The Mobster News

I think it’s about time we get into a little debate or conversation about the mafia. More
specifically, I would like to see everyone’s opinions on the best mobster movies ever made.
Let’s see who likes which movies and for what reason. The following is a list of movies and a
brief summary.

Goodfellas - an Academy Award winning 1990 crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, based on
the book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, the true story of mob informer Henry Hill. Starring
stars Ray Liotta as Hill, Robert De Niro as Jimmy Conway, Joe Pesci who won the Academy Award
for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Tommy DeVito, Lorraine Bracco as Hill’s wife Karen
Hill, and Paul Sorvino as Paulie Cicero.

The Godfather - an Academy Award-winning 1972 crime film based on the novel of the same name
by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, with a screenplay by Puzo and Coppola. It
stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall and Diane Keaton, and features
Richard Castellano, Abe Vigoda and Sterling Hayden. The story spans ten years from 1945 to 1955
and chronicles the Corleone crime family.

Scarface - is a 1983 film directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone and starring Al
Pacino as Antonio “Tony” Montana. A loose remake of the 1932 Howard Hawks gangster film of
the same title, it tells the story of a fictional Cuban refugee, who comes to Florida in 1980
as a result of the Mariel Boatlift. Montana becomes a gangster against the backdrop of the
1980s cocaine boom. The film chronicles his rise to the top of Miami’s criminal underworld and
subsequent downfall.

Donnie Brasco - a 1997 film by Mike Newell starring Al Pacino, Michael Madsen and Johnny Depp.
It is loosely based on the real-life events of Joseph D. Pistone, an FBI agent who successfully
infiltrated the Bonanno crime family, one of the Mafia’s Five Families based in New York City
during the ’70s.

A Bronx Tale - a 1993 film set in New York City during the turbulent era of the 1960s. It was
the directorial debut of Robert De Niro, and follows a young man as his path in life is guided
by two father figures, played by De Niro and Chazz Palminteri. It also includes a brief
appearance by Joe Pesci. It was written by Palminteri, based partially upon his childhood.

The Untouchables - is a 1987 film, directed by Brian De Palma, based on the 1959 ABC
television series, which, in turn, was based on Eliot Ness’s autobiographical account of his
efforts to bring Italian-American gangster Al Capone to justice during the Prohibition era. It
stars Kevin Costner as Ness, Sean Connery as Irish-American beat cop Jim Malone, and Robert De
Niro as Capone. Connery received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in
the film.

Casino - is a 1995 Academy-Award nominated crime film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based
on the book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi and Larry Shandling. Robert De Niro stars as
Sam “Ace” Rothstein, a chain-smoking top gambling handicapper who is called by the Mob to
oversee the day-to-day operations at the fictional Tangiers Casino in Las Vegas. The story is
based on Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, who ran the Stardust, Fremont and the Hacienda casinos in
Las Vegas for the Chicago Outfit from the 1970s until the early 1980s.

The Departed - is an Academy Award winning 2006 crime thriller film directed by Martin
Scorsese, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg. This film
takes place in Boston, Massachusetts, where notorious Irish Mob boss Francis “Frank” Costello
(Nicholson) plants his protégé Colin Sullivan (Damon) as an informant within the Massachusetts
State Police. Simultaneously, the police assign undercover cop William Costigan, Jr. (DiCaprio)
to infiltrate Costello’s crew. When both sides of the law realize the situation, each man
attempts to discover the other’s true identity before being found out.

Carlito’s Way - is a 1993 gangster film based on the novels Carlito’s Way and After Hours by
Judge Edwin Torres. It stars Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Penelope Ann Miller, John Leguizamo, Jorge
Porcel and Viggo Mortensen. The film follows the exploits of Carlito Brigante, a fictional
Puerto Rican, who is released from jail after serving five years of a 30 year prison sentence.
He vows to go straight and to live life as a fine, upstanding citizen. He rekindles a romance
with his former girlfriend and dreams of starting a new life in “paradise”. However,
Carlito’s past will not let go of him and he unwittingly ends up being dragged into the same
criminal activities that got him imprisoned in the first place.

Once upon a time in America - is a 1984 film about crime, passion and lust for power and was
described by director Sergio Leone as an explosive saga of gangland America. It stars, Robert
De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, and Joe Pesci. the film tells the story of David
“Noodles” Aaronson (Robert De Niro) and his Jewish pals, chronicling their childhoods on New
York’s Lower East Side in the 1920s, through their gangster careers in the 1930s, and
culminating in Noodles’ 1968 return to New York from self-imposed exile, at which time he
learns the truth about the fate of his friends and again confronts the nightmare of his past.

Other – I know there is a few other mafia movies out there, so is there another one that you
think should be mentioned ? If so, why ?