The film industry has billions of people to entertain every year. That said, it is categorically impossible for one style or genre of film to appeal to all. Over the years, the number of genres and subgenres continues to increase as the film industry finds new niche markets for specific types of films. From the ever-popular drama to the very specific tech-noir subgenre. One of the most common genres that has been around since the mid-20th Century is the mobster genre of film that revolves around crime and the criminal underworld.
From films like Goodfellas to Black Mass, both of which are loosely based on true stories, the number of gangster movies available is staggering. Getting a film about organized crime and the criminal underworld right is quite tricky, considering that the criminal underworld is something that is neither seen nor heard unless someone dies or snitches. Filmmakers have spent decades attempting to perfect the genre and getting the most accurate depiction of the underworld possible. These are the best criminal underworlds in movies, ranked.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
8 Mean Streets
Warner Bros.
Set in New York’s Little Italy, Mean Streets revolves around Johnny Boy, a small-time criminal with big-time debts. Johnny Boy seeks the help of a long-time friend to help him pay off his debts. The film was praised for its gritty yet accurate portrayal of street-life in New York and the struggle of small-time criminals to just make it by. Film critic Roger Ebert inducted the film onto his Great Movies list, saying that its approach to the criminal underworld as a source for many modern interpretations of street-life was unparalleled. Directed by Martin Scorsese, Mean Streets was subject to universal acclaim and was eventually selected for preservation by the Library of Congress.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
7 Eastern Promises
Focus Features
Eastern Promises tells the story of Anna, a midwife responsible for delivering the baby of a 14-year-old Russian sex trafficking victim. When the young girl dies in childbirth, the leader of the Russian gangsters threatens the child. Anna crosses paths with Nikolai, whose ties help her to take down the Russian mob. This David Cronenberg film is a hidden gem in the gangster genre. Eastern Promises was praised for its treatment of the subject of sex trafficking as well as the realistic portrayal of Russian mafia tattoos and the meanings behind them. The film won several awards, including the Audience Prize for Best Film at the TIFF, and earned Viggo Mortensen an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
6 The Batman
In this dark and gritty version of Gotham, crime is rampant and abundant, a place where no one is safe. The Batman revolves around Bruce Wayne as he attempts to track down the Riddler, whose gruesome methods of killing prove to be an inspiration to many of the small-time criminals of Gotham, earning him a group of lethal followers who are blindly loyal. A departure from many of the past representations, the criminal underworld portrayed in The Batman is not only horrific and uncensored, but has been stated to be the darkest portrayal of Gotham ever to be seen on the silver screen.
5 American Gangster
Imagine Entertainment
In 1970s Harlem, drug dealer Frank Lucas climbs the ladder, gaining status above that of the Mafia families nearby by smuggling heroin into the U.S. in coffins of American Vietnam War veterans. While Lucas continues to talk tall, earning the title of ’the most dangerous man on the streets’, local cop Richie Roberts works to take Lucas down for his crimes. American Gangster stars Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe and is a fictionalized account of the real-life Frank Lucas. The film was nominated for a total of 21 awards, including two Oscar nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Supporting Actress.
4 Scarface
Universal Pictures
One of the most violent portrayals of the criminal underworld is Brian De Palma’s Scarface. Starring the legendary Al Pacino, Scarface tells the story of Tony Montana, a Cuban immigrant who seeks to make it big in Miami. Tony has no problem taking out the competition by any means necessary, which earns him the status as the biggest drug lord in Florida. Tony builds a life for himself getting everything he ever dreamed of, but increasing pressure from the police, as well as Tony’s personal paranoia, cause problems in his business and lead to his eventual downfall. While Scarface has been negatively reviewed in the past for its excessive profanity and violence, the film has been deemed one of the greatest gangster movies of all time, earning itself status as a cult classic and becoming commonly referenced in the hip hop world.
3 Snatch
Sony Pictures Releasing
The most unusual and underrated film on this list is Guy Ritchie’s highly stylized film Snatch. With a killer cast including Jason Statham, Brad Pitt, and Benicio del Toro, Snatch tells the story of illegal boxing promoter Turkish, who takes on Mickey as his new boxer in the ring under the ruthless Bricktop, while other gangsters and thieves squabble over a stolen diamond. Snatch dives deep into the criminal underworld, unafraid to expose some dark truths. One of the most chilling scenes is Bricktop’s monologue about how to get rid of a dead body by feeding it to pigs, including graphic details about making sure no trace is left behind.
2 John Wick
Lionsgate
One of the most recent installments is the John Wick franchise. When John Wick (Keanu Reeves) loses his wife Helen, he is attacked by Russian mobsters who steal his car and kill his puppy, both of which were gifts from his wife. After this, John sets out on a mission to get revenge on those who took what little he had left. John Wick sees every aspect of the criminal underworld that is hidden under what is referred to as The High Table. The film shows an organized underworld that includes the chain of “Continental” hotels that act as a sort of safehouse while people are conducting business. John Wick’s unique look at the underworld shows it as a completely different world that no one would even notice, making it one of the more realistic and modern depictions of the criminal underworld.
1 The Godfather
Paramount Pictures
A classic that popularized the “mobster” genre of films is The Godfather. Revolving around the Corleone family, The Godfather follows the family over the course of ten years when the patriarch and head of the family, Vito, is seriously wounded, and after a series of catastrophes, his youngest son, Michael is forced to take over from his father, despite wanting nothing to do with the family. Considered one of the greatest films of all time, The Godfather has been subject to universal acclaim for the performances from the A-list cast, the writing from Mario Puzo, and special attention given to Francis Ford Coppola for his directing. The film spawned two sequels and has been preserved in the U.S. National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.
