This is the seventh in a series of articles where we’ll be covering the Films About Gangsters, the Mafia and the Mob and this article will list the 50 Best Gangster Films of All Time. Previous articles reviewed lesser-known Gangster Films by Decade that you can view below:
- Top Films About Gangsters You Haven’t Seen – 1970’s
- Top Films About Gangsters You Haven’t Seen – 1980’s
- Top Films About Gangsters You Haven’t Seen – 1990’s
- Top Films About Gangsters You Haven’t Seen – 2000’s
- Top Films About Gangsters You Haven’t Seen – 2010’s
- Best Recent Gangster Films
- Best Films About Gangsters
The Gangster Films subgenre typically acts as an umbrella subgenre that also includes Films about Mobsters, The Mob, The Mafia, The Yakuza, The Triad and other forms of Organized Crime. Because organized crime covers such a wide area of criminal activity, the Gangster Films subgenre is often associated with other Crime subgenres including Films About Assassins & Hitmen, Films About Capers & Heists, Films About Cops & the FBI, Films About Narcos, Films About Gambling and Films About Undercover Agents. While some Films About Gangs or Films About Drug Trafficking will also often be included in this subgenre, we have unorganized, teen gangs and films that primarily deal with drug dealers in their own collections, dependent on the film’s overall theme.
What are the Best Gangster Films of all-time? Read on as we look at some of the best films that feature Mobsters, Gangsters, The Mob, The Mafia, The Yakuza, The Triad and other forms of Organized Crime. This is our thirty-second “Best Of” subgenre list where we will rank the Top 50 Films from the Films About Gangsters, the Mafia and the Mob subgenre.
For our rankings we’re going to use some criteria to help define and refine our list. First, we’ll rank films according to how much a film’s theme is focused on gangsters, the mob or the mafia. There are quite a few crime films that have elements of organized crime, but they’re often secondary to other crime-focused themes. An example here would be True Romance (1993). While the film does feature gangsters in pursuit of Clarence (Christian Slater) and Alabama (Patricia Arquette), the film’s overall theme aligns more with the Films About Fugitives subgenre. So, though it is one of the best films in the overall crime genre, it will rank a bit lower here to make way for gangster-focused films.
Second, we’re going to make some judgement calls on films that combine themes of drug trafficking with organized crime. We tend to classify films that have a stronger focus on the drug trade in our Films About Drugs & Narcos subgenre list. Examples here would include both Scarface (1983) and New Jack City (1991). While both films feature gangsters rising in the ranks to control drug trade, New Jack City is much more focused on the effects of the drug trade on the surrounding community so will rank a bit lower on this specific list.
Third, we’re going to try and represent every decade if possible so this will leave some films on our Honorable Mentions list. The majority of the best films from this subgenre were released from 1970 – 2000 but there are films released after that period that deserve inclusion on this list. This would include the recent slew of Asian-based gangster films that many readers of this list might not have seen and will question why they are ranked over some much more well-known films. But, if you have seen these films, you’ll likely understand why they are ranked as they are here.
And fourth, we had to follow our rule for all of KBZ’s film listings where we only list films that have a 4.0/10 or higher rating and were released after 1970. For classic films of the subgenre made prior to 1970, we will include a list below.
Our complete list of Films About Gangsters, The Mafia and The Mob features over 478+ films from 1954 – 2024. This collection features almost every film featuring mobsters, gangsters, the yakuza and other forms of organized crime. If you don’t see a film in our collection, it is likely in other collections such as Films About Assassins & Hitmen, Films About Capers & Heists, Films About Cops & the FBI, Films About Narcos, Films About Gambling, Films About Gangs and Films About Drugs & Narcos. Also, as we’re always updating our collections and will be releasing additional articles of great Gangster Films, subscribe to our newsletter for our latest updates as we post them.
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Best Gangster Films of All Time
Classic Films About Gangsters pre-1970: Little Caesar (1931), Scarface (1932), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), The Roaring Twenties (1939), White Heat (1949), The Big Heat (1953), On the Waterfront (1954), The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (1967) and Bonnie & Clyde (1967).
Honorable Mentions: Get Carter (1971), Dillinger (1973), Charley Varrick (1973), The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973), F.I.S.T. (1978), Fingers (1978), Gloria (1980), The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984), The Freshman (1990), Revenge (1990), Nobody Will Speak of Us When We’re Dead (1995), The Last Days of Frankie the Fly (1996), The Last Don (1997), Sexy Beast (2000), 25th Hour (2002), Layer Cake (2004), Lord of War (2005), A History of Violence (2005), Eastern Promises (2007), No Country for Old Men (2007), Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 (2008), RocknRolla (2008), Public Enemies (2009), 22 Bullets (2010), Outrage (2001), American Hustle (2013), Suburra (2015), Carbone (2017), The Outlaws (2017), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), The Outfit (2022) and The Roundup (2022).
Rank 50-1:
#50 Bonanno: A Godfather’s Story (1999) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon (Part 1 & 2), Amazon (Part 3 & 4)
#49 The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon (2023) Where to Stream / Buy: Netflix
#48 Hoodlum (1997) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#47 Believer (2018) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#46 Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead (1995) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#45 Mesrine: Killer Instinct (2008) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#44 The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil (2019) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#43 Legend (2015) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#42 Hoffa (1992) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#41 Get Shorty (1995) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#40 The Blood of Wolves (2018) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#39 The Boondock Saints (1999) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#38 State of Grace (1990) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#37 Kill the Irishman (2011) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#36 Snatch (2000) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#35 Analyze This (1999) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#34 Bugsy (1991) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#33 The Irishman (2019) Where to Stream / Buy: Netflix
#32 Gomorrah (2008) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#31 Miller’s Crossing (1990) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#30 Prizzi’s Honor (1985) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#29 Black Mass (2015) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#28 Road to Perdition (2002) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#27 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#26 New Jack City (1991) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#25 Reservoir Dogs (1992) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#24 The Godfather: Part III (1990) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#23 American Gangster (2007) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#22 L.A. Confidential (1997) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#21 True Romance (1993) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#20 Prime Cut (1972) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#19 The Cotton Club (1984) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#18 Mean Streets (1973) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#17 The Usual Suspects (1995) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#16 City of God (2002) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#15 King of New York (1990) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#14 A Bronx Tale (1993) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#13 Jackie Brown (1997) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#12 Donnie Brasco (1997) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#11 The Departed (2006) Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
