Gangster


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=** Gangster **=

**Gangster Films** are films that are centered around the actions of criminals or mobsters. They often highlight the life of a crime figure or a crime's victim(s).
** Key Movements/Eras **
 * 1904-1930:** Silent 'One Reel' Gangster Films. (e.g. The Muskateers of Pig Alley (1912)
 * 1930s**: Gangster Films are popularized because of the many crimes committed during the Prohibition Era. Al Capone is used as a model for many films. The sub-genre 'gangster-as-cop' is also created.
 * 1940s**: Post- War period. Films begin to become more violent and darker, very similar to film noirs.
 * 1950s:** Films return to concentrating on organized crime.
 * 1970s:** Gangster Films are revived with the release of //The Godfather.//
 * 1990s:** The emergence of Gangster Films centered around Black and Hispanic street gangs, drug use, and racism.

** Key Players (Directors/Writers/Actors/Producers etc) **

__Directors__


German director **Fritz Lang's** //Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler (Parts I and II) (1922-1923)// was a two-part gangster melodrama about an evil, criminal boss capable of disguise, conspiracy, and tremendous hypnotic powers. It was inspired by Al Capone and foreshadowed the rise of Adolf Hitler. It was very successful and Dr. Mabuse was one of cinema's first super-villains.
 * Josef von Sternberg's** gangland melodrama **Underworld (1927)** was a huge commercial success. It is often considered as the //first// modern gangster film, as it had many of the standard conventions of gangster films. It was also one of the first movies to be shot from the gangster's point of view.


 * Frances Ford Coppola** was the director of //The Godfather (1972), The Godfather Part II (1974), and The Godfather Part III (1990).// The films revolutionized the gangster genre and went on to win several awards. //The Godfather Part II// is considered one of the best sequels of all time, and was the first sequel to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

The director of several gangster films, **Martin Scorsese** is known as one of the most influential people in the film industry. He's directed //Mean Streets (1973), Goodfellas (1990), Casino// //(1995), Gangs of New York (2002), and The Departed (2006),// all of which were well received.

__**Actors**__

 * Paul Muni** is most famous for his role in //Scarface// (1932). He was an Austrian-Hungarian-born American.

His other gangster films includ//e If I had a Million (1932)//, //Invisible Stripes// (1939) and //Each Dawn I Die// (1939).
 * George Raft** was one of the three most popular gangster actors of the 1930s, along with James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson. His big break came in the form of a role as the nickel-flipping second lead in Scarface (1932), and Raft's phenomenal acting led to actual speculation of whether Raft was a gangster. Interestingly enough, Raft had a lifelong friendship with Owney Madden, who was a leading underworld figure in Manhattan. Raft was also a friend or acquaintance of several other crime figures, including Bugsy Siegel and Mayer Lanskey.

One of the three most popular Gangster Actors of the 1930s, **Edward G. Robinson** was particularly well known for his part as Rico in //Little Caesar// (1931) and Rocco in //Key Largo// (1948).


 * James Cagney** acted in //Sinners' Holiday (1930), Public Enemy, Smart Money,// and //Angels with Dirty Faces.// He, along with Edward G. Robinson and George Raft, was one of the most popular Gangster Actors in the 1930s.


 * Humphrey Bogart** starred in //High Sierra// (1941) and //The Maltese Falcon (1941).// They were the first two films Bogart acted in as a main character. He died in 1957.

**Robert De Niro** is a familiar sight in gangster movies, especially if they're directed by Martin Scorsese. The list of gangster films he's starred in is fairly long, the most notable ones being //Mean Streets (1973), The Godfather Part II (1974) , Analyze This (1999), Casino (1995),// and //The Goodfellas (1990)// ** Articles of Analysis/ Links ** []- a detailed history of gangster films in America, from the Silent Era to the 1990s. Also has a list of good gangster films to watch.

[]- A list of AFI's top ten gangster films.

[]- A slideshow on how gangster culture affected gangster films.

[]- an article about Gangster Films in the 1930s.

** Influences **
 * The events of the Prohibition Era, such as bootlegging and the St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1929), the existence of real-life gangsters (e.g., Al Capone). Many of the plots from early gangster films were taken from the day's newspaper headlines.

** Influenced **
 * The high level of organized crime that occurred in the big cities (such as New York City) in the 1990s. Street Gangs made up of minorities were on the rise, and they had brawls with other gangs over territory. Racism was being seen as a cause for why some people were forced into the gangster life and movies started portraying gangsters as 'victims of circumstance'.
 * The War on Drugs. The ongoing battle between the police and drug cartels has inspired films such as //Traffic (2000)// which looks at the war on drugs from three viewpoints: A policeman, a judge, and a drug-dealer.
 * The mafia, yakuza, chinese triads, etc. Those three make up most of the foreign gangsters seen on film.
 * Books about gangsters. For example, //The Godfather// //(1972)// was influenced by a book of the same title, which was written by Mario Puzo.
 * Film Noir, which originated in the early 1940s, where influenced by gangster films. At that time, almost all film noir plots involved the hard-boiled, disillusioned male and the dangerous femme fatale. Usually because of sexual attraction or greed, the male would commit vicious acts, and in the end both he and the femme fatale would be punished or even killed for their actions. Such characters were derived from 1930s gangster films.
 * Modern conceptions about gangsters. The view that today's generation have of gangsters is highly influenced by the gangster films they've watched.

** Awards/ Critical Reception ** Josef von Sternberg's gangland melodrama **Underworld (1927)** was a huge commercial success. It won the Best Original Story Award for Ben Hecht - the //first// Oscar ever awarded for an original screenplay, and the first of Hecht's two Oscar wins (among six writing nominations during his career).

** Quotations ** "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli." - Clemenza in //The Godfather (1972)'// "To me, being a gangster was better than being the president of the United States" Henry Hill in //The Goodfellas (1990)// “I don’t like violence, Tom. I’m a businessman. Blood is a big expense."- The Godfather "I always tell the truth. Even when I lie." - Scarface (1983)