Reel Reviews Reel Reviews in "Best of" Movie Lists Published Date by Frank Wilkins From the Corleones to Tony Montana and the Sopranos, mafia families and mob-tied gangsters have been depicted in the movies for almost as long as movies have been around themselves. 1931's Little Caesar with Edward G. Robinson as Rico, is widely regarded as the birth-giver to the mob/mafia genre which sparked a brief craze for the genre in the 1930's. Ever since, movie lovers have been reveling in the delight of watching heroes and villains battle it out in a mythic playground of good vs. evil. Below is our list of the best mob/mafia and organized crime movies in no particular order. If you don't find your favorite mafia movie on the list, let us know about it in the comments section following the article. The Godfather (1972) - Not only is it the best Mob movie of all time, it's one of the best movies period. Goodfellas (1990) - Martin Scorcese at his best. Lost the Best Picture Oscar to Dances With Wolves. A winner in any other year.

The Godfather Part II (1974) - The only sequel to win a best picture Oscar. Yes, it's that good. Donnie Brasco (1997) - Stars Al Pacino and Johnny Depp. Enough said! Scarface (1983) - Brian DePalma's best film. By the way, Al Pacino would like you to meet his little friend. A History of Violence (2005) - A graphic illustration of what might have happened had Charles Manson visited Mayberry- only darker! William Hurt is phenomenal here. The Departed (2006) - The question of whether a definitive list of Scorsese pictures will include The Departed has been answered. It's brilliant! On the Waterfront (1954) - One of the best films of all time. Brando displays one of the best acting performances ever to be captured on film. Reservoir Dogs (1992) - Quentin Tarantino's best film? Mr. Pink thinks so. Casino (1995) - Another Scorcese Mob film. Not as good as Goodfellas, but still pretty damn good!

A Bronx Tale (1993) - DeNiro's directorial debut. And a fine debut it is. And he stars in the film too. The Untouchables (1987) - Elliot Ness cleans up the Chicago underworld. Directed by Brian de Palma, written by David Mamet, starring Kevin Costner. How's that for firepower? The Dark Knight (2008) - Heath Ledger's performance aside, it's just a great movie. Not really as much a superhero tale as it is a brilliant crime drama that happens to feature a superhero. Carlito's Way (1993) - De Palma and Pacino sure know their way around a gangster flick! Pulp Fiction (1994) - Tarantino's sophomore effort. No sophomore slump here! Style and verve that have been copied ever since. Heat (1995) - The first time De Niro and Pacino acted together. Chemistry, chemistry, chemistry. Jackie Brown (1997) - Another Tarantino classic. Hip, stylish and pure Tarantino! Boondock Saints (1999) - Little known, but a huge cult classic.

Bonnie and Clyde (1967) - Not a Mafia movie, but a gangster flick nonetheless. One of the most controversial films of the 1960s. And there was a lot of controversy in the 60s! Towards the top of many "best films of all times" lists. Miller's Crossing (1990) - Lust, vengeance, and Ireland! All the things that make a good Mob movie! Analyze This (1998) - A change of pace for a gangster pic, but worth the look anyway. Good to see De Niro do levity. The Sopranos (2000- 2007) - Sure, it's not a movie, but it's the best show on TV, so it deserves a mention here. Will unfortunately typecast Gandolfini to the point of unrecoverability. Road to Perdition (2002) - A Sam Mendes masterpiece. It's a cold, brooding noir piece with violence, intrigue, style and of course the father son dynamic. Angels With Dirty Faces (1938) - A James Cagney, Hunphrey Bogart classic.

Because of the controversy over gangster films at the time, the film was banned outright in Denmark, China, Poland, Finland, and parts of Canada and Switzerland. Animal Kingdom (2010) - A multi-layered Australian crime story that takes its sweet time roiling to a frothy, violent head. Its deliberate pacing is more potential energy than kinetic, and reminds us of a Polanski slow burn. Have additional information, want to know what others are saying, or don't agree with something we said? Read or post comments about the Best Mob/mafia Movies Ever on the The Mob VS The Godfather | ShortList Magazine Films The Mob VS The Godfather Forty years after The Godfather was released, Jimi Famurewa explores the death threats, disputes and violent mafia battles that nearly whacked a cinematic classic Autumn, 1970 and the cosy silence of a Californian suburb has just been broken by the sound of gunfire and shattering glass. Bettye McCartt, assistant to Hollywood producer Al Ruddy, quietens her understandably terrified children and leaves the house to see what’s happened.

Every window on the sports car outside, a vehicle she had borrowed from her jittery boss after he received a tip-off that his car was being tracked, has been smashed. The exact scrawled words on the note stuck to the remains of the windshield have been lost to myth, speculation and faltering memories, but the gist of the message is clear to this day. Pull the plug on The Godfather, or else. It sounds like it could be a deleted scene from the film itself rather than a real-life tale from the other side of the camera. But this was just one moment in a prolonged campaign of intimidation, theft, violence and scheming that characterised, and jeopardised, the making of a modern masterpiece. “There was a twofold reaction when Paramount announced it was making Mario Puzo’s book into a movie,” explains film historian and author of The Godfather Effect Tom Santopietro. “It was a bestseller, so there were of course fans of the novel who wanted to see it on the big screen.

But then there were Italians who were upset about another larger-than-life depiction of Italians as mobsters.” This opposition was spearheaded by the recently formed Italian-American Civil Rights League, a wealthy and increasingly powerful group that campaigned against any perceived marinara-stained stereotyping in pop culture. It soon became clear however that the charismatic leader of the League might have had a different, altogether less innocent reason for shutting down production on this high-profile Mob epic. “The ultimate irony was that the League was headed by a real-life mobster called Joseph Colombo,” laughs Santopietro. It was the beginning of a period that brought the forceful personalities behind The Godfather uncomfortably close to the dangerous men they were depicting. Forty years, $268m at the box office and three Academy Awards later it’s incredible to think that, had it not been for a few dramatic interventions, one of cinema’s greatest films might never have been made.

MOB PRESSURE Four decades after it was released, this operatic story of family, crime and equine decapitation is an untouchable classic, rated third (behind Casablanca and Citizen Kane) in the American Film Institute’s 100 Greatest Films Of All Time, and rightly regarded as the pinnacle of modern filmmaking. Surprisingly though, it began life with the odds stacked heavily against it. It was made on a comparatively puny $7m (£4.4m) budget, had a supposedly washed-up Marlon Brando leading an unknown cast and had been given to an untested young director called Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola’s hiring was met with fierce opposition by playboy Paramount executive Robert Evans (“He’s crazy. F*ck him and the horse he rode in on,” was what Evans apparently said at the time) but he had one, notable thing in his favour. “Evans only agreed to hire Coppola after a fellow Paramount exec called Peter Bart suggested that an Italian-American director might cool the situation [with the League],” explains Jon Lewis, Film Studies lecturer at Oregon State University and author of the BFI’s slim but insightful book on The Godfather.

“Needless to say it didn’t work.” Coppola’s arrival, and his vision of the story as a sympathetic family chronicle, fitted in with Paramount’s promotion of The Godfather as the first Italian Mob drama made by Italians. One where, as Bart put it, “you could smell the spaghetti”. But despite assembling a crew and cast with vowel-laden names and authentic heritage Paramount couldn’t quash the League and Joe Colombo’s growing anger. “Before The Godfather started filming, Italian-American civil-rights groups had no heft or muscle at all,” says Santopietro. “Then, all of a sudden, the protests took on a life of their own and thousands of people joined.” But what began with peaceful protest — including a rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden that raised $500,000 to halt production — soon became a Corleone-style campaign of intimidation. Colombo, despite his status as a Mafia don and former contract killer, projected a wholesome image of lectern-clutching respectability. But those connected to his crime family embarked on a campaign of intimidation of which the Corleones would have been proud. Bomb scares saw Paramount’s New York offices in the Gulf + Western Building evacuated twice.

Then Al Ruddy, after a series of threatening phone calls and an LAPD tip-off, made the decision that left him with a hefty bill from his mechanic. “There were major threats, they were serious,” says Gianni Russo, the Mob-connected fixer who ended up memorably portraying Don Corleone’s abusive son-in-law Carlo Rizzi in the film. “[The Colombos] had idiots around them who would do anything. Francis [Ford Coppola] went to Little Italy to do some tests before filming in a movie mobile, like an Airstream. They went in for lunch and when they came back the truck was gone. A million dollars’ worth of equipment.” Thefts and veiled threats were one thing, but the most vicious incident came when Evans, his Hollywood actress wife Ali McGraw and their infant son Joshua received a mystery call at their New York hotel. “We don’t want to break your pretty face, hurt your newborn,” rasped the voice. “Get the f*ck outta town. Don’t shoot no movie about the family here.

Got it?” Evans, a cigar-chomping, hard-headed old Hollywood figure, didn’t wilt, and suggested they take it up with Ruddy, the film’s producer. “Listen carefully, motherf*cker,” said the voice. “I ain’t gonna say it again. When you wanna kill a snake, pretty boy, there’s only one way to do it — you go for its head.” THE M WORD As well as the hoodlums making pre-production a nightmare, the team behind The Godfather had angered a powerful member of Hollywood royalty: Frank Sinatra. The Rat Pack crooner had been against the project since its inception — he allegedly threatened to break Mario Puzo’s legs in 1970 when the pair were introduced — because of the uncanny similarity he bore to the story’s feckless, Mafia-owned singer Johnny Fontane. But there might have been another reason for his vocal support of the League in its campaign to shut down production. “There are definitely elements of Sinatra in Fontane, no question. But Sinatra was also incessantly career-obsessed,” says Santopietro, who also has an Ol’ Blue Eyes memoir in his bibliography.

“He knew Don Vito Corleone was a great role and so he saw Francis Ford Coppola, well before filming had started, and said to him, ‘Francis, I will play Don Vito for you. I’ll never do it for those guys at Paramount so let’s you and I buy back the rights and make the movie.’” Coppola, for whatever reason, rebuffed this breakaway offer and, according to Santopietro, only deepened Sinatra’s hatred of The Godfather. Legend has it Sinatra successfully got Italian-American singer Vic Damone to quit his role as Johnny Fontane (a part ultimately played by the equally dapper Al Martino), and Russo claims he tried the same trick with him. “Sinatra’s a punk,” he spits. “He called me up and said, ‘I don’t want you to support this thing.’ So I hung up the phone.” With celebrities intimidating cast members, Mob-controlled unions refusing to allow filming and Paramount staff living in fear, something had to be done. It was time for Hollywood’s elite to swallow their pride, say a few private prayers and meet the Mob.

Unbowed by the numerous threats he’d received, Al Ruddy invited Joe Colombo and two broad-shouldered associates to his East Coast office to broker a deal. “They demanded that he delete all mentions of ‘mafia’ in the script, but they didn’t bother to read it,” laughs Santopietro. “So Paramount agreed and [the League] thought it’d won this great victory despite the fact there was only one use of ‘mafia’ in the script.” It was a masterstroke by Ruddy — albeit one that briefly got him fired thanks to unhelpful press tales about Mob collusion. But his next move helped guarantee that the Little Italy and Staten Island locations Coppola craved would be made available. “Ruddy ended a speech to the League by saying, ‘Of course we’ll be looking to use people as extras in the film,” continues Santopietro. “People started cheering and from that point the American love of showbusiness took over.” BLOOD ON THE SIDEWALK Gianni Russo, a charismatic New Yorker now in his late sixties with a fondness for lawyer-troubling anecdotes and high-collared shirts, was one of these fame-hungry Americans.

He’d already sent a showgirl in his ’65 Bentley limousine to personally deliver a screen test (where he portrayed Michael, Sonny and Carlo) to Ruddy. But he fondly recalls that it was another sit-down with Paramount where he unlocked restrictions at a location in exchange for a place in cinematic history. “It was like a scene from the movie,” says Russo. “I took Joe [Colombo] and all these guys to the Gulf + Western building. We made a deal and they tried to pacify me by saying, ‘Oh yeah, we’ll give him a part.’ I said, ‘I either play Michael, Sonny or Carlo. That’s my deal.’ And Joe said, ‘That’s what the kid wants, give it to him.’ Were they scared? I think they stained their underwear.” Pretty soon, Russo — who occasionally worked for Frank Costello, the gravel-gargling Mob boss said to have been the inspiration for Brando’s Oscar-minted portrayal of Vito Corleone — wasn’t the only shady presence on the set. Members of the notorious Gambino crime family would “visit every day” and, according to him, the wedding scene featured “100 years of good behaviour total”.

“It was amazing,” cackles Russo. “I was making more money on that film than anybody. I had all the soft drinks on set, all the pastries… forget about it.” This eventual love-in between the Mob and the makers of The Godfather may have blurred the line between fiction and reality, but midway through filming it was completely obliterated. On 28 June 1971, a few streets away from where Coppola was shooting the climactic scenes of the film, Joe Colombo was gunned down by a hitman reputedly working for rival gangster Joe Gallo. “Carlo Gambino and Frank Costello had warned him. He was bringing too much attention [to the mafia way of life],” explains Russo. “If that doesn’t tell you that what was happening [in The Godfather] was real, then I don’t know what can.” Colombo remained paralysed for seven years until his death. Being filmed in the midst of bloody gangland battles did nothing to harm the film’s press — it was a certified hit as soon as it was released. Queues snaked around the block as Coppola’s epic became one of the highest-grossing pictures of all time.

What’s more, police officials noticed a strange trend among the film’s newly approving criminal audience. “Mario Puzo had invented the term ‘The Godfather’ for the novel. It didn’t exist,” explains Santopietro. “But the effect of the book and the film was so extreme that real-life mobsters started to imitate what they had seen on screen. Kissing the hand in a gesture of respect, referring to ‘The Godfather’ of a particular family and so on. There are FBI tapes of mobsters quoting Don Corleone. That’s the power of this film.” It was a final twist to the tale of which Coppola himself would have been proud. His Mob saga had survived death threats, disruptions and table-flinging disputes to become every wiseguy’s favourite flick. The omerta-breaking enemy was reborn as the manual for modern Mob life and launched a tradition of authentic screen mafiosi that stretches from GoodFellas right up to The Sopranos. All along, the filmmakers wanted to turn the criminal experience into something complex, noble and even heroic and all they wanted in return from the Mob was approval and cooperation. Fittingly, it was an offer they couldn’t refuse.

The Godfather Effect is out now; giannirusso.com The Godfather Coppola Restoration boxset is available to own on DVD and Blu-ray from Paramount Home Entertainment. Buy it from Amazon here . Read more on: The 27 top Mafia, Gangster & Mob Movies of all time back to locallytype.com The 27 best Mafia, Gangster & Mob Movies of all time The below list are by my definition the best Mafia, Gangster and Mob Films of all time. Some of the movies might be a surprise to you as they might not obviously fall into the same category as the others but I didn't want to leave them out even if they are not 100% pure Mafia goodness. I do hope you enjoy the list and maybe you find inspiration to see a movie you didn't know yet. The movies are not in any particular order. Should you have suggestions for movies that should be on the list please do mail me at submission (at) locallytype (dot) com Goodfellas Goodfellas is a 1990 crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, based on the book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, the true story of Henry Hill.

The film follows the rise and fall of three gangsters, spanning three decades. Scorsese originally intended to direct Goodfellas before The Last Temptation of Christ, but when funds materialized to make Last Temptation, he postponed what was then known as Wise Guy. The title of Pileggi's book had already been used for a TV series and for Brian De Palma's 1986 comedy Wise Guys, so Pileggi and Scorsese changed the name of their film to Goodfellas. The Godfather The Godfather is a 1972 epic crime drama film based on the 1969 novel of the same name by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, with a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola, and an uncredited Robert Towne. It stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall and Diane Keaton, and features Richard S. Castellano, Abe Vigoda and Sterling Hayden. The story spans ten years from 1945 to 1955 and chronicles the Italian-American Corleone crime family.

The Sopranos The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase. It was originally broadcast in the United States on the premium cable network HBO from January 10, 1999 to June 10, 2007, spanning six seasons and 86 episodes. Since premiering on HBO, the show has been broadcast by many networks in dozens of other countries. Eastern Promises Eastern Promises is a 2007 crime drama film directed by David Cronenberg, from a screenplay written by Steven Knight. The film tells of a British midwife's interactions with the Russian Mafia in London and stars Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts. Principal photography began November 2006, in locations in and around London. The film has been noted for its plot twist and for its violence and realistic depiction of the Russian criminal underworld. Once upon a time in America Once Upon a Time in America (Italian title C'era una volta in America) is a 1984 crime film directed by Sergio Leone, starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. The story chronicles the lives of Jewish ghetto youths who rise to prominence in New York City's world of organized crime.

The film explores themes of childhood friendships, love, loss, greed, violence, the passage of time, broken relationships, and the appearance of mobsters in American society. Casino Casino is an Academy Award nominated 1995 crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi and Larry Shandling. Robert De Niro stars as Sam "Ace" Rothstein, a Jewish chain-smoking top gambling handicapper who is called by the Mob to oversee the day-to-day operations at the fictional Tangiers Casino in Las Vegas. The story is based on the late Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, who ran the Stardust, Fremont and the Hacienda casinos in Las Vegas for the Chicago Outfit from the 1970s until the early 1980s. Donnie Brasco Donnie Brasco is an Academy Award–nominated 1997 film by Mike Newell, starring Al Pacino, Michael Madsen and Johnny Depp. It is loosely based on the real-life events of Joseph D.

Pistone, a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent who successfully infiltrated the Bonanno crime family, one of the Mafia's Five Families based in New York City during the 1970s, under the alias "Donnie Brasco". Depp met with Pistone several times while preparing for his role. The Departed The Departed is a 2006 crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson. It is an American remake of the 2002 Hong Kong crime thriller Infernal Affairs. The film won four Academy Awards at the 79th Academy Awards, including the Best Picture, and a long-awaited Best Director win for Scorsese. Carlitos Way Carlito's Way is a 1993 crime film based on the novels Carlito's Way and After Hours by Judge Edwin Torres. The film adaptation was scripted by David Koepp and directed by Brian De Palma. It stars Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Penelope Ann Miller, John Leguizamo, Jorge Porcel and Viggo Mortensen. The film's featured song, "You Are So Beautiful", was performed by Joe Cocker.

Scarface Scarface is a 1983 epic crime film directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone and starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana. A remake of Howard Hawks' original 1932 film of the same title, the film tells the story of a fictional Cuban refugee who comes to Florida in 1980 as a result of the Mariel Boatlift. Montana becomes a gangster against the backdrop of the 1980s cocaine boom. The film chronicles his rise to the top of Miami's criminal underworld and subsequent downfall in Greek tragedy fashion. Heat Heat is a 1995 American action film written and directed by Michael Mann. It stars Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Val Kilmer. The film was released on December 15, 1995. De Niro plays a professional burglar who is a calm and methodical introvert, while Pacino plays a veteran LAPD homicide detective whose devotion to his job causes him to neglect his personal problems.

The central conflict of the film was based on the experiences of former Chicago police officer Chuck Adamson and his pursuit of a criminal named McCauley in the 1960s, from which the name of De Niro's character, Neil McCauley, was derived. Jackie Brown Jackie Brown is a 1997 crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. The film stars Pam Grier, Robert Forster, Robert De Niro, Samuel L. Jackson, Bridget Fonda and Michael Keaton. This movie follows Tarantino's success directing Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994) which also stars Jackson in a lead role. Reservoir Dogs Reservoir Dogs is the 1992 debut film of director and writer Quentin Tarantino. It portrays what happens before and after a botched jewel heist, but not the heist itself. Reservoir Dogs stars an ensemble cast with Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Quentin Tarantino, Eddie Bunker, Chris Penn and Lawrence Tierney. Tarantino also has a minor role, as does criminal-turned-author Eddie Bunker.

It incorporates many themes and aesthetics that have become Tarantino's hallmarks: violent crime, pop culture references, memorable dialogue, profuse profanity, and a nonlinear storyline. Pulp Fiction Pulp Fiction is a 1994 film by director Quentin Tarantino, who cowrote the film with Roger Avary. A crime drama with a nonlinear storyline, the film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, its ironic mix of humor and violence, and its host of cinematic and pop culture references. The film was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture; Tarantino and Avary won for Best Original Screenplay. It was also awarded the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. A major commercial success, it revitalized the career of its leading man, John Travolta, who received an Academy Award nomination, as did costars Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman. The Boondock Saints The Boondock Saints is a 2000 crime thriller film written and directed by Troy Duffy. The film stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus as Catholic Irish American fraternal twins, Connor and Murphy MacManus, who become vigilantes after killing two members of the Russian mob in self-defense.

After a message from God, the brothers, together with their friend David Della Rocco, set out to rid their home city of Boston, Massachusetts of crime and evil; all the while being pursued by FBI agent Paul Smecker (Willem Dafoe). Analyze this Analyze This is a 1999 movie produced by Warner Brothers Studios. Directed by Harold Ramis, it features Robert De Niro as a mafioso and Billy Crystal as a psychiatrist. It was written by playwright Kenneth Lonergan with re-writes by Peter Tolan, George Gallo, and director Ramis among others. A sequel, Analyze That was released in 2002. Road to Perdition Road to Perdition is a 2002 period drama directed by Sam Mendes. The screenplay was adapted by David Self, from the graphic novel of the same name by Max Allan Collins. The film stars Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Tyler Hoechlin and Daniel Craig. Hanks stars as Michael Sullivan, an assassin who is forced to flee with his son from the crime syndicate for whom he had worked. Mickey Blue Eyes Mickey Blue Eyes is a 1999 film directed by Kelly Makin.

Hugh Grant stars as Michael Felgate, an English auctioner living in New York City who becomes entangled in his soon-to-be father in-law's mafia connections. The Shawshank Redemption The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 American drama film, written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the Stephen King novella, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. The film stars Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne and Morgan Freeman as Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding. The film portrays Andy spending nearly two decades in Shawshank State Prison, a fictional penitentiary in Maine, and his friendship with Red, a fellow inmate. This movie exemplifies the potential gap between initial box office success and ultimate popularity. The Usual Suspects The Usual Suspects is a 1995 American neo-noir film written by Christopher McQuarrie and directed by Bryan Singer. The film tells the story of Roger "Verbal" Kint (Kevin Spacey), a small-time con man who is the subject of a police interrogation. He tells his interrogator, U.S.

Customs Agent David Kujan (Chazz Palminteri), a convoluted story about events leading to a massacre and massive fire that have just taken place on a ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro Bay. Using flashback and narration, Verbal's story becomes increasingly complex as he tries to explain why he and his partners-in-crime were on the boat. Chinatown Chinatown is a 1974 American neo-noir film, directed by Roman Polanski. The film features many elements of the film noir genre, particularly a multi-layered story that is part mystery and part psychological drama. It stars Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston. Also appearing in the film are John Hillerman, Diane Ladd, Perry Lopez, James Hong, Joe Mantell, Bruce Glover, Burt Young, and Noble Willingham. The plot is based in part on real events that formed the California Water Wars, in which William Mulholland acted on behalf of Los Angeles interests to secure water rights in the Owens Valley. Santch Snatch is a 2000 crime film by British writer-director Guy Ritchie, and featuring an ensemble cast.

Set in the London criminal underworld, the movie contains two intertwined plots — one dealing with the search for a stolen diamond, the other with a small-time boxing promoter named Turkish (Jason Statham) who finds himself under the thumb of a psychotic gangster named Brick Top (Alan Ford). Kill Bill Kill Bill is the fourth film by writer-director Quentin Tarantino. Originally conceived as one film, it was released in two separate volumes (in late 2003 and early 2004) due to its running time of approximately four hours. The movie is an epic-length revenge drama, with homages to earlier film genres, such as Hong Kong martial arts movies, Japanese samurai movies and Italian spaghetti westerns; an extensive use of popular music and pop culture references; and aestheticization of violence. Filming took place in California, Texas, Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and parts of Mexico. Fight Club Fight Club is a 1999 American feature film adaptation of the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. The film, directed by David Fincher, follows a nameless protagonist (Edward Norton), an everyman and an unreliable narrator who feels trapped with his white-collar position in society.

The narrator gets involved in a fight club with soap salesman Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) and becomes tangled up in a relationship triangle with Durden and a destitute woman, Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter). The Dark Knight The Dark Knight is a 2008 American superhero film directed and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is part of Nolan's Batman film series and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins. Christian Bale reprises the lead role. The film follows Bruce Wayne/Batman (Bale), District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), and Police Commissioner James Gordon (Gary Oldman) and their struggles and journey in combating the new threat of the Joker (Heath Ledger). The Joker's identity is left a mystery in the film, while Two-Face's transformation from heroic district attorney to disfigured killer is presented entirely. The Slience of the Lambs The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 suspense film directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Anthony Heald and Ted Levine. It is based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Harris, his second to feature Dr.

Hannibal Lecter, brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer. In the film, Clarice Starling, a young FBI trainee, seeks the advice of the imprisoned Lecter on catching a serial killer known only as "Buffalo Bill". The film won the top five Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Actress. Léon Léon (also known as The Professional and Léon: The Professional) is a French 1994 action drama film written and directed by French director Luc Besson. It stars Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, and a young Natalie Portman in her first starring role. 'The Godfather' Anniversary: Fact and Fiction | Moviefone 'The Godfather' Anniversary: Fact and Fiction by Moviefone Staff "My Mafia is a very romanticized myth," said "Godfather" novelist Mario Puzo, who claimed that he had never met any actual mobsters when he wrote his bestseller, and that his accounts of lurid crimes were based on archival research and imagination. Nor did Francis Ford Coppola have any direct knowledge of mob life when he and Puzo adapted the novel into a screenplay.

Yet 40 years later, "The Godfather" is widely considered one of the most accurate movies about the Mafia, even though all its characters are fictional. Part of that is canny mythmaking on the part of Puzo and Coppola, but much of it comes from the real-life Mafia lore that is only thinly disguised in the movie. Which of the movie's notorious deeds are based on fact, and which are invented out of whole cloth? Read on. The Don Aside from big events like his daughter's wedding, Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) is a quiet man who keeps a low profile, running his crime empire from his unassuming olive oil import storefront. Coppola has said he's a combination of mid-century crime bosses Vito Genovese (who like his fictional counterpart, eschewed drug dealing) and Joe Prifaci. Another likely inspiration is Carlo Gambino, another quiet, unflashy man who, through assassinations and betrayals, became head of the mob family that bears his name and the most powerful Mafioso in New York.

LIke Brando's character, Gambino lived on a suburban estate outside Manhattan and died peacefully of a heart attack when he was old and still a free man. The Five Families The business meeting where Vito calls together the heads of the mob families (the five New York families and others from around the country) is based on similar real-life meetings. "The Commission" was the name the Mafia gave to the ruling council that included the five New York families and the families from other territories. As in the movie, the Commission existed to settle disputes. Unlike in the movie, there was no moral squeamishness among Commission members over drug dealing, and mob-related narcotics busts were frequent. There were occasional bans on drug trafficking, but only because sentences were so severe that they were an incentive for indicted mob soldiers to turn state's evidence. The Restaurant The turning point of "The Godfather" comes when Michael (Al Pacino) lures two of his enemies to an outer-borough Italian restaurant and shoots them with a gun planted in the bathroom. That's more or less how one of the most pivotal hits in mob history went down.

In 1931, Lucky Luciano met old-time boss Giuseppe Masseria at a Coney Island eatery called Nuovo Villa Tammaro. He excused himself to go to the bathroom, and that's when the hit happened. Luciano wasn't one of the shooters; the assassination was carried out by Vito Genovese, Joe Adonis, Albert Anastasia, and Bugsy Siegel. That whacking made Luciano and his hit squad the new leaders of organized crime in New York and gave rise to the modern Mafia. The Exile After the hit, Michael flees to Sicily. He seems to be emulating Vito Genovese, who ran off to Italy in 1937 to evade murder charges. During the war, however, he helped U.S. Army Intelligence by putting local black marketeers out of business (and secretly taking control of their operations). The government dropped the charges against him, allowing him to return to America. Lucky Luciano also went to Italy, having been deported in 1946.

He never returned to America, but he continued to exert influence from abroad, working with Meyer Lansky to invest in casinos in Cuba (as Michael Corleone did with Hyman Roth, the Lansky-like character in "The Godfather Part II"). Like Michael, Luciano fell in love with a much younger Italian woman and lived with her until her death. Unlike in "The Godfather," they were never married, and she died of breast cancer, not a car bomb. The Casino Mogul Moe Greene (Alex Rocco) is credited in the movie with helping to build Las Vegas. He's clearly an analogue for Bugsy Siegel, the Jewish mobster who was an associate of Meyer Lansky's (as Greene was with Hyman Roth), and who is credited with putting Las Vegas on the map by building the Flamingo, the hotel/casino/nightclub that was the model for every modern-day resort on the Strip. In the film, Greene is famously shot to death through the eye at his casino for having moved against the Corleones.

In real life, Siegel was shot over the cost overruns of the Flamingo, and he was killed by four shots from a sniper while sitting on the living room couch of his girlfriend's home in Beverly Hills. The Barbershop One of the climactic murders of the Corleone rivals takes place in a hotel barbershop. That's an apparent reference to the 1957 murder of Albert Anastasia, shot in a barber's chair at New York's Park Sheraton hotel while he relaxed with his eyes closed. The hit was ordered by Vito Genovese and organized by Carlo Gambino, who would take over from Anastasia as head of the crime family. The chair is currently on display at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas, which opened just last month. The Crooner Was Johnny Fontane -- the crooner who set bobby-soxers' hearts fluttering, but who enlisted the Godfather's help to win a movie role that would revive his flagging career -- based on Frank Sinatra? Sinatra certainly thought so. He sued to stop production of the movie and, upon meeting Mario Puzo at Chasen's restaurant in Hollywood, threatened to break the author's legs.

It's certainly true that, in the early 1950s, Sinatra's career was in the dumps. Then he won the coveted role of bullied soldier Maggio in Columbia's "From Here to Eternity." The part earned him an Oscar and put him back on top of the showbiz heap for the rest of his long career. "Godfather" viewers have seen similarities between Jack Woltz, the Hollywood mogul who initially refuses to hire Fontane, and Harry Cohn, the Columbia studio chief who, like Woltz, had a fondness for young starlets. But there's no evidence that anyone coerced Cohn to get Sinatra the part. The horse's head in the bed? That's an invention of Puzo's. There's also a story Michael tells Kay about Fontane that may be closer to the truth, a story involving the Godfather sending scary Luca Brasi to threaten a bandleader who wouldn't let the singer out of an unfair contract. That echoes a story often told about Sinatra's release from his contract with Tommy Dorsey, who initially refused to let the singer buy his way out of their pact for $60,000 in 1943.

According to at least one SInatra biography, Dorsey was visited by three gangsters, one of whom may have been New Jersey boss Willie Moretti. They stuck a gun in the bandleader's mouth and made him what Vito Corleone would call "an offer he can't refuse." Soon, Dorsey let Sinatra buy out his contract -- for $1. Al Martino, the crooner-turned-actor who played Johnny Fontane, insisted that the character was actually based on him. He, too, was a teen idol who had a No. 1 single, "Here in My Heart," in 1952. As Martino recounted in a 2009 interview , that was the year that two thugs turned up on his manager's doorstep, threatening him until he gave them Martino's contract for free. Martino tried to fire them as managers, but they beat him when he was booked at a mobbed-up nightclub in Atlantic City. He signed an I.O.U. for $80,000, then fled to England, staying there for six years until he negotiated with another mob boss for his safe return.

Martino even claimed to have pulled a Johnny Fontane in order to get the role of Johnny Fontane, asking "my Godfather, Russ Bufalino" (the Philadelphia crime boss) to pressure "Godfather" producer Al Ruddy to hire him. Coppola's choice had reportedly been crooner Vic Damone, who backed out, supposedly after learning that the Mafia was officially backing Martino for the role. Martino complained, however, that his part had been trimmed. He blamed pressure from Sinatra, in the form of the Chairman's lawsuit against the producers and physical threats to Puzo. But Coppola said that "Johnny Fontane's role was only minimized by [Martino's] inexperience as an actor." The Sequels Much of the plot of "The Godfather Part II" involves Hyman Roth (Lee Strasberg), who, like the real Meyer Lansky, claimed to be a mere Florida pensioner, rather than one of the architects of the modern Mafia.

The flashback parts of the movie, in which young Vito (Robert De Niro) rises to power in Little Italy by killing an old-school don, aren't inspired by any particular Mafioso, though there were many who terrorized the neighborhood as members of the so-called "Black Hand." Unlike Don Fanucci, they weren't flashy and conspicuous but preferred to operate in the shadows. A major plot strand of "The Godfather Part III" centers on a banking scandal involving the Vatican and the Italian Mafia, something that happened in real life in the 1980s. There's also the character of Joey Zasa (Joe Mantegna), a well-dressed mob capo who seems clearly modeled on "the dapper don," 1980s New York crime boss John Gotti. The ultimate irony of the "Godfather" films is that real-life mobsters began to emulate the characters -- for instance, drressing better and dropping their "dese-dem-dose" locutions for the more formal, cultivated speech patterns of the Corleones. "The Godfather" might not have been based entirely on reality and truth, but eventually, it became real and true. WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Corleone crime family | The Godfather Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia The Corleone crime family is one of the Five Families operating in New York and in other parts of the United States . The family was formed by Vito Corleone , who fronted his operations by starting the Genco Olive Oil Company . Contents History Formation The family traces its roots to 1920 , when Vito Corleone assassinated Little Italy's padrone, Don Fanucci , and took over Fanucci's territory along with fellow hoodlums Genco Abbandando , Peter Clemenza and Salvatore Tessio . Shortly afterward, he founded the Genco Pura Olive Oil Company as a front for his criminal activities. Around 1925 , Vito formally organized the family, with Genco as his consigliere and Peter and Sal as caporegimes . They became the most powerful crime family in New York after defeating Salvatore Maranzano , a friend and ally of the late Fanucci, during the Olive Oil War in the early 1930s . It was during this time that Vito's eldest son, Sonny , made his reputation and eventually became a capo himself.

The family were instrumental in establishing the Commission in 1934 . The Sollozzo Plot In 1945 , a business proposition from drug kingpin Virgil Sollozzo nearly destroyed the family, hospitalising Don Vito and forcing his eldest son Sonny in action. The situation further escalated when the youngest Corleone brother Michael killed Sollozzo and his bodyguard, Captain McCluskey , forcing him to flee to Sicily . This event triggered the Five Families War . The war claimed the life of acting don Sonny, and the still weak Don Vito sued for peace with the other families , realising that his true enemy was Emilio Barzini , who was attempting to crush the Corleones and become the most powerful don in New York. Family divides Vito and his caporegimes. After Don Vito's retirement, followed by his death from a heart attack in 1955 , the family business was taken over by Michael, who exacted vengeance on the rival family's dons along with Moe Greene , Carlo Rizzi and Tessio for conspiring with the rival heads. After this, Michael moved the family to Las Vegas , Nevada .

Michael was attempting to make his business legitimate, but was drawn back into crime after a failed attempt on his life by Miami gangster and old friend and business partner of the Corleone family, Hyman Roth , who was attempting to stop the takeover of Las Vegas. This action resulted in Roth's death as well as the death of Michael's older brother Fredo , who had unwittingly conspired against the Corleones. Joey Zasa. After Michael made the move to Nevada, Peter Clemenza and Salvatore Tessio were allowed to form their own families. However, when Tessio's plot with Barzini to assasinate Michael was uncovered, he was killed. As a result of this, Clemenza took over the Corleone family in New York . When Clemenza died of a supposed heart attack in 1958 he was succeeded by Frank Pentangeli . At this time, the Rosato Brothers formed a rogue faction, secretely backed by Hyman Roth in an attempt to stop Michael's take-over in Las Vegas. This conflict would eventually lead to the demise of both Pentangeli and Roth.

In the years that followed, Joey Zasa was eventually given the former Corleone family territories in New York by the Commission , with Michael Corleone's approval. Legitimization By 1979 , the Corleone family was almost completely legitimate. Michael sold his interests in all casinos and hotels and was trying to purchase a controlling interest in Immobiliare from the Vatican . However, Joey Zasa , who was awarded the Corleone family business in New York, conspired with aging Don Altobello , and together orchestrated an assassination attempt on Michael in Atlantic City . Shortly after, Joey Zasa was killed by Michael's nephew Vincent Mancini . In 1980 , Michael appointed Vincent to be his successor as the Don and head of the Corleone family, allowing him to change his name to Vincent Corleone. Vito Corleone's family structure (1920s-1955) 1955-1960 — Rocco Lampone — killed in 1960. 1960-unknown — Albert "Al" Neri — moved back to New York with Michael at some point.

Clemenza's organization Peter Clemenza 's regime , in subsequent years, seemed to pursue criminal ventures that they wouldn't have approached when the old guard was still there. The Rosato Brothers , soldiers in Clemenza's crew who eventually formed a rogue faction, were heavily involved in narcotics and prostitution, hardly getting involved with their gambling rackets. They also had extensive dealings with black and Hispanic criminals, presumably employing them for their narcotics operations, and garnered reputations for acts of violence in Italian neighbourhoods. Joey Zasa , who took over Clemenza's old crew at some point, also brought black and Hispanic criminals into his organisation and turned a blind eye to their dealing narcotics in his territory. In the video game In The Godfather: The Game , the Corleone Family is Aldo Trapani, the main character's family. All of the major Corleone characters also appeared in the game and played significant role although the main focus is the player's character. Some differences also appeared from the original film, most noticeably the existence of the character Aldo Trapani, Trapani is the one who killed Paulie Gatto and planted the gun for Michael's assassination of Sollozzo and McCluskey.

In the game's beginning the Corleones start as a weak family despite known as the most powerful family in the past and the title is held by the Barzini Family. Also, Corleone Family is the only family to lack a territory from the beginning. But as the game progresses, Trapani will take more and more territories and established the Corleone as the most powerful family once again. At the start, Corleones can only rival Tattaglias in term of combat and can barely defend themselves against other families. At first, Corleone Capo can hold out against a Tattaglia Underboss in fistcuffs for a while before got overwhelmed, however they cannot last long against Stracci Capo and even outrivaled by Cuneo and Barzini Soldier. The uniqueness of Corleone however, is they are the only family with a chance to grow. At the near end of the game (once you reach Underboss or Don) the tide will turn, Corleone Soldiers are strong enough to hold out against Tattaglia Underboss and the Underbosses will be incredibly strong, they can beat a Barzini Underboss with little difficulty.

Corleone family's crest is a lion standing on two legs or some sorts. In the first game and it's expansion the Corleone main color is black, however in the second game it became red along with the Trapani crime family . Behind the scenes It is said that the Corleone family is inspired by the real-life Borgia family from Renaissance Italy in the late 15th century. [6] Compared to the real Five Families the Corleone family draws comparisons to the Bonanno family . [7] The Brooklyn based Bonanno family inherited a large part of the Maranzano organization and expanded their interests to other parts of the United States , notably Arizona. The internal conflict within the Bonanno family dubbed the Banana war in the 1960s inspired events in The Godfather novel . In addition, Connie Corleone's wedding is based on the wedding of Salvatore Bonanno to Rosalie Profaci. [8] Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo envisioned The Godfather IV, which would be about the downfall of Vincenzo Corleone, as he lead the family into drug dealing and bringing about his demise in a similar fashion as the death of Pablo Escobar.

[1] The real life Corleonesi became the most powerful Sicilian crime group after fighting a bloody mafia war against their rivals in the early 1980s. Gallery

Question: What was the family name of the Mafia mob depicted in the "Godfather" movies?
Answer: Corleone