Gangster/Action Movies

[Magón]

So recently I've gotten into the mood to watch some gangster/action movies, and have been making a list of movies I want to get over the weekend. Movies that have actors such as Jason Statham, and others like him in them, so I'm not looking for deep, have to think, gangster/action movies, just those gangster/action movies that are just fun that you can burn an hour and a half watching.

Already on my list are:

The Transporter Trilogy
Crank (1 & 2)
The Bank Job
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
44 Inch Chest
Gangster No. 1
Pusher Trilogy
Boondock Saints (1 & 2)

[Column No.4]

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Snatch
Rock 'n Rolla
Layer Cake
Get Carter (1971)
The Krays
The Long Good Friday

[ВАЛТЕР]

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Snatch
Rock 'n Rolla
Layer Cake
Get Carter (1971)

I second both layer Cake and Snatch. I also suggest lucky number slevin. Its a neat flick.

[o well this is ok I guess]

Gomorra
I mean, it is of the latter category, but it's still funny as hell to watch.

[Invader Zim]

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Snatch
Rock 'n Rolla
Layer Cake
Get Carter (1971)
The Krays
The Long Good Friday


He said he didn't want to think, so why add Get Carter or the Long Good Friday?

[Column No.4]

He said he didn't want to think, so why add Get Carter or the Long Good Friday?

I better remove Layer Cake as well then.

[Invader Zim]

I better remove Layer Cake as well then.

That is more borderline.

[A Revolutionary Tool]

How about Scarface. It's not too deep I think and it's a pretty good movie.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Lets see....

Faster was a decent action movie in my opinion.

[Magón]

I better remove Layer Cake as well then.

I've seen the trailer for Layer Cake, and parts of it. Doesn't seem too thought provoking.


How about Scarface. It's not too deep I think and it's a pretty good movie.

:lol: I knew someone would point Scarface out.

[the Left™]

Cant believe no one mentioned American Gangster, its really awesome.

The best is that is shows the role reversal of the police officer who one would assume has his act together, and a well to do drug kingpin who puts family and tradition before all else

[#FF0000]

The Town is a really fun movie about guys who are bank robbers by trade.

The Departed is also really, really excellent.

I really want to suggest Miller's Crossing but it's not exactly an action movie :mellow:

[Jimmie Higgins]

Most of these aren't action movies - I like more the thriller/pulp gangster movies. "Goodfellas" is just the best gangster movie of all time IMO.

People hate Guy Ritchie, but I really enjoyed his gangster movies. I tend to like the Brit-gangster genre though. Yeah, the movies are stylish pulp, but that's good some times.

"Infernal Affairs" is good and "Departed" is ok (Marky-Mark is great in that), but I kinda don't see the point in any non-Goodfellas Scorsese gang flicks (though a few of them are damn good). I also like "gangs of New York" just for Daniel Day Lewis' over the top xenophobic mob-boss performance.

Scarface is iconic - both the original and the Al Pacino one. If you watch "The Wire" and know the original Scarface... is Omar's bad-ass whistling as he's coming to rob someone a homage to the Howard Hawks movie?

In Bruges

Tarantino: Res. Dogs - True Romance - Pulp Fiction - Jackie Brown

The Harder they Come - great song and movie

The Usual Suspects is a thriller with some excellent action sequences.

City of God - fantastic Brazilian slum tale

Bonnie and Clyde - one of my favorites

Menace II Society - not sure how well this movie holds up

State of Grace - ditto on this one. I liked these last two movies when I was in high school.

-------

Now, if anyone's feeling adventurous, fix your head and see this gangster movie, "Performance":

cbyrm9q_bvM
wFxfn3LakeM

No, it's not a musical.

[Black_Flag]

Quite liked Public Enemies. Just back from seeing Kill the Irishman, a film based on the true story of mob boss Danny Greene. Was pretty decent despite Vinnie Jones' awful Irish accent :lol:

[Invader Zim]

How about Scarface. It's not too deep I think and it's a pretty good movie.


Its too long and Carlito's Way is a far better movie.

[Column No.4]

How about Scarface. It's not too deep I think and it's a pretty good movie.

Shame on you for suggesting that.

[Column No.4]

I've seen the trailer for Layer Cake, and parts of it. Doesn't seem too thought provoking.

You have to see the movie, its not as simple as it looks.

[RED DAVE]

Two of my favorite quotes from "Scarface."


Tony Montana: You know what capitalism is? Getting fucked!
Tony Montana: What you lookin' at? You all a bunch of fuckin' assholes. You know why? You don't have the guts to be what you wanna be? You need people like me. You need people like me so you can point your fuckin' fingers and say, "that's the bad guy." so... What that make you? Good? You're not good. You just know how to hide, how to lie. Me, i don't have that problem. Me, i always tell the truth. Even when i lie. So say good night to the bad guy! Come on. The last time you gonna see a bad guy like this again, let me tell you. Come on. Make way for the bad guy. There's a bad guy comin' through! Better get outta his way!RED DAVE

[Column No.4]

Two of my favorite quotes from "Scarface."

RED DAVE

As if i needed to be reminded of that grotesque film and Pacinos atrocious "Cuban" accent.

[Jimmie Higgins]

As if i needed to be reminded of that grotesque film and Pacinos atrocious "Cuban" accent.It's the blood-soaked American Dream laid bare, that's what I love about the genre. "Scarface" is great IMO because it's such a faithful update of the 1930s films - obviously the Howard Hawks one. It's melodramatic, over-the-top, and Pacino eats scenery for breakfast lunch and dinner.

If you're offended by the cuban accent, no one actually thinks cubans talk like that... they just think Scarface does.

Anyway I love that the genre rips open the American Dream and shows what it would really take to achieve the myths we have sold to us all the time: "Boyz in the Hood" is "Stand By Me" for working-poor Americans who never get an "idealized childhood"; "Scarface" is "Horatio Alger"; "Goodfellas" and "Sopranos" are the American Suburban dream. The myth told to immigrants, to workers is that if you do good, good things will happen - the gangster genre in the US is the shadow version that says, if you want those good things, it'll mean taking them and not letting anyone get in your way. Of course the genre always has a moralist ending (in fact were required to in the post-code 1930s) but that's not why the genre is popular.

[Column No.4]

It's the blood-soaked American Dream laid bare, that's what I love about the genre. "Scarface" is great IMO because it's such a faithful update of the 1930s films - obviously the Howard Hawks one. It's melodramatic, over-the-top, and Pacino eats scenery for breakfast lunch and dinner.

If you're offended by the cuban accent, no one actually thinks cubans talk like that... they just think Scarface does.

Im not offended so much as infuriated at how one dimensional the film is. Its something a wannabe gangster teenager would come up with.

[S.Artesian]

Lots of great movies here, and to be a really good gangster movie, it has to make you think. so keep Layer Cake and the rest in.

Bonnie and Clyde is my all time number one "with a bullet" pardon the pun.

Other ones I like are:

Thief with James Caan
Goodfellas
Key Largo
The Way of the Gun
Nine Queens [Argentine original]
Insomnia [original, although the American remake isn't bad either]
48 Hours
Sexy Beast
Romper Stomper
Dog Day Afternoon [bit more than a gangster movie, though]
Heat [Ignore all the philosophy]

I could go on and on and on.... EDIT: Can't leave out The General

[Jimmie Higgins]

Im not offended so much as infuriated at how one dimensional the film is. Its something a wannbe gangster teenager would come up with.See the original - this remake hits all the same plot points: rise to power, shamed by his mother, wants to seduce an aloof WASP, the world is his, but his ambition is uncontrollable and is his downfall.

It's merely a modern movie in the classic genre style. The original has maybe a couple of layers of context - the immigrant "success" story - a world war vet subtext. And I wouldn't say that the new one is one dimensional at all - the plot elements are all old fashioned, but there's some interesting subtext there - even being so faithful in form to the 1930s movies says a lot.

I love how it's become such a hip hop cultural touchstone too. Racists and right-wingers argue that "black cultrue" glorifies violence and crime... yet most of the hip-hop gangster genre is a pastiche of elements from 1930s hollywood and pulp novels!

[S.Artesian]

One more to the list:

Once Upon a Time in America [long version, about 3.5 hours]

[brigadista]

set it off
le samurai
the long good friday
the harder they come

[Rooster]

For something slightly different try:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother_%282000_film%29


Shot in Los Angeles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles,_California), California (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California), Takeshi Kitano (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takeshi_Kitano) plays Yamamoto, a lone yakuza (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakuza) officer. Defeated in a war with a rival family, his boss killed, he heads to L.A.

As time passes, Yamamoto and his new gang emerge as a powerful force, gradually expanding their turf to an extent that they must confront the Mafia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafia). The Mafia's attacks are ruthless, and soon Yamamoto and his gang are driven into a disastrous situation of no return as they are hunted down one by one.


Quite a good film. Don't worry about it being in Japanese as I think half of it (more than half, if I recall) is in English.


And maybe this.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Untouchables_%28film%29

[Column No.4]

See the original - this remake hits all the same plot points: rise to power, shamed by his mother, wants to seduce an aloof WASP, the world is his, but his ambition is uncontrollable and is his downfall.

It's merely a modern movie in the classic genre style. The original has maybe a couple of layers of context - the immigrant "success" story - a world war vet subtext. And I wouldn't say that the new one is one dimensional at all - the plot elements are all old fashioned, but there's some interesting subtext there - even being so faithful in form to the 1930s movies says a lot.

I love how it's become such a hip hop cultural touchstone too. Racists and right-wingers argue that "black cultrue" glorifies violence and crime... yet most of the hip-hop gangster genre is a pastiche of elements from 1930s hollywood and pulp novels!

Thats why its become such a hip hip cultural touchstone, because its a guy coming from nothing and becoming something. I just never liked it because it was just like the hip hop culture, egotistical.

[Pirate Utopian]

I saw the original Scarface a few days, does anybody know any more of those 30s "yeah, see? yeah" gangster movies?

They're funny.

[Magón]

Lots of great movies here, and to be a really good gangster movie, it has to make you think.

I'm not looking for really good gangster movies, if I was, my list would have been a lot longer. I'm just interested in ones that are fun and I can kill an hour and a half watching, not some 3.5 hr long movie that has me wondering and thinking what's happening.

It's why I specifically mentioned Jason Statham.

[S.Artesian]

I'm not looking for really good gangster movies, if I was, my list would have been a lot longer. I'm just interested in ones that are fun and I can kill an hour and a half watching, not some 3.5 hr long movie that has me wondering and thinking what's happening.

It's why I specifically mentioned Jason Statham.


Suit yourself. Makes no difference to me. I'm just glad to see what movies others like, so I can add them to my list.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Running Scared (2006)

^The first thing I thought when I saw the previews was "man, an action film starring Paul Walker? This is probably gonna suck." I was very wrong. It is awesome, and very very stupid. But awesome none-the-less.

It takes place in the New York-New Jersey area, but it looks nothing like the actual area that it's supposed to take place in (because it was filmed in eastern Europe). There's loudmouth, ultra-stereotypical guido thugs, brutal Russian mobsters, the most stereotypical pimp you will EVER see in a movie, etc. Check it out, it comes highly recommended.

[Os Cangaceiros]

The Town is a really fun movie about guys who are bank robbers by trade.

The Departed is also really, really excellent.

I really want to suggest Miller's Crossing but it's not exactly an action movie :mellow:

I like how in Miller's Crossing the police dept. has no independent agency at all, and is always just controlled by whomever is the most powerful gangster.

[Pirate Utopian]

For some good blaxploitation gangster movies...

Check out Superfly, The Mack, Black Caesar, Hell Up in Harlem or The Harder They Come.

[Invader Zim]

One more to the list:

Once Upon a Time in America [long version, about 3.5 hours]


I never saw the point. If you're going to watch a Leone movie then surely it will be a western.

[Jimmie Higgins]

I saw the original Scarface a few days, does anybody know any more of those 30s "yeah, see? yeah" gangster movies?

They're funny.

The most famous ones are probably, "The Public Enemy" and "Angels with Dirty Faces" (Both with Jimmy Cagney), "Little Caesar" (Ed G. Robinson) and "The Petrified Forest" (Bogart). "Petrified Forest" and "Angels" are probably the better ones.

On a radical-history side-note, all three of these actors were accused of being communists and two of them were called to the HUAC. Edward Robinson named-names, Bogart initially opposed the hearings and was part of an ACLU-ish liberal group trying to oppose them, but he also tried to distance himself from any radical ties and also refused to come to the defense of the blacklisted writers. Ironically Cagney wasn't called to my knowledge even though he was probably a Communist Party fellow-traveler in the 1930s. He was an early screen-actors guild supporter and became the President of the guild and opposed the right-wing politics of the Studio bosses both in the workplace sense and socially. By the 1960s, like a lot of the sort of Socialist Party types and CP traveler-types from the 1930s (like Steinbeck and Upton Sinclair), he swung to the right and denounced all the "disorder" of the anti-war movement and the "immorality" of the hippies. Of course he was also friends with Regan. Boo.

Bogart seemed decidedly liberal and I don't know anything about Robinson's views. But I wonder if part of the accusations just stem from being kind of identified with working-class characters in films?

[S.Artesian]

I never saw the point. If you're going to watch a Leone movie then surely it will be a western.



But did you see the movie?

[Invader Zim]

But did you see the movie?


As it happens I own a copy of it. Sergio Leone has made at least three of my all time favourite ten films and is my favourite director, so naturally I have seen and have copies of a lot of his films.

But the problem with Once Upon a Time in America is that it is just too long and doesn't achieve epic and indeed reverential the effect that his western epics (namely Once Upon a Time in the West and The Good the Bad and The Ugly) did.

That film is just fantastic, epic, funny and serious in all the right places, brilliantly cast, juggles the two central themes of revenge on the one hand and the decline of the fronteer (and all the politics that went with that) of the other and has just the right pace to keep you on the edge of your seat. It is also an exploration of landscape as well as characters. And that is why every time I descide to watch Once Upon a Time in America again my finger is drawn two films further along the shelf and I end up watching Once Upon a Time in the West - it is a much better use of two and a half hours, never mind the extra hour and a quater on top of that.

Not that Once upon a Time in America is bad, it isn't. It is however the least impressive film that Leone made (as credited director, an important note) from 1964 until his death. Every other one of his films in that period was better, including Duck You Sucker aka. A Fist Full of Dynamite (which I also don't watch very often). And I never watch it, because why would you when you can watch the better films he made?

[x359594]

...If you're going to watch a Leone movie then surely it will be a western.

In my view Once Upon a Time in America is Leone's most mature work and his best picture. And, alas, it was his last although he was planning a movie about the siege of Stalingrad at the time of his death.

[Vanguard1917]

Two of my favorite quotes from "Scarface."

RED DAVE

Why not: "I'd kill a communist for fun, but for a green card i'm gonna carve him up real nice"...?

;)

[Invader Zim]

In my view Once Upon a Time in America is Leone's most mature work and his best picture. And, alas, it was his last although he was planning a movie about the siege of Stalingrad at the time of his death.

Why? Because it has a horrible and utterly relentless rape scene? People talk about Irreversible, but that has nothing on the slap in the face that America has. At the end of the day that is because America is an exploitation film. But once you move beyond the horrific rape scene America has relatively little to offer. It isn't a great ganster film, at least compatred to some of the others suggested in this thread, and is way too ponderous. On the other hand, films like The Good the Bad and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West have come to dominate an entire (sub)genre of cinema.

[x359594]

Why?...

Because it shows a mastery of associative montage worthy of Alain Resnais, because it evokes a milieu that Leone had to investigate to portray accurately (or so my late father claimed; he grew up in a Jewish neighborhood in the Bronx exactly like the one portrayed in the movie,) because the architecture of the movie was the most sophisticated and challenging that Leone attempted to date, not to mention the richness of the mise-en-sene. But to each his or her own.

[x359594]

So far I haven't seen any mention of Yakuza Eiga, Japanese cinema's great contribution to the gangster genre. Among the best are Pale Flower, The Bad Sleep Well (an inspiration for Coppola's The Godfather,) Battles Without Honor or Humanity, Tokyo Drifter and Stray Dog.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture (1973)

[black_tar_heroin]

The Young and Dangerous series are good (Hong Kong triads).

[scourge007]

I'm watching The Town and The Usual Suspects again. Really good films.