Movie audiences have always had a long standing love affair with gangster movies. For many, it’s the climb out of poverty and a rise to power that so many are drawn towards. For others its the life without rules or limitations. More than anything else, the stories of hardened criminals are anchored by the idea of fellowship, rooted in the loyalty of family and respect, as the lives criminals are told within an entirely closed world. This is why we sympathize with characters who are essentially evil; this is why we love them. The outside day-to-day life of our democratic humdrum existence is replaced by authoritarian rule, where justice and honor are dictated by the head of the family and the only villains are traitors. There will always be a part of us that cheers for the bad guy, but even more so when he does what he does in the name of pride and family.
- 1. The Godfather (1972)
- 2. Goodfellas (1990)
- 3. Scarface (1983)
- 4. Menace II Society (1993)
- 5. Casino (1995)
- 6. Mean Streets (1973)
- 7. The Untouchables (1987)
- 8. Boys N the Hood (1991)
- 9. Heat (1995)
- 10. Road to Perdition (2002)
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Great list but be original! Everyone puts The Godfather at the top! Scarface should be number one. Some of the best lines ever!
Tony Montana: Me, I want what’s coming to me.
Manny: Oh, well what’s coming to you?
Tony Montana: The world, chico, and everything in it.
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!
Tony Montana: I never fucked anybody over in my life didn’t have it coming to them. You got that? All I have in this world is my balls and my word and I don’t break them for no one. Do you understand? That piece of shit up there, I never liked him, I never trusted him. For all I know he had me set up and had my friend Angel Fernandez killed. But that’s history. I’m here, he’s not. Do you wanna go on with me, you say it. You don’t, then you make a move.
You’re right,Scarface is a great movie but there’s a reason The Godfather is not only at the top of the list of most gangster movie lists, but at the top many people’s lists of all time greatest film ever made… it’s a classic in the truest sense of the word. Just because many agree on something doesnt make it a cliche. Sometimes it makes it a true original.