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"When you dance with the devil, you wait for the song to stop."
Audiences have been flocking to theaters to watch gangster movies since before the introduction of "talkies," enticed by the opportunity to be a tourist in the violent world of career criminals without any of the risk associated with the reality of the lifestyle. The genre has been dominated by the stories of desperate Italian immigrants struggling to make it in America and Italian-American mafiosos who temper their ruthlessnes with strict codes of conduct, such as in The Godfather, considered the second greatest film in American cinema by the American Film Institute.
But, the "face" of gangster movies has become less defined in the past two decades as America has become more diverse and moviegoers more accepting of foreign imports. Modern masters like Martin Scorsese and Brian De Palma continue to elevate the genre by perfecting it, while innovative filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino, Guy Ritchie and Takashi Miike have helped to broaden the genre by refusing to be slaves to gangster movie tropes. Hide your stash, check your clip, and help us choose the latest, greatest gangster movies.
Top 10 Best Gangster Movies of the Past 20 Years >>
Posted 11.08.12 by BrentJS -
On Pay-Per-View, Russell Crowe chases after Harlem drug kingpin Denzel Washington in American Gangster.
On HBO, out-of-luck gambler Eric Bana lays his cards on the table for Drew Barrymore in Lucky You.
On Starz, Nicolas Cage is a clairvoyant magician who becomes the target of FBI agents in the sci-fi thriller Next.
On Cinemax, versatile funnyman Eddie Murphy plays a million different characters in the blockbuster comedy Norbit.
And on DVD, comedian Jerry Seinfeld brings his trademark shtick to the world of animation in the comedy hit Bee Movie.
Posted 04.05.08 by reelz -
Multiple Oscar-nominated legal drama Michael Clayton, starring George Clooney and Tilda Swinton, leads this week's impressive crop of new releases. Also arriving on DVD are Noah Baumbach's dysfunctional dramedy Margot at the Wedding, Ang Lee's saucy Lust, Caution, Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron's somber Iraq drama In the Valley of Elah and Reese Witherspoon's political drama Rendition.
Our pick for the week is American Gangster, which inexplicably managed to score only two Academy Award nominations, for Best Art Direction and Best Supporting Actress (Ruby Dee). Go figure.
Posted 02.19.08 by reelz -
The baseball world was rocked last week by the Mitchell Report and its statement of the obvious shocking revelation: that star pitcher Roger Clemens allegedly abused steroids throughout his Hall of Fame career.
We here at Reelz.com feel that the story of Clemens' epic rise to greatness and subsequent fall from grace has all the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster or, at the very least, a solid made-for-TV movie, and we know the perfect person for the role: Oscar winner Russell Crowe.
Aside from the remarkable physical resemblance, the Gladiator star has a number of other qualities in common with the disgraced seven-time Cy Young Award winner. Clemens is a proud Texas native, while Crowe hails from Australia -- essentially the Longhorn State's southern hemisphere equivalent. An avid rugby fanatic who recently purchased a majority stake in the South Sydney Rabbitohs of Australia's National Rugby League, Crowe boasts impeccable meathead jock credentials, and anyone who's seen Cinderella Man (all seven of you) knows that he's more than capable of realistically mimicking Clemens' legendary (and likely chemically-enhanced) athleticism.
And like Clemens, the mercurial Aussie is known to possess a nasty temper that occasionally impels him to throw things at people. Clemens once tossed a bat at Mike Piazza in game two of the 2000 World Series; Crowe heaved a telephone at a concierge during a tirade at New York's Mercer Hotel in 2005. Allegedly.
Crowe as Clemens: it's a homerun -- an upper-deck, growth hormone-fueled homerun. Make it happen, Hollywood!
Posted 12.20.07 by reelz -
On today's episode of Secret's Out, Leonard talks with actor Josh Brolin about his performances is No Country for Old Men and American Gangster.
Josh reveals what it was like to work with the Coen Brothers and co-star Javier Bardem.
Posted 11.09.07 by reelz -
Denzel popped a cap in Seinfeld's stinger this weekend, opening American Gangster with a $46.3 million take at the box office to come in first against Bee Movie's $39.1 million.
Although Gangster was well-received by critics and featured bankable stars Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, it's still a big coup to outpace an animated, family-friendly movie--particularly one starring Jerry Seinfeld.
The other big opener, Martian Child, came in seventh with $3.65 million.
Source: BoxOfficeMojo.com.
Posted 11.04.07 by reelz -
It's a tag-team battle of box office heavyweights at the Cineplex this weekend, with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe's American Gangster taking on Jerry Seinfeld and Dreamworks Animation's Bee Movie.
A rundown of our reviews of this weekend's new releases:
Bee Movie 
"While it may not be on par with the works of Pixar, Bee Movie is still a breezy, affable, family-friendly romp." [Full Review]
American Gangster 
"Consistently engaging from start to finish...you never feel the two hour and 37 minutes run time." [Full Review]
Martian Child 
"The script waxes cheesy and predictable, making the final result just more middling, forgettable fare for the movie memory scrap heap." [Full Review]
Joe Strummer - The Future is Unwritten
"A fitting, loving tribute to punk rock's most accomplished son."
Also opening: Darfur Now
Posted 11.02.07 by reelz