Gangster movies are always popular with viewers. Such films are always interesting for their storylines, unusual denouement and a large number of stellar actors. There are a large number of films about the mafia, but it is worth stopping at not the most banal.
«Casino»
In the early 90s, after the great success of The Goodfellas, Martin Scorsese made two more films – a remake of the thriller Cape Fear and the historical melodrama The Age of Innocence. Both received rave reviews from audiences and critics, but they wanted to see the director’s new film in the gangster genre. For Casino, Scorsese reassembled the old team:
- screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi;
- duo of Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci.
If Goodfellas told the story of the success of a young gangster, then Casino was a story about gambling in Las Vegas and drama between friends. The film differed from its predecessor in pace – «Casino» was longer. But Scorsese’s style has been preserved in its original form: dynamic editing, branded showdowns, and bright acting are in place.
«Donnie Brasco»
In the decades since Prohibition, US law enforcement has tried to fight the mafia in a variety of ways. One of the possible ways – the introduction of undercover agents – was particularly risky, but could work in some of the cases. It is this method that is dedicated to «Donnie Brasco», based on real events.
«Road to Perdition»
In 2002, one of the most unusual and beautiful gangster films in history, Road to Perdition, was released. Director Sam Mendes, who shot American Beauty, decided to move away from the canons of the genre and combined the story of revenge, a road movie and a philosophical parable in one film.
«Road to Perdition» takes a familiar setting as its basis, but turns the concept inside out. The story is told from the perspective of a son who spends three weeks on the road with his father. Most of the plot is devoted to their relationship, and only then – the war with gangsters.
«The Departed»
In the new millennium, gangster cinema has undergone some changes: even the directors of the old school understood that the audience was tired of the classic techniques. Now films about the mafia were supposed to cling to others, but with what exactly – each director decided for himself.
Martin Scorsese decided that a gangster movie would be more interesting if combined with a spy thriller. But the cards are revealed to the audience from the very beginning, and the characters do not know who is who. In this case, the stellar cast helped – Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson.
“American Gangster”
Following Scorsese, Ridley Scott also contributed to the development of the gangster genre. Over the decades of work, the director has been called a master of any genre, and «American Gangster» is another proof of this.
The parallel storyline of the two main characters is the main advantage of «American Gangster». Years pass in two and a half hours (or three in the director’s cut), and the confrontation between Frank and Richie is very interesting to follow. Each of the characters is very ambiguous, and therefore it is not clear who is worth rooting for in this story.
«Irishman»
«Irishman» is the last film of its era and a farewell letter to gangster cinema, after which, perhaps, it is almost pointless to shoot anything on this topic. In many respects, The Irishman can be considered the most important event in the cinema of recent years, but the film is not at all valuable for its own costs and not even the cast. Martin Scorsese filmed, perhaps, the most valuable and interesting statement in gangster cinema – something that no one but him could have filmed before.
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