Top 42 Gangster Movies of All Time, Ranked

The genre has produced some of the most loved films of all time.

Top 42 Gangster Movies of All Time, Ranked

Any discussion over what defines the ultimate gangster movie tends to get tense. Passions surge. Voices rise. Tempers fray. Not to the level of putting a stallion’s severed head in someone’s bed, but it’s a conversation that stands distinctly apart from the best sports movies or the greatest western epics.

The genre flourished in the 1930s. Cigar-chomping, Tommy-gun toting villains — mowing down “wise guys” and running from “G-men” — were the staple of the Saturday matinee. The violence was muted, however, to stay within the standards of Hollywood’s censorship code. As a result, the storytelling landscape was one-dimensional, the classic tale of good meets evil on a decades-long loop.

The lifting of those limitations in the late 1960s opened the door for a new era, and the films ascended to a new level. Legendary directors delivered stories that not only broke barriers and raised the bar, but they also created movies that continue to gain acclaim when viewed in the telling light of history. A new generation of stars stepped up as well.

As creativity continues into the 21st century, here are the 42 best gangster movies all time.

42. King of New York

Release date: Sept. 28, 1990

Metacritic rating: 66

Tomatometer: 74

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 77

Combined score: 72.3

Most memorable line: "Stick around, Frankenstein coming on next."

How King of New York Ranks

Christopher Walken stars as crime boss Frank White, equally at ease running a drug empire as he is rubbing elbows with Manhattan’s social elite. The film deftly blends the traditional gangster film with the rhythms of late 1980s hip-hop and vividly conveys the dark side of power.

White’s scheme to use violence and influence to become the King of New York is challenged by rival drug lords who don’t want to partner with him, and by a trio of policemen (Victor Argo, David Caruso and Wesley Snipes) who are willing to a break the law to bring him down. Laurence Fishburne delivers a memorable performance as White’s henchman Jimmy Jump.

41. Snatch

Release date: Jan. 19, 2001

Metacritic rating: 55

Tomatometer: 73

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 93

Combined score: 73.6

Most memorable line: "D'ya like dags?"

How Snatch Ranks

"Snatch" features an ensemble cast, including Brad Pitt, Jason Statham, Benicio del Toro and Vinnie Jones playing colorful gangsters in this highly stylized British crime comedy.

Set in London, "Snatch" is a tale of intertwining plots about a stolen diamond and a small-time, illegal boxing promoter trying to avoid being fed to the pigs by a ruthless criminal overlord. But it's less about the plot and more about the characters, who could easily exist in comic books.

Funny, smart, and highly entertaining, "Snatch" is a fantastic pick for a gangster flick when you could use a laugh.

40. Gangs of New York (Tie)

Release date: Dec. 20, 2002

Metacritic rating: 72

Tomatometer: 73

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 81

Combined score: 75.3

Most memorable line: "You know how I stayed alive this long? All these years? Fear. The spectacle of fearsome acts. Somebody steals from me, I cut off his hands. He offends me, I cut out his tongue. He rises against me, I cut off his head, stick it on a pike, raise it high up so all on the streets can see. That's what preserves the order of things. Fear."

How Gangs of New York Ranks

Loosely — very loosely — based on the gangs that frequented the Five Points neighborhood of Manhattan in the 1860s, "Gangs of New York" is an epic film stuffed with over-the-top violence and fantastic characters.

The story is fairly simple. Bill the Butcher (Daniel Day-Lewis), kills Priest Vallon during an all-out gang war and declares Vallon's gang, the Dead Rabbits, dead. Fifteen years later, the Priest's son, Amsterdam (Leonardo DiCaprio), ingratiates himself with the Butcher in order to kill him.

Directed by Martin Scorsese, "Gangs of New York" features incredible set designs and an absolutely phenomenal performance by Day-Lewis.

40. American Me (Tie)

Release date: March 13, 1992

Metacritic rating: 66

Tomatometer: 70

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 90

Combined score: 75.3

Most memorable line: "The state is so lame, they paid for the game."

How American Me Ranks

"American Me" is one of the few movies about the Mexican Mafia. Set in the California prison system from the 1950s through the 1980s, "American Me" chronicles the rise of Montoya Santana (Edward James Olmos), a character loosely based on the real-life Mexican mob boss Rodolfo Cadena.

While it can be slow at times and it's rough around the edges, "American Me" is a unique kind of gangster film. Films about the Mexican Mafia are few and far between, and it's worth a watch for those looking for criminal tales involving other cultures.

38. State of Grace

Release date: Sept. 14, 1990

Metacritic rating: 60

Tomatometer: 84

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 83

Combined score: 75.6

Most memorable line: "Is he ****** up or is he ****** up?"

How State of Grace Ranks

It's understandable if you haven't heard of "State of Grace," because it was released one week after "Goodfellas." Talk about bad timing. "State of Grace" had an estimated $19 million budget but made just $1.9 million at the box office and was pulled from theaters after just two weeks.

Which is a shame, because "State of Grace" deserved better. Set in Hell's Kitchen and focusing on the Irish-American mafia, the flick features an all-star cast of Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Gary Oldman, Robin Wright, John Turturro and John C. Reilly.

The plot revolves around Terry Noonan (Penn), a former hoodlum who returns to Hells Kitchen as an undercover cop looking to take down crime boss Frankie Flannery (Harris), who happens to be his best friend's brother.

37. Bugsy (Tie)

Release date: Dec. 20, 1991

Metacritic rating: 80

Tomatometer: 85

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 69

Combined score: 78

Most memorable line: "Why don’t you go outside and jerk yourself a soda?"

How Bugsy Ranks

How did the glitz and glamor of modern Las Vegas emerge from a desolate landscape of sand and tumbleweeds? The city’s identity as one of the globe’s great gambling destinations can be credited, in large part, to gangster Bugsy Siegel, played by Warren Beatty in this biographical true crime story.

Beatty’s partner in crime and love interest is played by Annette Bening, who excels as the tough, foul-mouthed and ultimately deceitful Virginia Hill. Romantic footnote: Sparks flew onscreen and off for Beatty and Bening; they married after the film’s release. The cast boasts a who’s who of wise guys — Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley, Elliott Gould, Joe Mantegna — and Academy Award winner Barry Levinson directs them skillfully.

37. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (Tie)

Release date: March 5, 1999

Metacritic rating: 66

Tomatometer: 75

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 93

Combined score: 78

Most memorable line: "Jesus Christ! You could choke a dozen donkeys on that."

How Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Ranks

The first directorial effort from Guy Ritchie is a wild ride centering on a rigged card game and an unorthodox plan hatched by four small-time British criminals to pay off a £500,000 ($691,249) debt. It’s the feature film debut of noted tough guy Jason Statham and includes a clever turn by music superstar Sting as pub owner JD, father to one of the miscreants.

The film is slick — equal parts dark and humorous — and delightfully paced. It’s a window into London’s gritty East End, where pot growers, porn kings and gun merchants share space with cab companies and dimly lit pubs. The plot is unpredictable, underscoring the message that fate is a fickle companion when it comes to crime.

35. Carlito’s Way (Tie)

Release date: Nov. 12, 1993

Metacritic rating: 65

Tomatometer: 81

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 91

Combined score: 79

Most memorable line: "The street is watchin’. She is watchin’ all the time."

How Carlito’s Way Ranks

Acclaimed director Brian De Palma ("Scarface," "The Untouchables") created a cult classic with his taut drama starring Al Pacino as Carlito Brigante, determined to go straight upon his release from prison. And Sean Penn shines as the prototypical shady mob lawyer. He springs Carlito early on a technicality, but his penchant for booze, cocaine and bending the rules (read: ripping off other clients) makes him a poor ally.

Penelope Ann Miller as Carlito’s ballet dancer/stripper girlfriend Gail and John Leguizamo as Bronx tough guy Benny Blanco are compelling complements, particularly the latter as an up-and-coming gangster seeking a piece of the Spanish Harlem nightclub that Carlito co-owns. The pool hall scene, a classic drug-deal-gone-awry, is pure De Palma — artfully paced mayhem.

35. Layer Cake (Tie)

Release date: Oct. 1, 2004

Metacritic rating: 73

Tomatometer: 80

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 84

Combined score: 79

Most memorable line: "England. Typical. Even drug dealers don't work weekends."

How Layer Cake Ranks

Daniel Craig plays an unnamed London cocaine dealer who's trying to get away from the life. But before he can, he'll find himself involved some dangerous jobs and facing double-crosses at every junction.

Directed by Matthew Vaughn, "Layer Cake" is a crime caper in the same kind of vein as "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch" (which shouldn't be a surprise, given that he produced both those films). Fans of British crime dramas should give it a look.

33. In Bruges

Release date: Jan. 17, 2008

Metacritic rating: 67

Tomatometer: 84

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 87

Combined score: 79.3

Most memorable line: "A great day this has turned out to be. I'm suicidal, me mate tries to kill me, me gun gets nicked and we're still in f****** Bruges!"

How In Bruges Ranks

"In Bruges" is a bitingly funny British crime comedy about hitmen Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson), who are sent to Bruges, Belgium, after accidentally killing a young boy (and also after killing a priest).

"In Bruges" crackles with fantastically dark humor and exceptionally witty dialogue, while also managing to balance and pull off some really heartfelt stuff. It's violent, bizarre, and downright worth watching.

Farrell earned a Golden Globe for Best Actor while Gleeson was nominated for one. Writer-director Martin McDonagh won a BAFTA and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

32. Road to Perdition

Release date: July 12, 2002

Metacritic rating: 72

Tomatometer: 81

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 86

Combined score: 79.6

Most memorable line: "This is the life we chose. The life we lead. And there is only one guarantee — none of us will see heaven."

How Road to Perdition Ranks

Tom Hanks as a hitman? Seeing one of America’s most beloved actors master a bad guy role distinguishes this movie from countless others featuring the affable star. If you need another reason, consider Paul Newman as his boss, Irish-American mobster John Rooney.

The role rewarded the legendary actor with the final Oscar nomination of his career and is regarded as his last great performance, coming six years before his passing in 2008.

Hanks plays an enforcer in 1930s Chicago, and when his son witnesses a killing, it illustrates the timeless question of whether sons are somehow destined to bear the cost for their father’s sins.

31. Scarface

Release date: Dec. 9, 1983

Metacritic rating: 65

Tomatometer: 82

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 93

Combined score: 80

Most memorable line: "In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, you get the women."

How Scarface Ranks

If you like your gratuitous violence accompanied by a dose of history, cloaked in excess, this film will satisfy your lust for blood, storytelling and intrigue. Al Pacino’s portrayal of cocaine kingpin Tony Montana is bursting with bullish bravado and cruel cunning amidst an ensemble cast.

Montana is ruthless in his rise from Cuban exile to a Miami millionaire, and soon he becomes a target for federal authorities. Michelle Pfeiffer is haunting as Elvira, who seems indifferent to the madness around her, content to numb herself from the nightmare by consuming copious quantities of blow.

Hovering over the entire storyline, authored by Oliver Stone (in the throes of his own battle with the drug), is a "this doesn’t end well" feeling.

30. American Gangster

Release date: Nov. 2, 2007

Metacritic rating: 76

Tomatometer: 81

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 85

Combined score: 80.6

Most memorable line: "It’s chaos. Every gorilla for himself."

How American Gangster Ranks

Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe square off as heroin dealer and police detective, and the chemistry they produce imbues the biographical drama with riveting tension.

Washington plays Frank Lucas, who smuggles heroin (known on the street as Blue Magic for its combination of price and potency) in the caskets of fallen American servicemen being flown home from Vietnam. Crowe is his flawed but straight-arrow pursuer who navigates a failing marriage and the distrust of his peers in the department.

The accompanying cast is deep and diverse with appearances by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Josh Brolin, Cuba Gooding Jr., John Hawkes, Carla Gugino, Ruby Dee, Armand Assante and Joe Morton. Director Ridley Scott weaves it together skillfully, although a case could be made that the two-hour, 37-minute length was a bit self-indulgent.

29. True Romance (Tie)

Release date: Sept. 10, 1993

Metacritic rating: 59

Tomatometer: 92

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 93

Combined score: 81.3

Most memorable line: "What we are doing is having a game of show and tell. You aren't telling me anything, but you're showing me everything."

How True Romance Ranks

Drugs. The mob. Elvis. Written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott, "True Romance" is a dark-humored and gritty flick with fantastic dialogue and an energetic pace.

Set in Detroit and Los Angeles, the film follows Clarence Worley (Christian Slater), a kung fu-movie expert who believes he can speak to Elvis, and Alabama Whitman (Patricia Arquette), a former call girl. After getting hitched, Clarence murders Alabama's pimp, Drexl (played fantastically by Gary Oldman), and steals a huge bag of cocaine. The two then make off for California to sell it, but they've now attracted the attention of the mob.

Also featuring James Gandolfini in a standout role as a hired hitman, "True Romance" is violent as hell and heavily rewatchable.

29. A History of Violence (Tie)

Release date: Sept. 23, 2005

Metacritic rating: 81

Tomatometer: 87

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 76

Combined score: 81.3

Most memorable line: "Yeah, it's Richie. What do you say, Joey? Are you going to come see me? Or do I have to come see you?"

How A History of Violence Ranks

In "A History of Violence," Viggo Mortensen plays Tom Stall, a small-town diner owner who ends up murdering (in spectacular fashion) two crooks during an attempted robbery. The news hails him as a local hero and his face is plastered all over the local news.

Shortly thereafter, a one-eyed criminal named Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris) comes to town, alleging that Stall is actually a violent gangster named Joey Cusack. Is he, or does Fogarty have the wrong guy?

David Cronenberg, a director notorious for his bizarre and macabre filmmaking, switches up his style for this film. "A History of Violence" is a slower-paced, contemplative gangster film about the nature of violence.

27. Casino

Release date: Nov. 22, 1995

Metacritic rating: 73

Tomatometer: 80

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 93

Combined score: 82

Most memorable line: "In Vegas, everybody’s gotta watch everybody else."

How Casino Ranks

The eighth collaboration between director Martin Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro casts the Academy Award winner in a slightly different tough guy role, that of Sam "Ace" Rothstein, assigned by Chicago organized crime to run a Las Vegas casino in the 1970s. Other people do the dirty work, notably Joe Pesci as the volatile mob enforcer Nicky Santoro.

The dialogue between Ace and Nicky is masterful (other aspects of the three-hour opus can lag a bit), and their partnership is unique. Ace is the brains, but he’s Jewish, so he’s never fully "in." Nicky, while a bit of a blunt instrument, is a "made man" and, as such, indispensable.

That is, until a woman in the form of Sharon Stone, as Ace’s erratic and troubled wife Ginger McKenna, comes between them. Her dramatic descent is one for the ages.

25. Gomorrah (Tie)

Release date: Feb. 13, 2009

Metacritic rating: 87

Tomatometer: 91

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 70

Combined score: 82.6

Most memorable line: "Are you with us or against us?"

How Gomorrah Ranks

This critically acclaimed tale dispenses any pretense of romanticism associated with organized crime. There’s no attempt to cast a veil over the violence or moralize the mayhem by limiting the victims to bad guys. Set in southern Italy, the movie weaves together the stories of five individuals whose lives are touched by the Camorra, the criminal clans based in Naples.

The most troubling of the quintet might be Toto, a grocery delivery boy who aspires to join a gang. His initiation is a hellish ordeal involving a bulletproof vest. Later, his commitment to the unwritten code of crime is an act so soulless that it’s difficult to fathom.

The film, deftly directed by Matteo Garrone, feels like a documentary. It was awarded the Grand Prix at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.

25. Miller’s Crossing (Tie)

Release date: Oct. 5, 1990

Metacritic rating: 66

Tomatometer: 92

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 90

Combined score: 82.6

Most memorable line: "Something I tell all my boys. Always put one in the brain."

How Miller’s Crossing Ranks

Two rival gangs (Irish and Italian) during Prohibition provide a combustible landscape. Irish actor Gabriel Byrne as Tom Reagan has the task of trying to put out the fires. Written and directed by the Coen brothers, the movie is rife with subtleties and taps into themes of friendship, character, ethics, love and loneliness.

The plot is intricate, and the acting is superb throughout — Marcia Gay Harden, Jon Polito, Steve Buscemi, J.E. Freeman and Albert Finney all shine — but the most memorable performance is delivered by John Turturro.

As the two-timing bookie Bernie Bernbaum, his plea for mercy at an intersection in the woods known as "Miller’s Crossing" is the story’s defining moment.

24. Get Carter

Release date: March 18, 1971

Metacritic rating: 80

Tomatometer: 84

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 85

Combined score: 83

Most memorable line: "I’d almost forgotten what your eyes look like. They’re still the same. Piss holes in the snow."

How Get Carter Ranks

They say that revenge is a dish best served cold. When it comes to Michael Caine as London hitman Jack Carter, the act of settling a score is decidedly cool. Caine is as smooth as he is relentless, returning to gritty, post-industrial Newcastle (cue the smokestacks in the background of the funeral scene) in pursuit of his brother’s killer.

This is revenge noir at its apex, equal parts depressing and charismatic. There’s a pornography ring, smoky pubs, decaying factories, dark alleys, an aging horse track — a perfectly bleak landscape for pessimism and hopelessness. Former Bond girl Britt Ekland has a brief but memorable role, and John Osborne is a worthy antagonist as Cyril Kinnear.

But the movie hinges on Caine’s performance, which is head-turning.

21. Sexy Beast (Tie)

Release date: June 13, 2001

Metacritic rating: 79

Tomatometer: 87

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 85

Combined score: 83.6

Most memorable line: "Well, that’s your problem then. It’s your move."

How Sexy Beast Ranks

The lifestyle choice seems simple. Option 1: Sunning poolside on Spain’s Costa del Sol, with an occasional rabbit hunt to ease the monotony of retirement. Option 2? Pair up with a former sociopathic criminal associate for "one last job." Unfortunately, as Gary "Gal" Dove (Ray Winstone) learns, politely declining the aggressive solicitation of Don Logan (Ben Kingsley) isn’t an option.

The scheme is a bit absurd — drilling into a bank vault from an adjacent Turkish bath — but it adds to the movie’s bizarre and wicked humor. Logan’s refusal to put out his cigarette on a plane, evidence of a man who lives his life spoiling for a fight, is a gem of a scene.

The formula of "aging criminal is lured back" has been done ad nauseam, but this is an inventive and enjoyable version.

21. The Town (Tie)

Release date: Sept. 17, 2010

Metacritic rating: 74

Tomatometer: 92

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 85

Combined score: 83.6

Most memorable line: "I’ll see you again. This side or the other."

How The Town Ranks

Robbing a bank and later falling in love with a hostage isn’t a good way to build a relationship, or stay out of prison. But that’s the chaotic landscape Ben Affleck inhabits as Doug "Duggie" MacRay, one of four lifelong friends in a tough Boston neighborhood. Jon Hamm is driven and resourceful FBI agent Adam Frawley, who vows to see them end their lives in federal prison.

While he applies pressure on one side, Jeremy Renner as Jimmy "Jem" Coughlin applies it from the other. When Duggie tells Jem he wants out of an audacious heist at Fenway Park during a Red Sox game, push comes to much more than the proverbial shove.

The characters are authentic, and the action scenes are intense. Notably, Affleck also wrote, produced and directed the film.

21. The Untouchables (Tie)

Release date: June 3, 1987

Metacritic rating: 79

Tomatometer: 83

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 89

Combined score: 83.6

Most memorable line: "They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That's the Chicago way!"

How The Untouchables Ranks

To bring down a figure as powerful as Al Capone (Robert De Niro) required the elite of law enforcement, men impervious to bribe or threat. Prohibition agent Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) targeted the legendary crime kingpin with a handpicked team known as "The Untouchables," the inspiration for the Brian De Palma-directed, David Mamet-written hit.

While Costner is cool and calculating, counterpart Sean Connery (veteran cop Jimmy Malone) is passionate and spellbinding (he won an Oscar for the role). It’s a performance that has only received greater appreciation in the aftermath of Connery’s 2020 passing.

The movie checks the necessary boxes for the crime genre — there’s suspense (a tough trick when we know Capone’s ultimate fate), action (the violence is fairly extreme), and a score (Ennio Morricone of "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" fame) that rates as superb.

20. Menace II Society

Release date: May 26, 1993

Metacritic rating: 76

Tomatometer: 83

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 93

Combined score: 84

Most memorable line: "My grandpa asked me one time if I care whether I live or die. Yeah, I do. And now it's too late."

How Menace II Society Ranks

"Menace II Society" is a brutal and unflinching look at gang violence that ravaged South Central Los Angeles in the 1990s.

The film follows the story of Kaydee (Tyrin Turner), a teenager who is trying to overcome the gang violence surrounding him, but can't seem to break away. The movie's opening scene sets the tone, with his best friend, O-Dog, committing an absolutely senseless murder robbery.

The whole movie is very bleak, but has been rightly praised for its realism.

19. Donnie Brasco

Release date: Feb. 28, 1997

Metacritic rating: 76

Tomatometer: 88

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 89

Combined score: 84.3

Most memorable line: "Fuggedaboutit."

How Donnie Brasco Ranks

The true story of undercover FBI man Joe Pistone’s infiltration of the mafia shows us a man whose lifestyle tilts uncontrollably in the direction of the people he’s trying to stop. Johnny Depp skillfully portrays Pistone under the agent’s actual alias of "Donnie Brasco," pivoting from Bonanno Family street boss to caring husband of Maggie (Anne Heche).

Brasco’s access to the mob is orchestrated by aging hitman Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggierro (Al Pacino), who finds a way to craft a sympathetic figure from a guy with a murderous history. Bonnano soldiers Nicky Santora (Bruno Kirby) and Sonny Black (Michael Madsen) are perfectly menacing.

The pairing of Depp and Pacino is eerily natural, one that reminds us that wise guy life isn’t glamorous. It’s grim, exhausting, dehumanizing and insidious, capable of poisoning every aspect of a person’s life.

18. Eastern Promises

Release date: Sept. 14, 2007

Metacritic rating: 82

Tomatometer: 89

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 83

Combined score: 84.6

Most memorable line: "I can’t become king if someone else already sits on the throne."

How Eastern Promises Ranks

A drug-addicted, 14-year-old prostitute who’s been raped. An orphaned baby. Sex-trafficking. Russian and Chechen mafia. A heroic midwife and a mysterious mobster chauffeur. This film can be unsettling in terms of its subject matter and violence levels, but it also reveals the depth of humanity in the most unlikely of circumstances.

Naomi Watts as the midwife and Viggo Mortensen (Best Actor nominee) as the driver are a tandem tour de force. Their relationship is pure contradiction. She is selflessly brave, and he is ruthlessly so.

Setting aside the nuances of his character, Mortensen’s knife-fight scene — two thugs attack him as he sits naked (and stunningly tattooed!) in a Russian steam room — is wild. The cinematography frames London’s sometimes depressing, dark skies and dim rooms artfully.

17. Heat

Release date: Dec. 15, 1995

Metacritic rating: 76

Tomatometer: 87

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 94

Combined score: 85.6

Most memorable line: "You search for the scent of your prey, and then you hunt them down."

How Heat Ranks

Robert De Niro versus Al Pacino. This is a clash of titans. They don’t share a lot of screen time, but that’s clearly by design. You’re also witness to what’s arguably the greatest bank robbery scene in the history of cinema. And certainly what is the best conversation over a cup of coffee, a six-minute sequence between the two superstars that hums and crackles with tension and mutual respect. Director Michael Mann delivered with this nearly three-hour thriller.

De Niro is Neil McCauley, a professional thief whose attempted theft of an armored car leads to the slaying of three guards. Pacino is Vincent Hanna, an LAPD homicide detective, who is relentless in his pursuit.

The rest of the cast is a remarkable collection of talent — Val Kilmer, Amy Brenneman, Ashley Judd and Tom Sizemore feature prominently — and there are appearances from Natalie Portman, Hank Azaria, Jon Voight, Danny Trejo, Ted Levine and Dennis Haysbert.

14. Bonnie and Clyde (Tie)

Release date: Aug. 13, 1967

Metacritic rating: 86

Tomatometer: 88

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 88

Combined score: 87.3

Most memorable line: "This here's Miss Bonnie Parker. I'm Clyde Barrow. We rob banks."

How Bonnie and Clyde Ranks

More than 50 years have passed since its release, but the story of two Depression-era criminals and lovers still resonates as relevant and dramatic. Perhaps that’s because the violence seems contemporary — its iconic closing sequence has been called "one of the bloodiest death scenes in cinematic history."

Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway are Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, leaders of the Barrows Gang. Despite their penchant for robbing banks and killing people, they possess a peculiar personal charm. The film promo contained the priceless line, "They’re young, they’re in love, and they kill people."

Despite a slow start at the box office, it received 10 Academy Award nominations, collecting two Oscars, for Best Supporting Actress (Estelle Parsons) and Best Cinematography (Burnett Guffey).

14. Atlantic City (Tie)

Release date: April 13, 1981

Metacritic rating: 85

Tomatometer: 100

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 77

Combined score: 87.3

Most memorable line: "What do you do when you watch me?"

How Atlantic City Ranks

Cocaine is a bad thing. Then there’s stolen cocaine. When an aging numbers-runner, played by the timelessly charismatic Burt Lancaster, agrees to help traffic the illicit powder, his life is plunged back into his gangster days and beyond. Together with Susan Sarandon, his criminal and romantic counterpart, they ensure that this is not a movie centered on drugs or crime.

It’s ultimately a narrative of danger, love and longing (Sarandon to learn French and deal blackjack in Monte Carlo, Lancaster to finally amount to something), skillfully guided by director Louis Malle.

It garnered the "Big Five" Oscar nominations (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay) but was shut out in the year of "Chariots of Fire" and "On Golden Pond."

14. The Usual Suspects (Tie)

Release date: Aug. 16, 1995

Metacritic rating: 77

Tomatometer: 89

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 96

Combined score: 87.3

Most memorable line: "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist."

How The Usual Suspects Ranks

A dense, undulating plot, snappy dialogue, rich characters, great actors, suspense and action, a fantastic twist at the finish — this is the "gangster movie’s gangster movie." Five career criminals occupy a police lineup on a trumped-up charge of robbery and decide to extract payback as thieves for hire in a $3 million jewel heist.

It leads to a fire on a ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles, 27 bodies and the arrival of a Customs Agent intent on getting to the bottom of things. Kevin Spacey delivers a master-class performance as villain Roger "Verbal" Kint, receiving an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

Chazz Palminteri threatens and bullies as Special Agent Dave Kujan, searching for answers and the mythical Turkish crime lord Keyser Söze.

13. Reservoir Dogs

Release date: Oct. 1, 1992

Metacritic rating: 79

Tomatometer: 92

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 94

Combined score: 88.3

Most memorable line: "Are you gonna bark all day, little doggie? Or are you gonna bite?"

How Reservoir Dogs Ranks

After a jewelry theft comes tragically undone, the survivors suspect that there’s a police informant in their midst. The blood-soaked aftermath is a study in tension, minimalism — and the soon-to-be-discovered directorial talents of a young Quentin Tarantino.

The characters are anonymous. There’s Mr. Orange, Mr. White, Mr. Blonde, Mr. Blue, Mr. Brown and, of course, Mr. Pink. The names used by the gang have endured as one of the movie’s memorable features. So too has a torture scene that includes a severed ear and, gulp, a can of gasoline.

An all-star cast featuring Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen and Edward Bunker fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, bonded by Tarantino’s witty script.

12. City of God

Release date: Jan. 17, 2003

Metacritic rating: 79

Tomatometer: 91

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 97

Combined score: 89

Most memorable line: "You need more than guts to be a good gangster. You need ideas."

How City of God Ranks

The filmmaking and storytelling make this two-hour-plus drama fly by. It’s a true story of life and death in the brutal Brazilian slum from which the movie takes its name. It stands as a cultural reference for the nation’s social problems and the crime spawned by the inability to solve them.

The movie is narrated by Rocket. Through his voice and camera lens, we see a group of young men — Li’l Ze, Benny, Shaggy, Clipper, Goose — come of age, learning the heartless way of the streets and engaging in a turf war that spares no one.

Many of the actors are not professionals, recruited out of the favelas they call home. Theirs is an authenticity that can’t be fabricated. The scene in which two kids must choose to be shot in the foot or the hand will linger with you long after the movie concludes.

11. The Departed

Release date: Oct. 6, 2006

Metacritic rating: 85

Tomatometer: 90

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 94

Combined score: 89.6

Most memorable line: "I don’t want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me."

How The Departed Ranks

Martin Scorsese is a master of the crime drama, and his portrayal of a Boston gangster, played by Jack Nicholson, draws upon themes of loyalty, identity, betrayal, revenge and guilt. Matt Damon is Colin Sullivan, who grew up in the part of the city run by Nicholson’s character of Frank Costello. He’s a Massachusetts State Police officer who serves as Costello’s law enforcement spy after being taken under Costello’s wing as a boy.

Opposite him is Leonardo DiCaprio as Billy Costigan. He’s pushed to go undercover in Costello’s gang by Cpt. Oliver Queenan (Martin Sheen) and a delightfully profane Sgt. Sean Dignam (Mark Walhberg), prompted by Costigan family links to organized crime.

When both the cops and the mob discover that there’s a mole in their midst, somebody has to pay.

10. A Bronx Tale

Release date: Sept. 29, 1993

Metacritic rating: 80

Tomatometer: 97

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 93

Combined score: 90

Most memorable line: "Fear lasts longer than love."

How A Bronx Tale Ranks

Robert De Niro’s directorial debut is a classic clash of right versus wrong, good versus evil. On one side is a loving father, the other a local mob boss. Caught in the middle is an Italian-American boy, Calogero, known as "C." What emerges is a struggle for the boy’s soul, between the hardworking, dedicated Lorenzo (De Niro) and the ruthless, sophisticated Sonny (Chazz Palminteri).

The dialogue is authentic, as is the setting, in a time when wise guys controlled the streets. It was also an era when racism ran high, which finds its way into the film in the form of a teenage relationship between "C" and a Black girl.

Palminteri wrote the mesmerizing screenplay, which echoed many aspects of his own childhood.

8. Mean Streets (Tie)

Release date: Oct. 14, 1973

Metacritic rating: 96

Tomatometer: 95

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 84

Combined score: 91.6

Most memorable line: "You don’t make up for your sins in church."

How Mean Streets Ranks

This marvelous bit of celluloid is the opposite of the sprawling crime epic, which is what you might expect from Martin Scorsese. Instead, it’s tacky, grim and depressing, a tour of Little Italy pool halls and dive bars, and the rogues and knuckleheads who inhabit them.

One of the unintended delights of viewing it today is marveling at how youthful Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel appear. Mere lads at the cusp of distinguished careers. De Niro is Johnny Boy, perpetually in debt and reckless as they come. Keitel is Charlie, the surrogate big brother, torn between the lure of crime working for his uncle and the guilt of his Catholicism.

When an impatient loan shark enters the picture, the pair find themselves in circumstances beyond their control.

8. The Irishman (Tie)

Release date: Nov. 1, 2019

Metacritic rating: 94

Tomatometer: 95

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 86

Combined score: 91.6

Most memorable line: "You don’t know how fast times goes by until you get there."

How The Irishman Ranks

The longest (209 minutes) and most expensive ($160 million production budget) film of Martin Scorsese's lengthy career paints an unflattering picture of crime and politics in the 1950s. The story is told in flashback style, recalled by Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran (Robert De Niro), a truck-driver-turned-hitman who becomes the bodyguard for Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino).

Pacino’s portrayal of Hoffa humanizes the tough labor leader, whose disappearance remains one of America’s enduring public mysteries. Despite the powerful presence of De Niro and Pacino, the film’s best performance arguably belongs to Joe Pesci as Philadelphia mob boss Russell Bufalino.

The conversation he has with De Niro, at a lonely diner in the middle of a "business" trip, anchors the entire movie.

7. A Prophet

Release date: Feb. 26, 2010

Metacritic rating: 90

Tomatometer: 97

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 89

Combined score: 92

Most memorable line: "The idea is to leave here a little smarter."

How A Prophet Ranks

"Engrossing" and "prison drama" rarely appear in the same sentence. ("Shawshank Redemption" being a notable exception.) But the adjective isn’t misplaced when applied to the thought-provoking story of Malik El-Djebena, an illiterate, impoverished French-Arab imprisoned for assaulting police officers. It's a prison film, but it's a thriller, an intricate tale of power and corruption.

Early on, he’s forced into a brutal task by Cesar Luciani, the leader of the Corsican gang warring with a Muslim gang for control of life on the inside. That begins an improbable rise through the ranks. The dynamic between Malik (Tahar Rahim) and Cesar (Niels Arestrup) is the movie’s fulcrum point.

As the power structure evolves between them, we see the former teenager truly assume the title role.

6. The French Connection

Release date: Oct. 7, 1971

Metacritic rating: 94

Tomatometer: 98

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 87

Combined score: 93

Most memorable line: "This is Doyle. I’m sittin’ on Frog One."

How The French Connection Ranks

Some might argue this is more of a cop film than a gangster tale, but if you’re smuggling $32 million worth of French heroin into New York, the mob will be involved. Gene Hackman is fabulously flawed as narcotics detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, for which he received a Best Actor Award. He and partner Buddy "Cloudy" Russo (Roy Scheider) pursue suave kingpin Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey), who’s imported the drug from Marseille, cleverly hidden in a Lincoln luxury sedan.

Based on a true story, it won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay at the 44th Academy Awards. Even if you haven’t seen the movie, you’re no doubt aware that it boasts one of the great chase scenes in movie-dom.

It’s reflective of the entire film — a fast-paced, white-knuckle ride with a hold-your-breath finish.

5. The Killing

Release date: May 19, 1956

Metacritic rating: 91

Tomatometer: 98

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 92

Combined score: 93.6

Most memorable line: "You know, Fay, the mistake I made before was shooting for peanuts. Five years have taught me one thing, if nothing else. If you take a chance, be sure the reward's worth the risk. They can put you away just as fast for a ten-dollar heist as for a million."

How The Killing Ranks

"The Killing" is Stanley Kubrick's first major Hollywood film (he was only 28 when it was released), and influenced Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs."

Not sold yet? Here's the plot. "The Killing" is a noir film about a criminal named Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden) who assembles a five-man team to plot out and execute a $2 million racetrack robbery.

But when one of the group tells his wife about their plot, she develops plans of her own.

4. Pulp Fiction

Release date: Oct. 14, 1994

Metacritic rating: 94

Tomatometer: 92

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 96

Combined score: 94

Most memorable line: "They call it Royale with Cheese."

How Pulp Fiction Ranks

Can you ever see Los Angeles the same way after viewing it through the lens provided by Quentin Tarantino? The writer/director of this groundbreaking film shows us that behind the veil of sun-kissed palm trees exists a world of bizarre and fascinating criminal intrigue.

Tarantino’s version of 48 hours in the seedy side of Southern California is written around a pair of hitmen — John Travolta as Vincent Vega and Samuel L. Jackson as Jules Winnfield. They wind their way through three interlocking, nonlinear stories that will both shock and delight with their unpredictability and crisp dialogue.

Many scenes contain a violent intensity that will challenge the squeamish. Bruce Willis as boxer-on-the-run Butch Coolidge, and the pawnshop scene that precedes his declaration that "Zed’s dead," chief among them. But it’s countered with dark humor, in true pulp fiction style.

3. Goodfellas

Release date: Sept. 9, 1990

Metacritic rating: 90

Tomatometer: 96

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 97

Combined score: 94.3

Most memorable line: "I’m funny how? Funny, like, I’m a clown? I amuse you?"

How Goodfellas Ranks

The expression "crime doesn’t pay" is a fitting epitaph for the characters in the story that many regard as the apex of Martin Scorsese’s illustrious career. Ray Liotta is charming rogue Henry Hill, who ascends from neighborhood thug to gangster over the course of several violent, drug-fueled decades. His counterparts are Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci.

Liotta’s voice narrates the film, which is a vivid tour of the mafia lifestyle. The film’s cowriter, journalist Nicholas Pileggi, described it as a "mob home movie." Pesci claimed an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. His character, Tommy DeVito is terrifying, a psychopath of the highest order.

Note for hardcore cinephiles: The "Copacabana tracking shot" is revered among historians for its long, mesmerizing, seamless path following Henry and then-girlfriend Karen Friedman (Lorraine Bracco) from arrival to the nightclub’s front row.

2. The Godfather: Part II

Release date: Dec. 12, 1974

Metacritic rating: 90

Tomatometer: 98

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 97

Combined score: 95

Most memorable line: "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."

How The Godfather: Part II Ranks

The second film in Francis Ford Coppola’s trilogy is both a prequel and a sequel to the 1972 blockbuster. It notched six Oscar wins, including for Best Picture, the first sequel to earn that distinction. Robert De Niro is exceptional as the young Vito Corleone, and Al Pacino shines as the ruthless son who continues the family criminal empire as the new Don.

No longer is he a reluctant participant. The former war hero and college student is no longer aspirational. His approach to life has been changed by circumstances. He’s now coldly calculating and realistic, willing to do whatever it takes to maintain his hold on power and expand the Corleone’s reach into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.

Ultimately, he descends into a haze of paranoia and deceit, targeted by rivals and the government.

1. The Godfather

Release date: March 11, 1972

Metacritic rating: 100

Tomatometer: 98

Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score: 98

Combined score: 98.6

Most memorable line: "I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse."

How The Godfather Ranks

The almost operatic family saga, based on Mario Puzo’s bestselling novel of the same name, stands as the best gangster movie ever made. It opens with an extravagant wedding scene, overseen by Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone. It’s a parade of characters and mini-dramas, and we learn that eldest Sonny (James Caan) is the heir to the family operation, while Michael (Al Pacino) is determined to distance himself from it.

Michael’s reluctance to embrace the criminal legacy finally crumbles — "I’m with you now," he whispers to his father, who has narrowly survived an assassination attempt. He exacts revenge and flees to Sicily, but the savage violence follows him, a cruel reminder that wealth and power can’t shield him from his destiny.

Family and crime are inextricably linked, blood and ambition are one. There is only one commandment: "Don’t ever take sides against the family."

Those who do pay for it with their lives.