THE TEN BEST CRIME FILMS OF ALL TIME

There have been a multitude of crime films made over the years beginning with James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson who pioneered the genre in the 1930s. They were gangster films mostly about the roaring Twenties and the violence that took place during the violent years of Prohibition. Then came the movies of the 1940s and 1950s generally referred to as Film Noir (black film as coined by the French) because they were always framed in dark and cynical moods with their characters surrounded by dark shadows and always photographed in black and white. Actors such as Robert Mitchum, Joseph Cotton and Fred MacMurray and others held court in many of these films. They were all fantastic movies with great performances and great stars who were the precursors of those that followed. Most of those great films have been superseded by the technology evolution, the deeper richness of storytelling and the extreme depth of the characters that were portrayed in the crime films of recent times.

THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)

The great Humphrey Bogart practically carries this intriguing crime story on his back but he really doesn’t have to. He is supported by a great cast of character actors of the time including Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Loree, Sydney Greenstreet, Barton MacLane, Ward Bond and Elisha Cook Jr. And the director of the film was the great John Huston. No one in movies has ever portrayed a better private eye (detective) as did Bogart playing Sam Spade.

BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)

Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway play the couple that robbed banks in the midwest during the great depression and they did it with great abundance and in grand style showing little fear. Gene Hackman and Gene Wilder also appear in this classic film which was one of the first to show gruesome recklessness including one of the most violent endings ever on film.

THE GODFATHER (1972)

I could write about this film for pages and pages and talk about it for days and still not run out of things to say. Francis Ford Coppola took over a film which the studio wanted to make into a contemporary cops and robbers story. He fought them at every turn and was able to create an enriching masterpiece portraying a crime family over a span of about forty years. He directed Marlon Brando, who won the oscar Best Actor, and Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, all of whom were nominated for Best Supporting Actors. The film is listed as Number Two on the American Film Institute’s list of the greatest films of all time. Someday, it will be Number one.

THE GODFATHER: PART TWO (1974)

Francis Ford Coppola followed his first masterpiece with this second masterpiece. This film has two stories, the first being the prequel to The Godfather with Robert DeNiro playing Vito Corleone when he was a young man. The scenes and storyline in Italy and in 1920s America are stunning, striking and extraordinary moments. The other story is a sequel showing Al Pacino continuing his role as the new godfather and his dealings with other crime families along with traitors within his own. I believe this picture is the only sequel ever made that won the academy award.

SCARFACE (1983)

Oliver Stone wrote and Brian DePalma directed this powerful film of a cuban immigrant played by Al Pacino (Tony Montana) who rises to the top of a drug empire. Despite his brutal ways, Montana is a loyal individual to his friends until he feels he has been betrayed. The film is chock full of machine guns, illicit drugs, killings, and numerous gruesome scenes, some that are difficult to watch. This film has become a cult classic closely associated with Pacino.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA (1984)

A lost film directed by Sergio Leone about the Jewish mafia in America. It was lost because it was deemed too long at four hours and subsequently edited by the studio mercilessly until it disintegrated into nothing. The film stars Robert DeNiro, James Woods, Joe Pesci, Burt Young, Danny Aiello, Treat Williams James Hayden, William Forsythe, Elizabeth McGovern, Tuesday Weld, Larry Rapp, and a half dozen child actors who play some of these actors in their youth. James Woods delivers his best performance ever and Robert DeNiro is amazing as he ages from the age of twenty five to about sixty five with very little makeup and just his hairline shaved back. If you look for this film, be sure to get the director’s four hour version. It contains explicit sexual scenes.

GOOD FELLAS (1990)

This gangster film stars Robert DeNiro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco and Paul Sorvino and it was directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the non-fiction book, Wiseguy, which was written by Nicholas Pileggi who also wrote Casino. The film is famous for Joe Pesci’s character who is so maniacal that you are almost frightened to watch what he’s going to do next.

PULP FICTION (1994)

I am not a big fan of Quentin Tarantino but I will admit that he has his own unique style of making movies. He is quite amazing at filming very long scenes filled with tremendous amounts of dialogue which holds your attention at all times, something that is difficult to accomplish. Samuel Jackson, Bruce Willis, Uma Thurman are here and the career of John Travolta was brought back to life.

DONNIE BRASCO (1997)

Al Pacino departs from his usual powerful roles and plays a small time hood in a crime family in New York City in the 1970s. Johnny Depp plays Donnie Brasco, an undercover FBI agent, who is befriended by Pacino and brought into the crime family at which time he begins to identify with them and their underworld activities. He becomes fond of Pacino and tries to warn him that the evidence he has been gathering will soon bring him and his bosses down. The film is based on a true story.

THE DEPARTED (2006)

An all star cast highlights this film about an Irish crime family in the city of Boston. They include Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, and Vera Farmiga and it was directed by Martin Scorsese. It is filled with betrayals and spies within both the criminal gangs and the police. It is a complex story that lives by gunfire.

From the Aisle Seat at the Movies