Search results
Talvar (transl. Sword), released internationally as Guilty, is a 2015 Indian Hindi -language crime - thriller drama film directed by Meghna Gulzar and written by Vishal Bhardwaj. Produced by Bhardwaj and Vineet Jain, the film is loosely based on the 2008 Noida double murder case involving a teenage girl and her family's servant.
- 20 Goodfellas
- 19 Gomorrah
- 18 Donnie Brasco
- 17 Black Mass
- 16 The Untouchables
- 15 The French Connection
- 14 The General
- 13 Bugsy
- 12 on The Waterfront
- 11 The Sicilian Girl
Once you get past The Godfather, another main contender for the most famous mafia movie ever made is Martin Scorsese’s 1990 film Goodfellas. It was based on Nicholas Pileggi’s 1985, Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family, a biography of turncoat Henry Hill, a one-time gangster with the Lucchese crime family. He was with the Lucchese family for nearly thir...
Mateo Garrone’s 2008 film was based on Roberto Saviano’s explosive 2006 book of investigative journalism, for which he has lived both in hiding and under police protection ever since. The book delved deep into the secrets of the Camorra, the mafia-like group operating predominantly in Naples since the 17th century. At this point, the Camorra have t...
Al Pacino and Johnny Depp chewed some serious scenery in Mike Newell’s 1997 mafia film, inspired by Joseph D. Pistone’s 1988 memoir, Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia. Depp played Pistone/Brasco, an undercover FBI agent pretending to be a jewel thief under the tutelage of Lefty Ruggiero (Pacino), an enforcer for the Bonanno family. Ove...
2015’s Black Massjumped into the story of Whitey Bulger practically as it was still unfolding. Johnny Depp starred as Bulger, a notorious Boston mobster who led the Winter Hill Gang. The film follows Bulger’s ruthless reign in South Boston starting in 1975, and was filmed only two years after Bulger’s arrest after nearly 20 years as a fugitive. (Th...
If you’re looking for a historically accurate recounting of Eliot Ness and his quest to take down Al Capone in the days of Prohibition, you might want to look elsewhere, but if you’re looking for historically inspired entertainment with Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, and Robert De Niro, you’ve come to the right place. Brian De Palma’s 1987 movie was ...
Two years before he directed The Exorcist, WIlliam Friedkin took on the story of real NYPD detectives Eddy Egan and Sonny Grosso, using Robin Moore’s 1969 book to transform their story into that of Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle (Gene Hackman) and Buddy “Cloudy” Russo (Roy Scheider), hot on the trail of a French heroin smuggler through the streets of New Yor...
The true story of Irish crime lord Martin Cahill (Brendan Gleeson) was written by Irish journalist Paul Williams, and John Boorman used it as the basis for his 1998 film. Cahill pulled a number of notorious heists before falling afoul of the police and the Irish Republican Army, eventually being assassinated in 1994 by still unknown assailants. Cah...
Warren Beatty was at his suave, lady-killing best as notorious gangster Bugsy Siegel, who, along with associates Meyer Lansky (Ben Kingsley) and Charlie “Lucky” Luciano (Bill Graham), left New York behind to try and break into the California and Las Vegas gambling markets, and the film also details his affair with showgirl Virginia Hill, who was pl...
While not wholly based on specific true-life characters, Elia Kazan’s 1954 drama starring Marlon Brando was inspired by a series of articles in The New York Sunabout longshoremen, for which journalist Malcolm Johnson won a Pulitzer Prize. The article series centered on union corruption and violence on the docks of Hoboken, New Jersey, and was title...
Rita Atria grew up in Sicily, and by the age of 17, having already lost her mafia-connected father and brother, inspired her to testify against the mafia to the police. She ended up being kicked out by her mother, losing family and friends, and eventually committing suicide after the prosecuting judge to whom she had grown close was killed by a car...
- Molly Pohlig
Jul 1, 2022 · Mobsters and mafia in movies are somehow portrayed as cool. However, we enjoy these films in the safety of our own homes, never having been exposed to the actual violence of gangs. The victims sometimes speak of the horrors they experienced firsthand and even despise such movies sometimes.
- Jonah Rice
- Reporter
- Joe Pesci as Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas. With all the talk of American director Martin Scorsese throughout this list, the Oscar-winning performance from Joe Pesci as Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas undoubtedly materialized in your minds at one point or another.
- Gene Hackman as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde. Although he had a fairly prominent role in Lilith (1964) — which also featured Warren Beatty in the lead role, like Bonnie and Clyde — the film at hand featured the real breakthrough performance regarding Gene Hackman’s acclaimed career.
- Warren Beatty as Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel in Bugsy. Considering he’s one of only two performers to appear multiple times on this list, Warren Beatty rivals De Niro and Pacino as the greatest gangster actor of all time.
- Ray Liotta as Henry Hill in Goodfellas. This is the final movie by Scorsese that will appear on the list — not the last role, necessarily. Everyone should know which performance from Goodfellas (1990) warranted the number one spot on a list of the best portrayals of real-life gangsters.
This is the way gangsters are like in real life: the likes of Jon Gotti are absolutely reprehensible and have no redeeming qualities, and deserve either to rot in prison or be killed the way they killed others.
Aug 1, 2024 · Vote up the best true biographical movies about people in gangs and the mafia. The crime genre has spawned films that delve into the lives of underworld figures, with gangster biopics standing out for their stirring narratives and historical accuracy. Gangster biopics offer a window into the lives of notorious underworld figures.
The 24 best movies based on true stories. From Watergate to criminal strippers, these are the best true stories ever told on film. Tuesday 2 April 2024. Written by Matthew Singer.
People also ask
Are mafia movies based on a true story?
Are gangsters the best crime movies ever made?
What is the most famous mafia movie ever made?
Are mobsters and Mafia portrayed as cool?
What are the best gangster biopics of all time?
What are the best movies based on real-life mobsters?
