THE MODERN GANGSTER
From the Warner Bros. classics of the 1930s and 40s to the real-life court dramas post-RICO, the gangster has been a pivotal anti-hero in the way we view cinema and reality. Here are three films that have defined the crime genre and portrayed the gangster in a different light.
The Godfather (1972)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
From the Warner Bros. classics of the 1930s and 40s to the real-life court dramas post-RICO, the gangster has been a pivotal anti-hero in the way we view cinema and reality. Here are three films that have defined the crime genre and portrayed the gangster in a different light.
The Godfather (1972)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Starring Al Pacino & Marlon Brando
168 mins; M; DVD/VHS
Mario Puzo’s novelisation of the Mafia came to life with his a
nd Francis Ford Coppola’s script in 1972, which saw the highly acclaimed The Godfather win Best Picture and Best Actor for Brando at the Oscars, among dozens of other awards at dozens of other ceremonies. Long considered the definitive gangster picture, The Godfather made Corleone a household name and tended to glamorise its antiheroes in this rise-and-rise (mostly) story. Only a handful of the Sicilian Mafia clan here suffer a bad fate while the others wallow in their riches. It took almost thirty years for cinema to produce an antidote to the Corleone clan in the form of Goodfellas but there is no doubt that this is a masterfully crafted film with exemplary performances and direction. Coppola went on to direct a phenomenally successful Part II in 1974, which was the only sequel to have been awarded a Best Picture Oscar and had the only character to win an acting Oscar twice (Robert DeNiro in Marlon Brando’s role as Corleone patriarch Don Vito). Coppola also directed Part III in 1990 which was also nominated for an Oscar and charted the decline of Al Pacino’s character Michael; however this second sequel didn’t come close to matching the power of its predecessors. 7/10
Scarface (1988)
Directed by Brian DePalma
168 mins; M; DVD/VHS
Mario Puzo’s novelisation of the Mafia came to life with his a
nd Francis Ford Coppola’s script in 1972, which saw the highly acclaimed The Godfather win Best Picture and Best Actor for Brando at the Oscars, among dozens of other awards at dozens of other ceremonies. Long considered the definitive gangster picture, The Godfather made Corleone a household name and tended to glamorise its antiheroes in this rise-and-rise (mostly) story. Only a handful of the Sicilian Mafia clan here suffer a bad fate while the others wallow in their riches. It took almost thirty years for cinema to produce an antidote to the Corleone clan in the form of Goodfellas but there is no doubt that this is a masterfully crafted film with exemplary performances and direction. Coppola went on to direct a phenomenally successful Part II in 1974, which was the only sequel to have been awarded a Best Picture Oscar and had the only character to win an acting Oscar twice (Robert DeNiro in Marlon Brando’s role as Corleone patriarch Don Vito). Coppola also directed Part III in 1990 which was also nominated for an Oscar and charted the decline of Al Pacino’s character Michael; however this second sequel didn’t come close to matching the power of its predecessors. 7/10Scarface (1988)
Directed by Brian DePalma
Starring Al Pacino & Michelle Pfieffer
163 mins; R18+; DVD/VHS
Why don’t’chu try stickin’ your head up your ass – see if it fits. Scarface is at once the all-male gangster movie, oozing machismo from every pore as Tony Montana, the Cuban mobster come to America to make his fortune, successfully pisses off everyone who comes in his way with relish. DePalma’s idea of subtlety is hitting the viewer over the head with a mallet and Pacino is manically overacting as Miami’s cocaine kingpin, but there is heaps of fun to be had. From Hector the Toad to Elvie and Tony himself, Scarface is a heap of iconic and eccentric characters. Oliver Stone (Platoon, Natural Born Killers)’s script is outrageously violent and hilariously profane as Tony shoots insults in every direction before his reign on the American cocaine monopoly comes crashing down with a shotgun blast to the back. While not spawning a sequel, the influence of Scarface is without a shred of doubt – it has influenced almost the entire rap culture of the US (doubtlessly because of its rags-to-riches; rise-and-fall storyline) and has spawned a hit game, which sees Tony spewing abuse to a new generation. 8/10
Goodfellas (1990)
Directed Martin Scorsese
163 mins; R18+; DVD/VHS
Why don’t’chu try stickin’ your head up your ass – see if it fits. Scarface is at once the all-male gangster movie, oozing machismo from every pore as Tony Montana, the Cuban mobster come to America to make his fortune, successfully pisses off everyone who comes in his way with relish. DePalma’s idea of subtlety is hitting the viewer over the head with a mallet and Pacino is manically overacting as Miami’s cocaine kingpin, but there is heaps of fun to be had. From Hector the Toad to Elvie and Tony himself, Scarface is a heap of iconic and eccentric characters. Oliver Stone (Platoon, Natural Born Killers)’s script is outrageously violent and hilariously profane as Tony shoots insults in every direction before his reign on the American cocaine monopoly comes crashing down with a shotgun blast to the back. While not spawning a sequel, the influence of Scarface is without a shred of doubt – it has influenced almost the entire rap culture of the US (doubtlessly because of its rags-to-riches; rise-and-fall storyline) and has spawned a hit game, which sees Tony spewing abuse to a new generation. 8/10Goodfellas (1990)
Directed Martin Scorsese
Starring Ray Liotta, Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci
139 mins; R18+; DVD/VHS
There is no doubt whatsoever that Martin Scorsese stands unparalleled as one of the greatest directors of all time. For a filmmaker to have done suc
h classics as Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Casino, Gangs of New York and, more recently, The Departed is are very rare find and rarely does the man err. Goodfellas is one such classic and, built upon a solid script by Scorsese and Nicholas Pileggi, who wrote the biographical book upon which the film was based, is arguably the best American film ever made. The plot surrounds three men – the narrator, Henry Hill (Ray Liotta); a quiet yet vicious Jimmy Conway (Robert DeNiro) and the all-out psycho Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci, who won an Oscar for his role). It is, like all gangster movies, the classic rise-and-fall, in this case of Henry. The violence in this film cuts like a knife (forgive the pun); brutal in its delivery and certainly free of the Mafia glorification depicted The Godfather. Being a mobster in Scorsese’s cinema is a tough, live-by-the-sword-die-by-the-sword adventure and it is clear that the director made the film with the words ‘crime doesn’t pay’ resounding loudly in his ears. Everything about this movie is perfect – the direction, editing, acting, up-beat 70s and 80s soundtrack; the fact that Dances With Wolves was given Best Picture at the 1991 Oscars over this simply reflects that America isn’t ready for an intelligent film with such sheer brutality and hopelessness, preferring soap-opera to gritty, realistic drama. 10/10
139 mins; R18+; DVD/VHS
There is no doubt whatsoever that Martin Scorsese stands unparalleled as one of the greatest directors of all time. For a filmmaker to have done suc
h classics as Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Casino, Gangs of New York and, more recently, The Departed is are very rare find and rarely does the man err. Goodfellas is one such classic and, built upon a solid script by Scorsese and Nicholas Pileggi, who wrote the biographical book upon which the film was based, is arguably the best American film ever made. The plot surrounds three men – the narrator, Henry Hill (Ray Liotta); a quiet yet vicious Jimmy Conway (Robert DeNiro) and the all-out psycho Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci, who won an Oscar for his role). It is, like all gangster movies, the classic rise-and-fall, in this case of Henry. The violence in this film cuts like a knife (forgive the pun); brutal in its delivery and certainly free of the Mafia glorification depicted The Godfather. Being a mobster in Scorsese’s cinema is a tough, live-by-the-sword-die-by-the-sword adventure and it is clear that the director made the film with the words ‘crime doesn’t pay’ resounding loudly in his ears. Everything about this movie is perfect – the direction, editing, acting, up-beat 70s and 80s soundtrack; the fact that Dances With Wolves was given Best Picture at the 1991 Oscars over this simply reflects that America isn’t ready for an intelligent film with such sheer brutality and hopelessness, preferring soap-opera to gritty, realistic drama. 10/10Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979)
Directed by Lucio Fulci
Directed by Lucio Fulci
Starring Ian McCulloch
86 mins; MA15+; DVD
After the amazing success of George A Romero’s zombie opus Dawn of the Dead, Italian exploitation filmmaker Lucio Fulci set out to amp up Romero’s film
by heightening the violence, nudity and overall depravity – the concluding work Zombie Flesh Eaters (or simply Zombi in the US), while it has lost much impact, does not diminish its credibility as a great zombie film.Beginning with a gush of arterial blood as a zombie on an abandoned boat in New York kills a cop, Fulci sets up a variety of stunning set pieces, naturally saturated in claret. The plot is threadbare between these scenes of zombie mayhem – a woman can’t find her father, who she believes is working on a remote island. A search party (including Italian zombie-film favourite Ian McCulloch) is dispatched to the island whereupon they discover zombies overrun the whole area. People are maimed and eaten. The end. However, what makes this film truly unique is the aforementioned set pieces – a zombie vs. shark encounter may be one of the most surreal in seventies cinema while the zombie, topless woman’s eyeball and shard of wood scene may also be one of the period’s most gruesome. The special effects are also quite remarkable for a film that, according to McCulloch, was in part illegally filmed and, needless to say, firmly on the cheap. The Australian Umbrella DVD has a decent line-up of extras, the best being a commentary by McCulloch and Diabolik magazine editor Jason J Slater. The track is certainly informative and entertaining, with McCulloch amusingly sharing that it is the first time he saw the film in its entirety because of its restrictive status in his native UK. Slater also knows what he is talking about and avoids sounding too much like a fan boy. This is arguably better than Romero’s film simply because it does not try to be self-referential and satirical: Dawn of the Dead was simply a convoluted gore fest where Romero tried his best to lend credibility to onscreen nemeses that were widely considered unterrifying and stupid. Zombie Flesh Eaters on the other hand, shows the genre for what it is – dumb, gory and oh-so-entertaining. This is certainly not Oscar-winning stuff, but for beer and pizza viewing it’s unparalleled.
7/10
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