[mangajunky]

1) The Public Enemy - the definitive Cagney gangster flick, so intense that a disclaimer was added to it and it was edited for re-release because it was "pre-code"

2) Bullet in the Head - John Woo's masterpiece about friendship and betrayal set against a backdrop of 60's Vietnam

3) Goodfellas - so entertaining, funny, shocking and amazing that it's based on real people

4) The Killer - Woo and Chow Yun Fat in a film that shows that sometimes the cops and the gangsters aren't too different from each other

5) Angels With Dirty Faces - a couple of punks grow up together and one takes the fall for the other which sends him down the path of a life of crime while his buddy becomes a priest. Lots of feelings of honor, responsibility, and the intro of the Bowery Boys

6) Hard Boiled - The Pinnacle of John Woo's style. Things blowing up, doves flying, paper cranes, and a hospital full of babies in the midst of a crazy firefight.

7) White Heat - "Top of the world, ma!" Cagney is the ultimate mama's boy and a complete fucking psycho. You never know when he's going to snap.

8) The Godfather - I feel obligated to mention this. Leave the gun, take the cannolis.

9) The Maltese Falcon - I feel like I didn't give Bogart enough love on this list. This movie is all-out fun. A colorful cast and an asshole protaganist that just oozes cool.

10) Little Caesar - here's the reason why everyone thinks of Edward G. Robinson as the image of a gangster. He's totally badass.


honorable mention: most everything directed by Ringo Lam, or Johnny To. Dozens of films starring Simon Yam. Most everything by Seijun Suzuki.
Be sure to check out A Better Tomorrow 1-3, Full Contact,
Branded to Kill, Snatch, Lock Stock, Casino, Mean Streets, Pistol Opera.

And don't forget that most Samurai films have heavy gangster elements especially Lone Wolf and Cub, and Zatoichi.