101 gangster movies you have to see before you die

From the classics Mervyn LeRoy and William A. Wellman in the era of alcohol bans to Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese to “vile streets” and mobsters, the 101 gangster films you must see before you die follow the story of the genre from birth to today’s popular crime film. Whether it’s the polar drink shop or the multi-faceted octopus of organized crime, the widescreen figures aren’t too far from the real world. The beginnings of the genre are marked by actors like James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson. They gave the pattern to the determined, insane and charismatic heavy boys now played by Al Pacino or Robert De Niro. Memorable announcements, well-tailored suits, camaraderie and outlaws, and bloody murders accompany the gangsters ’journey into the cinema, which captured the underworld of society in high-impact films. Critics, film historians, and scholars account for their enthusiasm and knowledge, including small-track rats, godfathers, gangster cats, triads and gangs, firefights, burglaries, armed robberies, murders, drug dealings, and car chases. And in the end, we have to answer the catchy question of who’s on our side: the good guys or the bad guys?