Gangster film is a film genre which features gangster characters, such as members of the Mafia and inner city street gangs. Even in the early days of film history, the audience appetite for new content was voracious. ... Gangsters are members of a professional crime organization, such as a gang or a mafia group. ... // Background The Mafia, also referred to in Italian as La Cosa Nostra (variously translated as This Thing Of Ours or Our Thing), is the name for a secret, criminal organisation which evolved in mid 19th century Sicily, and led to an offshoot on the East-Coast of the United States... A gang is a group of individuals who share a common identity and, in current usage, engage in illegal activities. ...

Notable American gangster films

• The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912)
• Underworld (1927)
• Little Caesar (1930)
• The Public Enemy (1931)
• I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang (1932)
• Scarface (1932)
• Lady Killer (1933)
• The Petrified Forest (1936)
• Angels With Dirty Faces (1938)
• You Can't Take it With You (1938)
• The Roaring Twenties (1939)
• Force of Evil (1948)
• White Heat (1949)
• New York Confidential (1954)
• Machine Gun Kelly (1958)
• Al Capone (1959)
• Shaft (1971)
• The Godfather (1972)
• The Godfather Part II (1974)
• Scarface (1983)
• Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
• The Untouchables (1987)
• Colors (1988)
• Dick Tracy (1990)
• Goodfellas (1990)
• Miller's Crossing (1990)
• State of Grace (1990)
• The Godfather Part III (1990)
• Billy Bathgate (1991)
• Boyz N the Hood (1991)
• Bugsy (1991)
• New Jack City (1991)
• Hoffa (1992)
• Reservoir Dogs (1992)
• A Bronx Tale (1993)
• Carlito's Way (1993)
• Menace II Society (1993)
• Pulp Fiction (1994)
• Casino (1995)
• Donnie Brasco (1997)
• Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)

The Musketeers of Pig Alley is a 1912 American short/drama film credited as the first gangster film in history. ... Underworld is a 1927 silent film directed by Josef von Sternberg. ... Little Caesar is a 1931 crime drama which tells the story of a man who works his way up the ranks of the mob until he reaches its upper heights. ... The Public Enemy is a 1931 film noir crime drama in which a good brother tries to turn his bad brother back onto the good path. ... Scarface (also known as Scarface, the Shame of the Nation and The Shame of a Nation) is a 1932 gangster film which tells the story of gang warfare and police intervention when rival gangs fight over control of a city. ... The Petrified Forest (1936) is a predecessor to film noir with an original screenplay by Delmer Daves and Charles Kenyon, from the play by Robert Sherwood. ... Angels with Dirty Faces is a 1938 film which tells the story of two boys, growing up in the slums of New York City, who take different paths -- one becomes a gangster, one a priest. ... You Cant Take it With You was an important example of the category of end-of-depression heart warming movies made by Frank Capra in the 1930s. ... The Roaring Twenties is a 1939 crime thriller starring James Cagney, Priscilla Lane & Humphrey Bogart. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... White Heat White Heat is 1949 film which depicts the story of a mentally disturbed gangster with a mother complex who makes a daring escape from prison. ... George Machine Gun Kelly (1895-1954) was a notorious American gangster during the prohibition era. ... A shaft can be an aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect; his parting shot was `drop dead; she threw shafts of sarcasm; she takes a dig at me every chance she gets slang, meaning to receive unfair treatment a hole... The Godfather is a film adaptation of the novel of the same name (see The Godfather (novel)) written by Mario Puzo, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino. ... The Godfather, Part II is the sequel to The Godfather, released in 1974. ... Scarface has several meanings: Scarface is a nickname for Al Capone. ... Once Upon a Time in America (original title Cera una volta in America) (1984) is director Sergio Leones last film. ... The Untouchables is the name of a 1957 book by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley, and also of two television series and a motion picture that it inspired. ... Dick Tracy is a 1990 movie based upon the Dick Tracy character created by Chester Gould. ... Goodfellas is a 1990 film about the mafia directed by Martin Scorsese. ... Millers Crossing is an early (1990) film noir example of the work of Joel and Ethan Coen in which the filmic qualities of cross and double-cross are ruthlessly exploited in one of their more convoluted thrillers. ... State of Grace is a crime film released in 1990. ... The Godfather, Part III is a 1990 film, the third in the Godfather trilogy. ... Billy Bathgate is a character created by author E.L. Doctorow, and has been featured in three pieces of modern art: Songs of Billy Bathgate, a 1968 short story featuring the son of the character from Doctorows later novel. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Bugsy is a 1991 film which tells the story of mobster Bugsy Siegel. ... New Jack City is a 1991 crime thriller starring Wesley Snipes, Ice T, Mario Van Peebles, Judd Nelson and Chris Rock. ... Hoffa DVD cover Hoffa is a 1992 biopic film based on the life and mysterious death of Teamsters Union leader Jimmy Hoffa. ... Reservoir Dogs is Quentin Tarantinos 1992 debut as a feature film director. ... A Bronx Tale (1993) is a movie set in New York City during the turbulent era of the 1960s. ... Carlitos Way is a 1993 gangster movie written by Judge Edwin Torres and directed by Brian DePalma. ... Menace II Society is a 1993 drama film starring Tyrin Turner, Larenz Tate and Jada Pinkett Smith. ... Pulp Fiction is a 1994 film directed by Quentin Tarantino and written by Tarantino and Roger Avary. ... Casino is a 1995 movie directed by Martin Scorsese, based on the book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi and Larry Shandling. ... Donnie Brasco is the name of two things: Most common is the FBI agent with the real name Joseph D. Pistone. ...

Notable British gangster films

• Get Carter (1971)
• The Long Good Friday (1980)
• The Krays (1990)
• Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
• Snatch (2000)
• Gangster No. 1 (2000)