Criteria: These Greatest 'Gangster Movies' were chosen for their storyline, acting, direction, popularity and box office success. These films were NOT chosen for how highly rated they are overall, but how they rate in the subject of "Gangster Movies".
Edited By: Lew
Last Updated: 2024-12-05
https://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/movi ... ngster.php
Title - (Year, Primary Director) (Staring Actors)
1. The Godfather - (1972, Francis Ford Coppola) (Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall)
2. The Godfather Part II - (1974, Francis Ford Coppola) (Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton)
3. Goodfellas - (1990, Martin Scorsese) (Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Paul Sorvino)
4. White Heat - (1949, Raoul Walsh) (James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O'Brien)
5. Once Upon A Time In America - (1984, Sergio Leone) (Robert De Niro, James Woods, Joe Pesci)
6. Scarface - (1983, Brian De Palma) (Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert Loggia)
7. Pulp Fiction - (1994, Quentin Tarantino) (John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson)
8. The Public Enemy - (1931, William A. Wellman) (James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Joan Blondell)
9. Little Caesar - (1930, Mervyn LeRoy) (Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.)
10. Scarface: The Shame of the Nation - (1932, Howard Hawks) (Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, George Raft)
11. On the Waterfront - (1954, Elia Kazan) (Marlon Brando, Carl Malden, Rod Steiger)
12. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse - (1933, Fritz Lang) (Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Paul Bernd)
13. Chinatown - (1974, Roman Polanski) (Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston)
14. The Roaring Twenties - (1939, Raoul Walsh) (James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Priscilla Lane)
15. Reservoir Dogs - (1992, Quentin Tarantino) (Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Steve Buscemi)
16. Casino - (1995, Martin Scorsese) (Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci)
17. Bonnie and Clyde - (1967, Arthur Penn) (Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman)
18. Angels with Dirty Faces - (1938, Michael Curtiz) (James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan)
19. City of God - (2002, Fernando Meirelles) (Jonathan Haagensen, Alexandre Rodrigues)
20. Rififi - (1955, Jules Dassin) (Jean Servais, Carl Möhner, Robert Manuel, Janine Darcey)
21. The Big Heat - (1953, Fritz Lang) (Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Lee Marvin)
22. Night And The City - (1950, Jules Dassin) (Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney, Googie Withers)
23. Key Largo - (1948, John Huston) (Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Edward G. Robinson)
24. Carlito's Way - (1993, Brian De Palma) (Al Pacino, Sean Penn, John Leguizamo)
25. Gangs Of New York - (2002, Martin Scorsese) (Daniel Day Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio)
26. À bout de souffle (aka: Breathless) - (1960, Jean-Luc Godard) (Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg)
27. High Sierra - (1941, Raoul Walsh) (Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino, Cornel Wilde)
28. The Departed - (2006, Martin Scorsese) (Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson)
29. The Petrified Forest - (1936, Archie Mayo) (Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart)
30. The Killing - (1956, Stanley Kubrick) (Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Vince Edwards)
31. Le Samouraï - (1967, Jean-Pierre Melville) (Alain Delon, Nathalie Delon, François Périer)
32. Miller's Crossing - (1990, Joel Coen) (Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, John Turturro)
33. Dead End - (1937, William Wyler) (Humphrey Bogart, Sylvia Sidney, Claire Trevor)
34. City Streets - (1931, Rouben Mamoulian) (Gary Cooper, Sylvia Sidney, Paul Lukas)
35. The Irishman - (2019, Martin Scorsese) (Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci)
36. Salvatore Giuliano - (1962, Francesco Rosi) (Salvo Randone, Frank Wolff)
37. Force of Evil - (1948, Abraham Polonsky) (John Garfield, Beatrice Pearson, Thomas Gomez)
38. Bad Company - (1931, Tay Garnett) (Helen Twelvetrees, Ricardo Cortez, Harry Carey)
39. The Untouchables - (1987, Brian De Palma) (Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro)
40. Mean Streets - (1973, Martin Scorsese) (Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, David Proval)
41. The Godfather: Part III - (1990, Francis Ford Coppola) (Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Andy Garcia)
42. G-Men - (1935, William Keighley) (James Cagney, Margaret Lindsay, Ann Dvorak)
43. Boyz N the Hood - (1991, John Singleton) (Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube, Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne)
44. Bugsy - (1991, Barry Levinson) (Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Harvey Keitel)
45. Afraid To Talk - (1932, Edward L. Cahn) (Sidney Fox, George Meeker, Edward Arnold)
46. Pépé le Moko - (1937, Julien Duvivier) (Jean Gabin, Mireille Balin, Line Noro)
47. Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler (Parts I and II) - (1922-1923, Fritz Lang) (Rudolf Klein-Rogge, G. Welcker)
48. Manhattan Melodrama - (1934, W.S. Van Dyke) (Clark Gable, William Powell, Myrna Loy)
49. Brighton Rock - (1947, John Boulting) (Richard Attenborough, Carol Marsh, Hermione Baddeley)
50. This Gun for Hire - (1942, Frank Tuttle) (Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Robert Preston)
51. Point Blank - (1967, John Boorman) (Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, Carroll O'Connor)
52. Get Carter - (1971, Mike Hodges) (Michael Caine, Britt Ekland, John Osborne)
53. They Live By Night - (1948, Nicholas Ray) (Cathy O'Donnell, Farley Granger)
54. The Racket - (1928, Lewis Milestone) (Louis Wolheim, Thomas Meighan, Marie Prevost)
55. Sonatine - (1993, Takeshi Kitano) (Takeshi Kitano, Aya Kokumai, Tetsu Watanabe)
56. The Asphalt Jungle - (1950, John Huston) (Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Marilyn Monroe)
57. The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse - (1938, Anatole Litvak) (Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart)
58. Each Dawn I Die - (1938, William Keighley) (James Cagney, George Raft, Jane Bryan)
59. Bullets or Ballots - (1936, William Keighley) (Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart)
60. The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse - (1960, Fritz Lang) (Wolfgang Preiss, Dawn Addams)
61. They Drive By Night - (1940, Raoul Walsh) (Humphrey Bogart, George Raft, Ann Sheridan)
62. Gun Crazy (aka: Deadly Is The Female) - (1950, Joseph H. Lewis) (Peggy Cummins, John Dall)
63. A Bronx Tale - (1993, Robert De Niro) (Chazz Palminteri, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci)
64. The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond - (1960, Budd Boetticher) (Ray Danton, Karen Steele)
65. I Walk Alone - (1948, Byron Haskin) (Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Lizabeth Scott)
66. King of New York - (1990, Abel Ferrara) (Christopher Walken, David Caruso, Laurence Fishburne)
67. Gloria - (1980, John Cassavetes) (Gena Rowlands, Buck Henry, John Adames)
68. American Gangster - (2007, Ridley Scott) (Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe)
69. The Musketeers of Pig Alley - (1912, D.W. Griffith) (Elmer Booth, Lillian Gish, Alfred Paget)
70. The Lights of New York - (1928, Charles Brabin) (Clarence Nordstrom, Margaret Seddon)
71. T-Men - (1947, Anthony Mann) (Dennis O'Keefe, Mary Meade, Alfred Ryder)
72. Invisible Stripes - (1939, Lloyd Bacon) (George Raft, William Holden, Humphrey Bogart)
73. You Only Live Once - (1937, Fritz Lang) (Henry Fonda, Sylvia Sidney)
74. The Long Good Friday - (1980, John Mackenzie) (Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan)
75. Mou gaan dou (aka: Infernal Affairs) - (2002, Wai-keung Lau) (Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Andy Lau)
76. The Getaway - (1972, Sam Peckinpah) (Steve McQueen, Ali MacGraw, Ben Johnson)
77. Ying hung boon sik (aka; A Better Tomorrow) - (1986, John Woo) (Lung Ti, Leslie Cheung)
78. Menace II Society - (1993, Albert Hughes) (Tyrin Turner, Jada Pinkett Smith, Samuel L. Jackson)
79. Dillinger - (1973, John Milius) (Warren Oates, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman)
80. Marked Woman - (1937, Lloyd Bacon) (Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Eduardo Ciannelli)
81. Xich lo (aka: Cyclo) - (1995, Anh Hung Tran) (Le Van Loc, Tony Leung Chiu Wai)
82. Underworld U.S.A. - (1961, Samuel Fuller) (Cliff Robertson, Richard Rust)
83. Al Capone - (1959, Richard Wilson) (Rod Steiger, Fay Spain, Nehemiah Persoff)
84. The Brotherhood - (1968, Martin Ritt) (Kirk Douglas, Alex Cord, Irene Papas)
85. The Outfit - (Graham Moore, 2022) (Mark Rylance, Zoey Deutch, Steve Chatfield, Johnathan McClain)
86. Il Giorno della civetta (aka: Mafia) - (1968, Damiano Damiani) (Claudia Cardinale, Franco Nero)
87. Koroshi no rakuin (aka: Branded to Kill) - (1967, Seijun Suzuki) (Jo Shishido, Mariko Ogawa)
88. Dillinger - (1945, Max Nosseck) (Lawrence Tierney, Anne Jeffreys, Edmund Lowe)
89. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre - (1967, Roger Corman) (Jason Robards, George Segal)
90. They Made Me a Fugitive - (1947, Alberto Cavalcanti) (Trevor Howard, Sally Gray)
91. Hoodlum - (1997, Bill Duke) (Laurence Fishburne, Andy Garcia, Tim Roth)
92. Lady Killer - (1933, Roy Del Ruth) (James Cagney, Mae Clarke, Margaret Lindsay)
93. Der Amerikanische Freund (aka: The American Friend) - (1977, W. Wenders) (Dennis Hopper)
94. Bullets Over Broadway - (1994, Woody Allen) (John Cusack, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Tilly)
95. The Little Giant - (1933, Roy Del Ruth) (Edward G. Robinson, Mary Astor)
96. Charley Varrick - (1973, Don Siegel) (Walter Matthau, Joe Don Baker)
97. Black Caesar - (1973, Larry Cohen) (Fred Williamson, Gloria Hendry)
98. Baby Face Nelson - (1957, Don Siegel) (Mickey Rooney, Carolyn Jones, Cedric Hardwicke)
99. Machine-Gun Kelly - (1958, Roger Corman) (Charles Bronson, Susan Cabot)
100. Dillinger and Capone - (1995, Jon Purdy) (Martin Sheen, F. Murray Abraham, Don Stroud)
Greatest Gangster Movies
Re: Greatest Gangster Movies
I just added:
85. The Outfit
If you know of any other Gangster Movies, let me know.
85. The Outfit
If you know of any other Gangster Movies, let me know.
Re: Greatest Gangster Movies
I'm biased, as it's one of my favorite movies, but how about The Penalty (1920)? It's sometimes considered Lon Chaney's breakout film.
Also, if A Better Tomorrow (1986) made the list, how about The Killer (1989) (another favorite of mine) or even Hard Boiled (1992)? Yes, they're primarily heroic bloodshed actioners, but numerous characters are gangsters in both.
Road to Perdition (2002) (yet another favorite of mine) seems to have been overlooked.
Would M (1931) be eligible for this list? It's predominately a serial killer thriller, but it still prominently features the criminal underworld, as the mobsters of the city scramble to catch Peter Lorre before law enforcement can. It's one of the films in the book The Ultimate Book of Gangster Movies (the aforementioned The Killer and Road to Perdition are as well).
Leon: The Professional (1994) might qualify.
Across 110th Street (1972) could be another candidate.
Touch of Evil (1958) is sometimes considered a gangster film.
Would All Through the Night (1942) and This Day and Age (1933) have what it takes?
Anyway, good list so far. There are many films on it that I enjoy considerably. Seeing masterpieces like Dillinger (1973), The Untouchables (1987), and White Heat (1949) on the list make me a happy camper, so to speak.
Also, if A Better Tomorrow (1986) made the list, how about The Killer (1989) (another favorite of mine) or even Hard Boiled (1992)? Yes, they're primarily heroic bloodshed actioners, but numerous characters are gangsters in both.
Road to Perdition (2002) (yet another favorite of mine) seems to have been overlooked.
Would M (1931) be eligible for this list? It's predominately a serial killer thriller, but it still prominently features the criminal underworld, as the mobsters of the city scramble to catch Peter Lorre before law enforcement can. It's one of the films in the book The Ultimate Book of Gangster Movies (the aforementioned The Killer and Road to Perdition are as well).
Leon: The Professional (1994) might qualify.
Across 110th Street (1972) could be another candidate.
Touch of Evil (1958) is sometimes considered a gangster film.
Would All Through the Night (1942) and This Day and Age (1933) have what it takes?
Anyway, good list so far. There are many films on it that I enjoy considerably. Seeing masterpieces like Dillinger (1973), The Untouchables (1987), and White Heat (1949) on the list make me a happy camper, so to speak.