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Author Topic: Gangster marathon - suggestions?  (Read 4847 times)

spoko

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Gangster marathon - suggestions?
« on: August 30, 2006, 09:26:24 AM »
My brother and I are about to start going through the movies from your Westerns marathon, which I'm pretty excited about. He's seen most of them (Westerns fan, obviously), and the only one I've seen is The Wild Bunch.

Anyway, after this marathon we're thinking we'll do a gangster-movie marathon. So I'm looking for suggestions. What would you all recommend? We'd like to do it kind of the same way--get films from several time periods in the genre, and try to get all the big names (actors/directors) on the list. I'm wide open for suggestions. I've seen a few gangster flicks, but I'm by no means an expert on the genre. Especially with pre-1970s stuff. So let 'em rip.

--matt.

JoshuaOst

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Gangster marathon - suggestions?
« Reply #1 on: August 30, 2006, 11:42:10 AM »
The Godfather movies
Goodfellas
A Bronx Tale
The Untouchables
Once Upon a Time in America
Analyze This
Analyze That

So pretty much any movie with Robert De Niro. :)

Scarface
City of God

There's a lot more that I forgot to mention but I just can't think of them right now.
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
-F. Scott Fitzgerald

spoko

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Gangster marathon - suggestions?
« Reply #2 on: August 30, 2006, 12:57:07 PM »
I really liked City of God, but we'll probably stick more to American gangster flicks.

I hope you're kidding about the Analyze... movies. I'll assume you are.

The movies I'm thinking of so far, just kind of off the top of my head, are:

    Little Caesar
    The Public Enemy
    (the original) Scarface
    Angels with Dirty Faces
    White Heat
    The Roaring Twenties
    Key Largo
    Once upon a Time in America
    Miller's Crossing
    GoodFellas
    possibly all three Godfathers (any excuse to rewatch I and II, and I don't think I've ever actually watched III--even if it is bad, I should probably see it)
    [/list]
    There's a gaping hole there through the 50s and 60s, I think. Also, we're obviously going to pare this down a bit. Not sure how many Cagney movies we need, for instance.

    Several of those we've seen (can't count how many times I've seen GoodFellas, for instance), but unlike Adam & Sam I don't think that should disqualify them from the marathon. They may be the first to get cut, though--we'll see.

    --Hero of the Great Taco Syndicate

    p.s. I hadn't thought of A Bronx Tale, but I remember liking that. Wasn't the actor that plays the main kid in that movie busted for murder recently or something? Same kid that played Matt Bevilaccua (sp.?) on  The Sopranos, right?

    sdedalus

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    Gangster marathon - suggestions?
    « Reply #3 on: August 30, 2006, 02:03:11 PM »
    Godfather III isn't bad.  It just has a key role played by a very bad actress.  Other than that, it's a perfectly fine film.  Definitely worth seeing at least.
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    "He was some kind of a man. What does it matter what you say about people?"

    Wowser

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    Gangster marathon - suggestions?
    « Reply #4 on: August 30, 2006, 03:47:15 PM »
    I have a soft spot for part 3! Coppola's commentary puts a nice angle on it, and I came round to his sweetly put views. Apparantly Paramount forced him into calling it Godfather part 3, when he wanted it to be separate from the triology.

    But I think you should see... any Jimmy Cagney film

    JoshuaOst

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    Gangster marathon - suggestions?
    « Reply #5 on: August 30, 2006, 04:04:26 PM »
    Quote from: "spoko"
    I hope you're kidding about the Analyze... movies. I'll assume you are.

    Sure they weren't conventional gangster movies but they made me laugh and I love Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal so I had to add them.
    So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
    -F. Scott Fitzgerald

    spoko

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    Gangster marathon - suggestions?
    « Reply #6 on: August 30, 2006, 05:25:28 PM »
    Quote from: "JoshuaOst"
    Sure they weren't conventional gangster movies but they made me laugh and I love Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal so I had to add them.


    Perhaps I'm biased by my complete disdain for Billy Crystal, then. That and my belief that there is exactly one thing DeNiro should never do in a movie: cry.

    --Hero of the Great Taco Syndicate

    Wowser

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    Gangster marathon - suggestions?
    « Reply #7 on: August 30, 2006, 05:52:51 PM »
    The wowser penalty box pick: The Roaring Twenties. Magnificent!

    JoshuaOst

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    Gangster marathon - suggestions?
    « Reply #8 on: August 30, 2006, 07:06:40 PM »
    Quote from: "spoko"
    That and my belief that there is exactly one thing DeNiro should never do in a movie: cry.

    That I can agree with you on.
    So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
    -F. Scott Fitzgerald

    alexander

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    Gangster marathon - suggestions?
    « Reply #9 on: September 09, 2006, 12:34:49 AM »
    Rififi!

     

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