a thread on this. If there is one, ban me and delete my account, I guess. 

Anyway, I just watched The Departed for like the 15th time the other day and thought about this. Not just the mafia, but any gangster movie. There are tons. Here are my top 5:

1) The Godfather II

2) The Departed

3) The Godfather

4) The Untouchables

5) Snatch

Thought about Boyz II Men and Road To Perdition in there too. Good Fellas and at least Scarface could be "closetojumping is a dipshit" omissions, I guess. 

Also, Pulp Fiction isn't a gangster movie. 

Expand  

If leaving Goodfellas off the list doesn't make you a dipshit then Boyz II Men as an honorable mention certainly does.

Or you may be the whitest man on earth.

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Posted
  On 2/4/2025 at 12:30 AM, billfromlaketravis said:

Once Upon a Time in America is just too long, but it works better if you break it up. Rinse and repeat for The Irishman. 

Expand  

I watched Once Upon a Time in America for the first time about a year or two ago and loved it.  I did have to break it up and watch over the course of two or three sittings, but I really enjoyed it.  I also thought The Irishman got unfairly shat upon when it was originally released and I think that looking back, people have started to appreciate it more.

The Godfather (part 1 and part 2) and Goodfellas have to be on here.  I liked Casino a lot too, but felt like the third act was too reliant upon Sharon Stone's character who was a complete drag.  I'm also a big fan of The Departed, though I understand some of the criticism as well.  I watched it for the first time in 4-5 years a couple of months ago and absolutely loved it.  Miller's Crossing and Road to Perdition are both fantastic.

Posted
  On 2/4/2025 at 12:47 AM, BigOrange1 said:

I watched Once Upon a Time in America for the first time about a year or two ago and loved it.  I did have to break it up and watch over the course of two or three sittings, but I really enjoyed it.  I also thought The Irishman got unfairly shat upon when it was originally released and I think that looking back, people have started to appreciate it more.

The Godfather (part 1 and part 2) and Goodfellas have to be on here.  I liked Casino a lot too, but felt like the third act was too reliant upon Sharon Stone's character who was a complete drag.  I'm also a big fan of The Departed, though I understand some of the criticism as well.  I watched it for the first time in 4-5 years a couple of months ago and absolutely loved it.  Miller's Crossing and Road to Perdition are both fantastic.

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I forgot about Miller’s Crossjng. For sure in my top 10, probably in my top 6. 

Posted
  On 2/4/2025 at 12:30 AM, billfromlaketravis said:

The Departed had so much potential and should be on this list. Allegedly Nicholson and Scorsese had different ideas, and I think it hurt the film. For instance, Jack insisted on the dildo scene.

Expand  

mark-wahlburg-the-departed.gif

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Posted
  On 2/3/2025 at 10:28 PM, trubbaman said:

The Long Good Friday

Expand  

One of my all time favorite closing scenes.  
 

  On 2/3/2025 at 10:35 PM, The Original Greaser Bob said:

A Prophet

Expand  

Showed this to my girlfriend (now wife) when she suggested we watch to “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” so she would know what she was signing up for.  
 

I think I liked all of your recs more than Goodfellas.  

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Posted (edited)

Apples to oranges.

Goodfellas for the low level machinations of the Mafia.

Godfather series for the high level origins which led to what we had with the five families.

Somos for the reality of cartel ruthlessness, and it's total control over every aspect of their territories. It's a limited series, but God damn it hits on every note 

Departed is Hollywood schlock.

My Bue Heaven.

Edited by MissingInAction
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Posted
  On 2/3/2025 at 11:22 PM, Reynolds Woodcock said:

1. Goodfellas

2. Once Upon a Time in America

3. On The Waterfront

4. Sexy Beast

5. City of God

The Godfather insists upon itself

 

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I wouldn't have thought of City of God on my own, but I wholeheartedly endorse its inclusion as a top 5 gangster movie.  Great call.

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Posted

Maybe these are just bank robber movies, but they should never be overlooked:

  • Bonnie and Clyde
  • Dillinger (Warren Oates) (such a cast)
  • The Outfit (Robert Duval)
  • Charlie Varrick
  • Scarface

They're elite. 

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Posted
  On 2/3/2025 at 10:16 PM, closetojumping said:

I looked and couldn't find a thread on this. If there is one, ban me and delete my account, I guess. 

Anyway, I just watched The Departed for like the 15th time the other day and thought about this. Not just the mafia, but any gangster movie. There are tons. Here are my top 5:

1) The Godfather II

2) The Departed

3) The Godfather

4) The Untouchables

5) Snatch

Thought about Boyz II Men and Road To Perdition in there too. Good Fellas and at least Scarface could be "closetojumping is a dipshit" omissions, I guess. 

Also, Pulp Fiction isn't a gangster movie. 

Expand  

This might be the whitest post in the history of the site. It’s “Boyz n the Hood”.

Holy living fuck at omitting Goodfellas. The Godfather is romanticized trash that portrays a sense of honor and order in the mafia that had no basis in reality. Goodfellas was the real deal.

1) Goodfellas

2) Blood In, Blood Out

3) Menace 2 Society

4) Boyz n the Hood

5) Scarface

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Posted

Any top 5 list of gangster movies that does not include Goodfellas, The Godfather, and The Godfather II is objectively wrong.

Surprised that Donnie Brasco and Eastern Promises have not at least been mentioned yet.

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Posted
  On 2/4/2025 at 3:11 AM, MissingInAction said:

Godfather series for the high level origins which led to what we had with the five families.

 

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Don’t get me wrong because obviously the godfathers are a couple of the greatest all time films, but apart from sorta kinda the deniro bit of II they have nothing to do with the actual mafia. They were never any more honorable than Clemenza.

Posted

LA Confidential  not getting enough love. Its up there with the best. 

When you say Gangster movies I think OG. 

White Heat 

Kansas City Confidential 

High Sierra

Key Largo

Some Like it Hot

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Posted
  On 2/4/2025 at 3:31 AM, Buzzrock said:

The Departed gets better every time I watch it. It is very close to Goodfellas for me. 

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I agree that the Departed gets better upon rewatch(es).  Goodfellas still is the greatest, although I love Godfather (1&2).

Posted
  On 2/4/2025 at 4:04 AM, Helobious said:

This might be the whitest post in the history of the site. It’s “Boyz n the Hood”.

Holy living fuck at omitting Goodfellas. The Godfather is romanticized trash that portrays a sense of honor and order in the mafia that had no basis in reality. Goodfellas was the real deal.

1) Goodfellas

2) Blood In, Blood Out

3) Menace 2 Society

4) Boyz n the Hood

5) Scarface

Expand  

I had the idea, did a quick search and then typed something out in 2 minutes before a call. Obviously I meant Boyz N the Hood. 

Posted

Donnie Brasco, Carlito's Way, A Bronx Tale - these all to me fall into the category of fun mafia movies that have really great mob movie scenes but also aren't actually great movies. "Now youse can't leave" "fuhgeddaboutit". I think Donnie Brasco is probably the best out of these and Lefty (and Pacino's portrayal of him) is a great mob character. He may be the best combination of.... he's not much more than a piece of shit thief scumbag and yet you can empathize with his plight, living the consequence of a lifetime of being a piece of shit. It's also interesting how much of the plot is relatable to corporate drones - he's got some ambition to be more than essentially a low level manager and it's never going to happen for him, and then he's getting batted around in a power struggle at the higher levels, his golden boy protege is ripped from him, it all blows up and they're going to chuck him out with the trash.

 

I'm coming back around on Donnie Brasco being a good movie. It suffers from being very late 90s.

I haven't watched The Untouchables in maybe 8 years or so but I remember thinking it was not nearly as good as I remembered it. It may also be just suffering from seeming very of its time.

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