3. GOODFELLAS
Director: MARTIN SCORCESE
Year: 1990
‘As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster’ are the
words provided by the narrator and main character of the film, Henry Hill.
The film follows him through his life, beginning with him quitting school at 16
to work under the Lucchese crime family, right up to a middle aged Henry
settled out of gangster life after enrolling in the Witness Protection Program.
4. TRUE ROMANCE
Director: TONY SCOTT
Year: 1993
After what appears to be by chance, a comic book shop worker Clarence meets
and falls in love with a call girl named Alabama. They marry a day later.
Clarence goes over to see her boss to collect her stuff. They begin to fight and
Clarence kills him, taking a bag that he thinks is Alabama’s. It turns out it
contains a large amount of cocaine, giving them a chance to make a lot of
money – but the gangster’s that own it aren’t willing to let it go without a fight.
5. THE GODFATHER
Director: FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA
Year: 1972
Vito Corleone is the aging don (head) of the Corleone Mafia Family. His
youngest son Michael has returned from WWII but he just wants to live a
normal life. Drug dealer Virgil Sollozzo is looking for Mafia Families to offer
him protection in exchange for a profit of the drug money. He approaches Don
Corleone about it, but he is morally against the use of drugs, and turns down
the offer. This does not please Sollozzo, who has the Don shot down by some
of his hit men. The Don barely survives, which leads Michael to begin a violent
mob war against Sollozzo which tears the Corleone family apart.
6. Gangster Movies are my favourite kind of movies for a
number of reasons.
As well as the violence, which most lads my age enjoy,
the storylines are usually very good, especially in the 3
examples I have chosen. Whether they provide a twist
or just tell a linear narrative, they always keep you
engaged and interested in what’s going on.
The acting is usually superb too. The cast of these types
of movies are predominantly Italian-American, which
provide an opportunity for a talented young actor to
find a way into the movie business. Some go on to have
very successful and prolonged film careers, such as Joe
Pesci, Ray Liotta and more as well as the legendary
actors Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, who both made
their breakthroughs by starring in crime orientated
films.
Another thing I really like about Gangster Movies are
the sheer suspense that is apparent when watching.
Sometimes there are certain scenes where there is a lot
of talking going on. During these scenes the tension
builds and builds, coming to a head with a final verbal
blow or even with a death. You never know when a
person is going to be killed in these kinds of scenes
because the suspense is so huge.
7. Star theory sometimes plays a huge part in a films success.
Star theory basically means the power a famous actor or director
can have in influencing a person’s choice to spend their money
to watch a film.
A film could have the best script in the world, but there is a
possibility that it will fail at the Box Office because they don’t
have the draw or the appeal of a high-profile actor or director.
If you see a trailer of a film that has the name of someone you
are a big fan of attached to it then it becomes more likely to
succeed at the Box Office.
Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are actors who would bring in a
big audience to a crime orientated film. This is because they
have made a career of starring in films of this genre as well as
taking that success into more mainstream films, such as family
comedies.
An example of star theory in crime movies is the film ‘Righteous
Kill’, starring both De Niro and Pacino. Prior to it’s release, it
gained a massive buzz around it as it starred these two heavy
weights in the same film. The critical response however was
poor, so this proves that sometimes having great actors doesn’t
necessarily come hand in hand with having a great movie.
8. As well as star theory, there are many reasons as to why I may
choose to watch a film.
I must admit though that I too was excited for Righteous Kill
and was also disappointed with the outcome. Nevertheless, it
was still fascinating to see De Niro and Pacino share sufficient
screen time, something which only happened for two scenes in
Heat and did not happen at all in The Godfather Part II.
I do get attracted to films sometimes by reading a critics view
beforehand. People might disagree with this and say its better
to watch it and gather your own opinion yourself, but I don’t
really want to spend a lot of money these days on a film that
has been panned by every working film critic. It seems I
dodged a bullet by not watching Movie 49, a film I liked the
look of by watching the trailer but by researching I find it to be
described by some as ‘the worst movie ever’.
It apparent that I am a big fan of gangster and crime films, so
whenever a new one is released or I come across an old one
which I haven't seen, I’ll always watch it. Gangster Squad has
been released quite recently and although it has a stellar cast,
that wasn’t the reason I watched it. It made the film better
though by having a top drawer list of actors who made the film
more believable with their fine performances.
9. There are many ways I use to find out about a film’s release.
Trailers are a big way of finding out about a film’s release, and there
are a few different methods of how to see one.
One way is by seeing a trailer being played at a cinema before your
film begins. The trailers are usually screened a few months before
the film’s release, sometimes even a year before if the film is
expected to be a huge blockbuster. Another way is by seeing a
shorter trailer played during the advert breaks on the TV. These are
shown quite close to the release date, the furthest being a month
before. Another way is by actually going onto a film website and
checking out any new trailers that they might have their hands on,
usually shown a long time before the movies release date.
You can also find out about release dates by reading the newspaper,
magazines and the internet.
The internet is becoming more and more prominent in the movie
business nowadays. Film studios find they can get any information
widespread at a quicker pace by using social networks like Twitter
and Facebook.
