Road To Perdition
Gangster movies have brought some of the best pieces of cinema over the years with the likes of The Godfather and more recently Road to Perdition.
And after this genre being quiet for a couple of years it's back in all it's glory this week as Michael Mann tells the story of American hero John Dillinger, played by Johnny Depp, who robbed the banks believed to be responsible from the depression in the thirties.
It also good to see Depp back on the big screen after a lengthy absence, he hasn't been in a movie since Sweeney Todd at the beginning of 2008.
So to celebrate the release of the film here at FemaleFirst we take a look at some of the best gangster movies that have graced the big screen.
- Road to Perdition
Sam Mendes' Road to Perdition was the last gangster movie of any note that was released back in 2002, but with two Hollywood heavyweights in the form of Tom Hanks and Paul Newman it was always going to be a classy movie.
Despite the genre that this film falls into Road to Perdition is a very beautiful movie that contrasts the dark world that Michael Sullivan (Hanks) inhabits with his line of work with the emotional warmth that he has with Rooney (Newman) and with his son throughout the course of the film.
Mendes, who was hot off the heels of his American Beauty success, has made a true modern masterpiece a beautifully crafted and grown up movie that has a real epic quality about it.
Unfortunately for this film it was overlooked at the Oscars and is not always given the respect that it deserves in this genre.
With excellent performances from the cast, outstanding script and cinematography and strong messages of the consequences of violence and the relationship between father and son it remains a real gem in this genre.
- Pulp Fiction
Ok so Pulp Fiction may not be your traditional gangster movie but it brought Quentin Tarantio to prominence in 1994 Pulp Fiction took cinema by storm as it became the first indie picture to break the $100 million barrier.
The film interweaves three tales, told in a circular, fractured manner but it's directed and written in such a confident manner it just sweeps you along for the really great ride.
The film was the piece of originality that proved to be the springboard for Tarantino's career as many then went back to look at Reservoir Dogs.
Pulp Fiction is Tarantino's imagination on the big screen it's full of violence, laughter as well as vibrant colour.
While the film revitalised the career of John Travolta it's Samuel L.Jackson who is the heart of this movie, a character who comes out of the dark aspect of his 'career' and tries to understand the meaning of life. Truly brilliant!
- Godfather
You can't talk about gangster movies without looking at The Godfather, which was series of movies is widely recognised as some of cinema's most accomplished film making that not only defined the gangster movie genre but launched the career of one Al Pacino.
But The Godfather started life as a 1969 novel of the same name by Mario Puzo which made it onto The Guardian's poll of best book to film adaptations two years ago.
The Godfather tells an epic tale of Mafia life in America during the 1940s and 1950s. Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) is the family patriarch balancing a love of his family with an ambitious criminal instinct.
The journey of the youngest son Michael (Pacino) is the most interesting in the series follows Michael's inner struggle to avoid his family's 'business' to him becoming a ruthless leader once he obtained power in Part II.
The Godfather received Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay, and has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
- Goodfellas
In 1990 Martin Scorsese once gain teamed up with Robert De Niro to produce a classic in the gangster genre in the form of Goodfellas.
Based on Nicholas Pileggi's book Wiseguy the movie Goodfellas is a wry, violent, and exhilarating film about the life of Henry Hill, an aspiring criminal who ends up in the FBI's witness protection program after testifying against his former partners.
Goodfellas really is a tour de force from filmmaker Scorsese as he beautifully contrasts the seductive glamour of crime with the dark and dangerous side of that lifestyle.
It's a gripping masterpiece that delivers on both action ad great performances from De Niro and Ray Liotta, once again showing the brilliance of Scorsese when he is on top form.
Other classics in the gangster genre include Scarface, Mean Streets and how can we overlook Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Public Enemies is out now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw