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Chip Away Boy
= Cult of Ray =
914 Posts |
 Posted - 12/30/2003 : 20:01:16
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Gimme your top
3.
2.
1.
Gangster movies (scarface, Casino, Goodfellas, etc..) |
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BLT
> Teenager of the Year <
South Sandwich Islands
4204 Posts |
Posted - 12/30/2003 : 20:12:08
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In no particular order...
White Heat (1949) - maybe not a traditional "gangster movie"
Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
Little Caesar (1931)
 "Join the Cult of Steve-o / And enjoy the best brownies"  |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 12/30/2003 : 21:44:03
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GOODFELLAS: hands down the best gangster film of all time. and probably the best film of the 90's.
i second ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, even though it's more of a Western (or Spagetti-Western).. visually brilliant film.. finally released on DVD this year.
WHITE HEAT i would consider a classic gangster film.. though under the umbrella of film noir. one of the greatest endings to a film ever..
here's my list of...
good recent:
SEXY BEAST (Ben Kingsley should have won Best Supporting Actor for this. no question)
THE USUAL SUSPECTS (one of the best film noir / gangster films of the 90's)
SNATCH (just good fun. and great soundtrack)
DONNIE BRASCO (semi underrated)
GANGS OF NEW YORK (it had its problems, but it's a pretty epic gangster film)
RESERVOIR DOGS / PULP FICTION (obvious choices)
TRUE ROMANCE (it's worth it for the Dennis Hopper Christopher Walken scene alone)
LA CONFIDENTIAL
THE LIMEY (unconventional editing techniques.. great performance by Terrence Stamp. underrated)
MULHOLLAND FALLS (this was a very decent sleeper)
obvious classics:
CASINO
SCARFACE
GODFATHER
THE UNTOUCHABLES
MEAN STREETS (this is such a fucking great film. for my money, aside from GOODFELLAS, this is Scorsese's best film)
more obscure:
THE KILLERS (1964 Don Siegel film which RESERVOIR DOGS borrowed from heavily. interesting nonlinear structure)
THE KILLER (my favorite of John Woo's)
LE SAMOURI (french hitman film noir.. one of my favorite films of all time)
BOB LE FLAMBEUR (gangster film by the same director as LE SAMOURI)
TOKYO DRIFTER (fucking crazy 60's japanese film director. check him out)
BRANDED TO KILL (same director, Seijun Suzuki.. craaaazy)
GHOST DOG (way offbeat, but still gangster.. probably my favorite film of 1999. this film heavily references BRANDED TO KILL and LE SAMOURI above)
RIFIFI (french gangster suspense film.. the first 45 minutes there is no dialogue. epic)
FALLEN ANGELS (Wong Kar Wai is probably the most stylish director alive)
ROMEO IS BLEEDING (way weird underrated film from the early 90's.. i liked it a lot)
TOUCH OF EVIL (though more of a classic film noir this also has all the gangster elements. brilliant film. shot in Venice, CA)
MILLER'S CROSSING (mentioned in another thread.. classic Coen Brothers stylization.. amazing writing/dialogue)
VIOLENT COP (another crazy japanese director, Takeshi Kitano. this film is insane)
DEAD OR ALIVE (yet another crazy japanese guy. this guy is more insane than everyone else put together.. the director of AUDITION. hard to find but worth it if you can)
ICHI THE KILLER (same as above)
whew.. i know you only asked for 3, but you got me thinking about this.. |
Edited by - floop on 12/30/2003 23:28:45 |
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TarTar
* Dog in the Sand *
1965 Posts |
Posted - 12/30/2003 : 23:48:52
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Slight correction for Rififi, if it even matters. There is dialogue in the first 45 minutes of the film. There is no dialogue or music during the robbery scene, during the middle of the film. There is very little sound whatsoever in this section of the movie, so that every noise the robbers make is very noticeable, accentuating the tension and bringing the viewer into the mind of the robbers, who know that each noise could be just loud enough that it's heard and they're caught. The way the robbery is executed is absolutely brilliant.
I like Kubrick's film The Killing, though it would have been a lot better if they hadn't had so many seems with that wimpy guy and his greedy wife.
Alcohol or pot? VHS or Beta? Man or Astro-man? |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 12/31/2003 : 00:26:55
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quote:
Originally posted by TarTar
Slight correction for Rififi, if it even matters. There is dialogue in the first 45 minutes of the film. There is no dialogue or music during the robbery scene, during the middle of the film. There is very little sound whatsoever in this section of the movie, so that every noise the robbers make is very noticeable, accentuating the tension and bringing the viewer into the mind of the robbers, who know that each noise could be just loud enough that it's heard and they're caught. The way the robbery is executed is absolutely brilliant.
you're right, it's more near the middle.. my bad. |
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pinkashtray
- FB Fan -
USA
96 Posts |
Posted - 12/31/2003 : 03:58:03
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Vice City!..where else can you see someones head get blown off?!
-whatever i say is only spit- |
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NimrodsSon
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1938 Posts |
Posted - 12/31/2003 : 05:54:36
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Scarface (not really a "gangster" movie but oh-well)
 Join the Cult Of Gunn / and you'll never need a hair stylist again" |
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Malax
* Dog in the Sand *
United Kingdom
1340 Posts |
Posted - 12/31/2003 : 10:31:25
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| Im not huge on gangster movies and even though I consider myself a purveyor of good movies and bad ones I've never seen goodfellas or any of the godfathers or scarface. I love LA Confidential, I liked Carlitos way. Its kinda hard to determine what exactly is a gangster film sometimes. I guess having gangsters is a start. I get more than my fill of gangsters from the Sopranos anyway, the single greatest TV show possibly ever. I get to watch a gangster film every Thursday night when its on. |
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cvanepps
= Cult of Ray =
USA
442 Posts |
Posted - 12/31/2003 : 11:10:50
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Floop, I think you covered nearly all the good ones. Suicide Kings is good too but only because of Christopher Walken. Another even better ganster pic featuring Walken is Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead. I melt at the very sight of Gabrielle Anwar. Yummy!!
And you're so right about The Limey. The commentary track is really funny with Soderbergh basically telling his critics to fuck off! Gotta love that man.
[edit]
"TELL HIM I'M COMING! TELL HIM I'M FUCKING COMING!!"
[edit]
-= It's not easy to kidnap a fat man =-
http://christophervanepps.iuma.com |
Edited by - cvanepps on 12/31/2003 11:14:57 |
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Carolynanna
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Canada
6556 Posts |
Posted - 12/31/2003 : 11:18:18
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Patricia Arquette was good in True Romance too.
Crap did she get her ass kicked! |
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Itchload
= Cult of Ray =
USA
891 Posts |
Posted - 12/31/2003 : 11:25:09
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| Floop, have you seen the original "The Killers"? I just saw that, I rented the Criterion DVD which has both versions, plus a Tarkovsky short. Haven't seen them yet, but hte original was very good, though it suffered the classic film noir problem where the setup can never be quite done justice by the payoff (see also: Dead on Arrival, Body Heat). |
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Itchload
= Cult of Ray =
USA
891 Posts |
Posted - 12/31/2003 : 11:25:50
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Though I will add, the one film noir where the setup is eclipsed by the Payoff: The Third Man.
That said my top 3 non-obscuros:
1. Goodfellas
2. The Godfather
3. White Heat/Bonnie and Clyde (tie)(White Heat is a gangsta movie, but it should be noted there's a distinct difference between pre-Bonnie and Clyde and post in terms of the Gangsta genre).
My list of obscure ones to check out:
1. The American Soldier: Wacked out German ganster film that makes the Oedipal hints in White Heat seem quite subdued, ha (except replace Oedipal with whatever word means a strange attraction to your brother)
2. I second Floop's Ghost Dog..how can you go wrong with a Gansta vs. Samurai setup??
3. Out of the Past: Again, more towards film noir, but a real classic nonetheless.
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Edited by - Itchload on 12/31/2003 11:35:27 |
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TheCroutonFuton
- Mr. Setlists -
USA
1728 Posts |
Posted - 12/31/2003 : 11:53:19
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Ah...the Usual Suspects is a great movie. True Romance is pretty good, as well. And Kubrick is a genius...I love all of his work. Anywho...yeah...haha.
"Join the Cult of Gunn / And Then You'll Be Destined to be a Rock and Roll Star of Epical Proportions!" |
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Coldheartofstone
* Dog in the Sand *
Canada
2025 Posts |
Posted - 12/31/2003 : 11:54:16
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The King Of New York... Christopher Walken is the man.
She aches just like a woman, but she breaks just like a little girl. |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 12/31/2003 : 11:56:39
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quote:
Originally posted by Itchload
Floop, have you seen the original "The Killers"? I just saw that, I rented the Criterion DVD which has both versions, plus a Tarkovsky short. Haven't seen them yet, but hte original was very good, though it suffered the classic film noir problem where the setup can never be quite done justice by the payoff (see also: Dead on Arrival, Body Heat).
haven't seen it. i'll check it out.
i can't believe i forgot BONNIE AND CLYDE. i know there are other obvious ones i'm missing.. THINGS TO DO IN DENVER was good too..
itchload, what do you mean about the payoff not doing justice to the setup in film noir? how is that specifically a film noir problem?
someone should start a film noir thread while we're at it (no, don't) |
Edited by - floop on 12/31/2003 11:59:43 |
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Itchload
= Cult of Ray =
USA
891 Posts |
Posted - 01/02/2004 : 08:52:02
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Because a lot of film noir relies on this really cool "setup" that the rest of the movie begins to explain. Take for instance The Killers, the first 15 minutes some guys roam into town and kill a guy who doesn't even mind, he's so washed up on life. Why did they do it? Why did the guy not care he was dying? That's a pretty cool setup, hard to do justice to. Even harder was Dead on Arrival, the guy finds out he's just been murdered...with poison...and has 48 hours to live, so he has to solve his own murder. Another great setup that the rest of the movie could never do total justice too.
The other type is like Body Heat where as you're watching it, you know, based on it being a 'noir' that the lady is a femme fatale and secretely evil, and sometimes knowing without finding out for sure is more suspenseful than when all the plot twists are revealed.
This isn't the case with every noir, but it is pretty prevalent in the genre...it doesn't keep me from loving them though.
Movies like The Third Man, White Heat, The Killing, and especially Killer's Kiss have ridiculously awesome payoffs that you couldn't see coming. |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 01/02/2004 : 12:34:26
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quote:
Originally posted by Itchload
Because a lot of film noir relies on this really cool "setup" that the rest of the movie begins to explain. Take for instance The Killers, the first 15 minutes some guys roam into town and kill a guy who doesn't even mind, he's so washed up on life. Why did they do it? Why did the guy not care he was dying? That's a pretty cool setup, hard to do justice to. Even harder was Dead on Arrival, the guy finds out he's just been murdered...with poison...and has 48 hours to live, so he has to solve his own murder. Another great setup that the rest of the movie could never do total justice too.
The other type is like Body Heat where as you're watching it, you know, based on it being a 'noir' that the lady is a femme fatale and secretely evil, and sometimes knowing without finding out for sure is more suspenseful than when all the plot twists are revealed.
This isn't the case with every noir, but it is pretty prevalent in the genre...it doesn't keep me from loving them though.
Movies like The Third Man, White Heat, The Killing, and especially Killer's Kiss have ridiculously awesome payoffs that you couldn't see coming.
i see what you're saying, i think that's the case with all films though. not exclusively film noir. some films have a great set-up, and weak payoff..
i think THE KILLERS comes through though.. and DOA. you were disappointed by those ending?
i have to say that KISS ME DEADLY is my favorite film noir of all time. and pretty much nothing can top the ending of that film. |
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Stuart
- The Clopser -
China
2291 Posts |
Posted - 01/02/2004 : 18:07:38
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The Godfather films are the best films of all time in my opinion.
I think people have mentionned most of the decent ones here, but no-one has mentionned:
Bugsy - Warren Beatty
Lansky - Richard Dreyffuss (Roughly the same story as Bugsy, chronicling the lives of Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky and Bugsy Siegel)
Bugsy Malone, I used to love that as a kid (probably crap now though)
Who's the man that won't cop out when there's danger all about? |
Edited by - Stuart on 01/02/2004 18:12:52 |
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