The rise of American capitalism and its inexorable descent into corruption and politics, illustrated through an epic drama of gangsterism and community.

Rating: 10/10 (5 October 2006)

One of the very best films ever made. Period. If you haven't seen it - see the full-length 4 hour version. All other versions are trashed travesties. If you're reading this, it's because you're interested in films. If you haven't seen it, you owe it to yourself to see one of the few grown-up masterpieces of American cinema. There's no point in trying to describe the story or even the themes. Suffice it to say that this is on a bigger scale than you even realise watching the film the first time. It's about the formative years of the American Empire, and has much to teach us that is relevant still. It's very much a European film - the equivalent is probably Bertolucci's 1900 - but it deals with a uniquely American history. Violence, rape, union-breaking and assassination: it's the perfect American History X.