Best Gangster Movies/ Your Favorites
*****possible spoilers*******
Wow! I really enjoyed this movie. At times when I feared the story might become trite, it would surprise me with its raw, intimate portrait of someone struggling in the underworld. Showing how poor he and his family were shows a side of the gangster lifestyle that is usually portrayed in most gangster films as glamorous. This film takes this subject head on, by showing how the romanticization of gangsters in films can itself be a nightmare (with the director coming VERY close to meeting his own demise with the whole film-in-the-film episode.)
This was really one of the best gangster movies I had seen in a while.
What are some of your other favorite gangster movies?
One of my favorites is Derek Yee's ONE NIGHT IN MONGKOK (w/ Cecelia Chung).
I thought BREAKING NEWS (w/ Kelly Chen) was clever and original.
A absolute classic is JIANG HU (w/ a long haired Andy Lau) that really looks into the way in which gangster hold power (by threatening people with the one thing that can get to them.)
ELECTION and especially ELECTION 2 are unbelievably cool. (The real Big D is being released from prison).
Another "based on a true story" movie that's good is LEE ROCK (& LEE ROCK II), which definitely glamorizes the life, considering Lee Rock retired a Billionaire!
INFERNAL AFFAIRS I, II, & III. (THE DEPARTED is a remake of INFERNAL AFFAIRS).
SPL (Sha Po Long) w/ Sammo and Donnie Yen
The Brazilian CIDADE DE DEUS (CITY OF GOD) has the historical sweep that the Godfather movies had. Many of the gangsters in the film were portrayed by actual gangsters, since the filmmaker actually shot in the favelas of Rio and had to ask permission (and get protection) from the local boss. The local boss was so enthusiastic he encouraged his own guys to be in the film.
NO. 3 is a classic, and even though it is uproariously funny, the filmmaker to this day insists that it was not Meant to be.
THE ART OF FIGHTING, HI DHARMA!, and BIG BOSS, are all comedies featuring gangsters.
STORY OF MAN another old school classic, is a tearjerker.
Other honorable mentions are MOVING TARGETS (HK), LOVE BATTLEFIELD (HK), FRIEND(SK), CITY OF THE RISING SUN (SK), MY BROTHER... (SK), BAD GUY (SK),
"Give me the strength never to disown the poor or bend my knees before insolent might." -R. Tagore