Say what you want about crime in real life, but when it’s depicted in a work of fiction, it can often be exciting. Crime movies come in many shapes and sizes, but arguably the most prominent sub-genre withinthe broader crime genre is the gangster movie. Given these revolve around mobsters, shady individuals, or authority figures tasked with taking down such people, most gangster movies are at least somewhat thrilling just for including gangsters as characters.
But then there are other gangster movies that go one step further when it comes to providing viewers with thrills,incorporating elements of genuine thriller movies into the proceedings. The following movies all do this to some extent, being classifiable as both gangster/crime movies and thrillers, with such classic genre hybrids being ranked below from great to greatest.
13’The Outfit' (2022)
Directed by Graham Moore
One of the most recent gangster movies is also one of the best entries into the genre in years.Graham Moore’sThe OutfitstarsOscar winnerMark Rylanceas Leonard, an English tailor in Chicago whose main clients are a family of dangerous mobsters. Against his will, he becomes a pawn in a larger scheme and must do everything he can to survive one fateful night.
Clever and riveting,The Outfitis a gangster thriller done right. Rylance ably supports the plot, delivering one of his most nuanced and compelling performances in a role that requires him to be distant yet relatable. Unlike many other gangster movies,The Outfitisn’t flashy and adopts a well-known approach. However, it is thrilling where it counts, offering a tightly built and twisting narrative that succeeds in keeping audiences engaged every step of the way.
The Outfit
12’American Gangster' (2007)
Directed by Ridley Scott
Ridley Scottjoins Oscar winnersDenzel WashingtonandRussell Crowein the 2007 gangster thrillerAmerican Gangster. The film is a loose, fictionalized take on the life of mobster Frank Lucas, who built an empire by smuggling drugs into the United States using American service planes from the Vietnam War. Meanwhile, cop Richie Roberts becomes determined to bring Lucas down.
American Gangsterthrives on the strength of Scott’s firm hand behind the camera, Washington’s tour de force, and Crowe’s steady, restrained approach. Further aided by a powerful supporting turn from the lateRuby Dee, the film is a worthy and ever-entertaining ode to the classic gangster movies that built the genre into a juggernaut of American cinema. It might play fast and loose with facts and history, butAmerican Gangsterremains a tense and surprisingly intelligent take on a well-known story.
American Gangster
11’Eastern Promises' (2007)
Directed by David Cronenberg
Body horror maestroDavid Cronenbergdirects Oscar nomineesViggo MortensenandNaomi Wattsin the 2007 gangster thrillerEastern Promises. The premise centers on Nikolai, a dangerous but mysterious henchman tasked with subduing Anna, a Russian-British midwife who learns the Russian mafia has ties to a prostitution ring in London.
Ruthless, clinical, and violent,Eastern Promisessees Cronenberg at his most relentless, helming a story about crime, cruelty, and unexpected kindness. Mortensen is brutal in the lead role, with Watts at her most compelling.The film is provocative, savage, tight, and daring, yet profoundly humane and insightful, exploring issues of morality without ever succumbing to moralizing or simplifying. Instead, it treats every major character as a flawed yet crucial piece in an ever-evolving story.
Eastern Promises
10’Get Carter' (1971)
Directed by Mike Hodges
Michael Cainehad a mammoth acting career, finding breakout success in the 1960s and only officially retiring in 2023, at the age of 90. Given the high number of films he appeared in,some of his classics are rather underrated, but thankfully,Get Carteris one that’s generally held up as one of his best and most iconic, especially when it comes to his earlier roles.
Caine plays a methodical and skilled criminal named Jack Carter, with this gangster movie taking a turn toward the realm of revenge thriller when Carter’s brother is killed, and he stops at nothing to seek vengeance for this act.Get Carterisn’t an action movie, but it is violent, and also benefits from having a generally good pace. It’s quick enough to feel like a thriller, but not overblown in a way that risks things getting too silly. It’s a slick, quietly tense, and, in some ways, timeless British gangster flick.
Rent on Apple TV
9’Tokyo Drifter' (1966)
Directed by Seijun Suzuki
There’san entire world of exciting yakuza moviesthat don’t tend to get the recognition they deserve outside Japan, with some of the best at least gaining cult status, to some extent, internationally. One of the best of these Japanese gangster movies isTokyo Drifter, which could also qualify as one of the boldest and strangest, thanks to how hypnotic the visuals are and how striking the editing/presentation overall is.
It’s more about the style than the narrative, but there is still a compelling story here, following a yakuza gang member getting targeted by an assassin, leading to a cat-and-mouse chase, all the while the gangster tries to work out who’s betrayed him and ordered the hit.Tokyo Drifteris fast and furious (hey, a little likethat other movie with a similar title), and packs plenty of thrills into its tight 83-minute runtime.
Watch on Criterion
8’The Untouchables' (1987)
Directed by Brian De Palma
You’d hope that combining the talents ofBrian De Palmaas a directorwiththe leading man abilities ofKevin Costner, plus throwing insupporting turns fromSean ConneryandRobert De Niro– would lead to something great. Thankfully,The Untouchablesis a movie that throws all these talented people together (plus others, likeDavid Mametwriting the screenplay andEnnio Morriconecomposing the score) and emerges as something genuinely great.
The Untouchablesis set during the Prohibition era and is a fictionalized retelling of how the police took downAl Capone, turning the tables by fighting back with aggression against his ruthless criminal empire.It’s a gangster movie where the gangsters take a backseat, sure, but they still drive the conflict, and the film does explore, to some extent, what happens when police start to use violence almost as liberally as the criminals they’re pursuing to achieve their goals.
The Untouchables
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7’White Heat' (1949)
Directed by Raoul Walsh
White Heatis undoubtedly one of thebest gangster movies released during Hollywood’s Golden Age, and also among the final ones, serving as a powerful last hurrah for this style of crime film. It followsJames Cagneyat his biggest and most magnetic, playing a relentless criminal who wastes no time following a prison break, reassembling his gang and planning a complex heist.
It’s not a spoiler to say that the heist doesn’t go perfectly to plan, withWhite Heatthen mining plenty of excitement and suspense from exploring the consequences of things not working out the way Cagney’s character hoped they would. It moves incredibly fast for a crime movie of its age, and everything builds up to an unforgettable and iconic finale that elevates an already very good gangster movie into the realm of greatness.
White Heat
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6’The Long Good Friday' (1980)
Directed by John Mackenzie
Saying the words “British gangster movie” will often conjure up images ofthe crime movies directed byGuy Ritchie, but going back a few years before he began making movies does reveal some gangster classics that werelikely influential in the development of his style. Case in point,The Long Good Friday, which blends dark comedy, thrills, suspense, and an exceedingly unlucky main character into one tense and entertaining film.
The Long Good FridaycementedBob Hoskinsas more than just a character actor, as he largely carries the movie, playing an ambitious gangster in London who wants tobranch out and become at least somewhat legit, even though the universe seems to have other plans for him. It’s a unique gangster film and one that holds up extremely well more than four decades on from its initial release.
The Long Good Friday
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5’Le Samouraï' (1967)
Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
Le Samouraïis another unique type of gangster movie, taking place in a shady criminal underworld where many criminals hide their true intentions, and the protagonist, a doomed hitman, doesn’t know who to trust. The movie follows him as he’s targeted by both the law and rival gangsters, the former trying to capture and imprison him and the latter stopping at nothing to kill him outright.
It’s an arthouse crime movie, in a way, with the thriller elements understated, thanks to the slow-burn nature of the storytelling. ButLe Samouraïnever feels boring, because it’s always precise and controlled, not to mention exceptionally stylish. And, when all else fails, the film’s also got a lot ofAlain Delon, given he plays the lead role, and it’s not a bold claim or anything to say that he’s easy on the eyes.
Le Samouraï
4’Infernal Affairs' (2002)
Directed by Andrew Lau Wai-Keung, Alan Mak
As far asgangster movies made outside the U.S.go, few are better thanInfernal Affairs. Its premise is an airtight one, seeing not just one character go undercover, but two. First, there’s a detective who goes undercover to infiltrate a dangerous group of gangsters, and then there’s a criminal from that group who himself manages to infiltrate the police force.
So begins a psychologically dizzying fight between these two people who’re hiding their true identities, though the first thing either needs to do, of course, is uncover the identity of the other before confronting him. This all makesInfernal Affairswork as a fantastically gripping exploration of two opposing sides – the police and a criminal gang – at odds with each other because of the law,as well as a thrilling/tense battle of wits between two men who’ve both placed themselves in great danger.
