Subgenre Sampler

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John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023): Dir. Chad Stahelski
Feat. Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård…; Keanu's stonefaced man–alone takes his fight to the High Table as he seeks to dispatch the most powerful players in the underworld, from New…
Miss Bala (2019): Dir. Catherine Hardwicke
Feat. Gina Rodriguez, Ismael Cruz Córdova; Mexican crime thriller which marks a gritty turn for director Catherine Hardwicke (TWILIGHT), with Gina Rodriguez (JANE THE VIRGIN) playing a woman…
True Story of the Kelly Gang, The (2019): Dir. Justin Kurzel
Feat. George MacKay, Essie Davis, Nicholas Hoult…; Justin Kurzel (SNOWTOWN) directs this adventurous retelling of the Australian story of bushranger and outlaw Ned Kelly, based on Peter Carey's 2001…
Dog Eat Dog (2016): Dir. Paul Schrader
Feat. Nicolas Cage, Willem Dafoe; Demonstrating that age hasn't tamed him, 70–year–old director Paul Schrader delivers this frenetic, nihilistic black comedy based on the…
Live by Night (2016): Dir. Ben Affleck
Feat. Ben Affleck, Elle Fanning, Brendan Gleeson…; Ben Affleck's love letter to film noir set in Prohibition–era Boston where the flow of booze is controlled by an underground network of…
Legend (2015): Dir. Brian Helgeland
Feat. Tom Hardy, Emily Browning, Taron Egerton…; Tom Hardy flexes his acting muscle as the identical twin gangsters Reggie and Ronnie Kray in this otherwise unremarkable drama that charts the rise…
Equalizer, The (2014): Dir. Antoine Fuqua
Feat. Denzel Washington, Marton Csokas, Chloe Grace Moretz; Hiding from his violent past, a man lives a quiet life working at a hardware store. When he is confronted by a new underground crime syndicate. He…
Raid 2, The (2014): Dir. Gareth Evans
Feat. Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian, Julie Estelle…; Picking up from where it last left off, this epic sequel to the best martial arts movie in recent memory combines gangland melodrama (reminiscent of…
Gangster Squad (2013): Dir. Ruben Fleischer
Feat. Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin…; This straight–shooting, bang–a–minute gangster flick scores as both an entertaining throwback to 40s–era crime fighting, and…
Lawless (2012): Dir. John Hillcoat
Feat. Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce…; Three ambitious brothers from the south turn to bootlegging, only to come up against the might of powerful urban gangsters in this vivid…
22 Bullets (L' Immortel) (2010): Dir. Richard Berry
Feat. Jean Reno, Marina Fois, Richard Berry…; Violent gangland thriller has Jean Reno out for revenge after his former friend shoots 22 bullets into him.
El Narco (2010): Dir. Luis Estrada
Feat. Damian Alcazar, Joaquin Cosio, Ernesto Gomez Cruz…; Intense crime drama that offers a hellish version of Mexico and the drug war seen through the eyes of a man returning to his home country after…
Give 'Em Hell Malone (2009): Dir. Russell Mulcahy
Feat. Thomas Jane, Ving Rhames, French Stewart…; A tough as nails private investigator squares off with gangsters and their thugs to protect a valuable secret. Malone goes through hell to protect…
Horde, The (La Horde) (2009): Dir. Yannick Dahan, Benjamin Rocher
Feat. Aurelien Recoing, Eric Ebouaney, Doudou Masta; Fist–pumping zombie flick pits cops and criminals in a fight for their life against the walking dead amidst the slums of Paris. Bloody and…
Perrier's Bounty (2009): Dir. Ian Fitzgibbon
Feat. Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson, Gabriel Byrne…; Jovial Irish caper in the vein of Sexy Beast, with Murphy as a petty crim in hock to a local gangster. A talented cast clearly enjoying themselves…
Public Enemies (2009): Dir. Michael Mann
Feat. Johnny Depp, Marion Cotillard, Christian Bale…; Michael Mann transposes the cops–and–robbers psychology of HEAT to depression–era America in this ambitious, if at times inadequate…
RocknRolla (2008): Dir. Guy Ritchie
Feat. Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandiwe Newton…; Stylephile Guy Ritchie revisits well–trodden territory with this typically tangled crime caper involving a menagerie of seedy opportunists…
Sky Kids (The Flyboys) (2008): Dir. Rocco de Villiers
Feat. Stephen Baldwin, Tom Sizemore, Jesse James…; Big hearted adventure follows the exploits of a bullied loner and protective best friend who inadvertently cross paths with a scheming mobster (a…
American Gangster (2007): Dir. Ridley Scott
Feat. Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor…; Hefty gangster flick in the tradition of SCARFACE, SERPICO, et. al., but based on an amazing true story: Washington plays Frank Lucas, the driver to…
Eastern Promises (2007): Dir. David Cronenberg
Feat. Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel…; A muscular, satisfying thriller set in the underworld of the Russian mafia in London, this reteams the director and star of A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE,…
Rogue Assassin (War) (2007): Dir. Philip G Atwell
Feat. Jet Li, Jason Statham; Mildly entertaining actioner pits Statham as an FBI detective hell–bent on revenge after Li kills his partner; titular character Li, meanwhile,…
Smokin' Aces (2007): Dir. Joe Carnahan
Feat. Ben Affleck, Andy Garcia, Alicia Keys…; A high–strung crime caper of competing assassins from the dir. of NARC, dispatching with boyish glee a bevy of visual and narrative bullet…
You Move You Die (2007): Dir. Ketzal Sterling
Feat. Ketzal Sterling, Bruce Hopkins; Ad hoc gangster thriller out of Auckland concerns a stolen engagement ring, and its ensuing recovery by a desperate fiancée and his posse of…
City of Violence, The (2006): Dir. Ryoo Seung-Wan
Feat. Doo-hong Jung, Kil-Kang Ahn; A dazzling, action–fantastic revenger by way of Korea, this draws its considerable bloodletting from the aftermath of a funeral, where two…
Exiled (Fong juk) (2006): Dir. Johnnie To
Feat. Anthony Wong, Simon Yam, Richie Ren…; Master exponent of genre Johnnie To pays homage to spaghetti westerns and the bygone era of John Woo in this energetic, skilfully dispatched action…
No Mercy For The Rude (2006): Dir. Cheol-hie Park
Feat. Ha-kyun Shin; A mute hitman limits his contract killings to ‘rude’ individuals, saving up for a voice–restoring operation in this unconventional riff on…
Assault on Precinct 13 (2005): Dir. Jean-François Richet
Feat. Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Drea De Matteo…; Effective update of John Carpenter's 1970s classic in which high–impact action and a fairly convincing raw tenseness carry the wellworn tale of…
Bittersweet Life, A (2005): Dir. Ji-woon Kim
Feat. Byung-hun Lee; A suave mob enforcer's mercy for one of his intended victims results in the full wrath of the Korean organised crime world in this slick, ultra…
Domino (2005): Dir. Tony Scott
Feat. Keira Knightley, Mickey Rourke, Delroy Lindo…; Brash, hyperkinetic action rendition of the life and times of Domino Harvey (played by Knightley), the daughter of movie–star Laurence Harvey,…
Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005): Dir. Jim Sheridan
Feat. 50 Cent, Terrence Howard; Gangster–rap star "Fiddy" Cent (a.k.a. Curtis Jackson) tells the rags–to–riches tale of his Queens, NYC upbringing and how he saved…
Infernal Affairs 2 (Mou gaan dou II) (2003): Dir. Wai Keung Lau, Siu Fai Mak
Feat. Edison Chen, Shawn Yue, Carina Lau…; Solid prequel to the hit Hong Kong policier, goes back in time to the era of the 1991 and moves forward in three acts to the Chinese handover,…
Infernal Affairs 3 (Mou gaan dou III) (2003): Dir. Wai Keung Lau, Siu Fai Mak
Feat. Andy Lau, Tony Leung (Chiu-wai), Leon Lai…; Actual sequel to the hit Hong Kong gangland–cop thriller attempts valiantly to tie up loose ends, both picking up where corrupt cop Ming (Lau)…
Infernal Affairs (2002): Dir. Wai Keung Lau, Siu Fai Mak
Feat. Andy Lau, Tony Leung (Chiu-wai), Anthony Wong…; This dynamic cops ‘n’ robbers spectacle is populist Hong Kong film–making at its most slick and sophisticated. Infused with more than a…
Returner (2002): Dir. Takashi Yamazaki
Feat. Takeshi Kaneshiro; Kitted out with a charismatic cast, CGI–action that delivers, and tongue–lightly–in–cheek, this slick, big–budget…
Road To Perdition (2002): Dir. Sam Mendes
Feat. Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law…; Handsomely–mounted Chicago gangland flick that casts Tom Hanks against type as a mob hitman who becomes an ‘angel of vengeance’ after he is…
Fulltime Killer (2001): Dir. Johnnie To, Wai Ka-Fai
Feat. Andy Lau, Simon Yam, Kelly Lin…; Two very different hit men face off in this Hong Kong action film, with Andy Lau playing a flamboyant new hotshot who is tracking down the number one…
Pistol Opera (2001): Dir. Seijun Suzuki
Feat. Makikio Esumi, Shirley Yamaguchi, Kirin Kiki…; A comeback of sorts for brilliant Japanese director Seijun Suzuki, who brings a self–referential and at times incomprehensibly abstract style…
Gangster No. 1 (2000): Dir. Paul McGuigan
Feat. Malcolm McDowell, David Thewlis, Paul Bettany; Ageing gangster Malcolm McDowell recalls his ascendance in the 70s to London’s underworld throne at the expense of the ‘Butcher of Mayfair’,…
Get Carter (2000): Dir. Stephen Kay
Feat. Sylvester Stallone, Rachael Leigh Cook, Mickey Rourke…; Unnecessary remake of the British hard–boiler transposes the action to the Pacific Northwest where Las Vegas mob enforcer Sylvester Stallone…
Snatch (2000): Dir. Guy Ritchie
Feat. Dennis Farina, Brad Pitt, Benicio Del Toro…; A LOCK STOCK knock–off by 'im–who–knows–best: the director himself, Guy Ritchie. Like its predecessor, this cockney…
Time and Tide (2000): Dir. Tsui Hark
Feat. Nicholas Tse, Wu Bai; Healthy measures of hard–boiled alienation and gyroscopic fire–fights ignite this Hong Kong kick–butt–fest that somersaults…
Boondock Saints, The (1999): Dir. Troy Duffy
Feat. Sean Patrick Flannery, Norman Reedus, Willem Dafoe…; Irish–Bostonian brothers Sean Patrick Flannery and Norman Reedus become vigilante saints after knocking off some Russkie wise guys, becoming…
Busted (Everybody Loves Sunshine) (1999): Dir. Andrew Goth
Feat. Goldie , David Bowie; North London mobster glory awaits Goldie (the drum–n–bass star) who must reclaim his criminal empire from a…
Running Out of Time (1999): Dir. Johnnie To
Feat. Andy Lau, Lau Ching-wan; A crackingly–paced, plot–bending Yin–Yang heist drama, with terminally–ill master jewel thief Andy Lau playing against the…
Hitman (1998): Dir. Tung Wai
Feat. Jet Li; Would–be assassin Jet Li joins in the race to avenge the murder of an evil Japanese businessman for the tune of $100 million, but is encumbered…
Payback (1998): Dir. Brian Helgeland
Feat. Mel Gibson, Deborah Kara Unger; Mel Gibson gets to behave badly as an indestructible armed robber who gets carried away on a sadistic get–even mission against a crime…
Sleepless Town (Fuyajo) (1998): Dir. Chi-Ngai Lee
Feat. Takeshi Kaneshiro, Sihung Lung, Kathy Chow; Hybridistic pan–Asian thriller set in the 'sleepless' red–light district of Tokyo, where petty crim Kaneshiro must revisit his gangster…
Young Thugs - Innocent Blood (1997): Dir. Takashi Miike
Feat. Naoto Takenaka; Gangster shenanigans with cult dir. Takashi, this time taking a more measured approach to the story of four young friends who drift together and…
Fled (1996): Dir. Kevin Hooks
Feat. Stephen Baldwin, Laurence Fishburne; Violent comedy handcuffs together movie–obsessed computer whizz Stephen Baldwin with no–nonsense criminal Laurence Fishburne. Breaking a…
Glimmer Man, The (1996): Dir. John Gray
Feat. Steven Seagal, Damon Wayans; Buddhist detective Steven Seagal partners up with a wisecracking Damon Wayans in this LA variation on 48 HRS. Hunting a serial killer linked to the…
Last Days of Frankie the Fly (1996): Dir. Peter Markle
Feat. Dennis Hopper, Michael Madsen; Dim–bulb mobster Frankie (Dennis Hopper) tires of his sadistic boss Sal (Michael Madsen) and decides to branch out into the LA porn–movie…
Mulholland Falls (1996): Dir. Lee Tamahori
Feat. Nick Nolte, Michael Madsen, Chazz Palminteri…; ONCE WERE WARRIORS director Lee Tamahori goes Hollywood with this tough gangster noir, fitted with an all–star cast and open chequebook. At…
Assassins (1995): Dir. Richard Donner
Feat. Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas, Julianne Moore; A dark, protracted tale of two hitmen, old hand Sylvester Stallone who wants out of the racket, and new kid on the block Antonio Banderas out for…
Heat (1995): Dir. Michael Mann
Feat. Al Pacino, Robert De Niro; Epic bank–heist drama matches heavyweight detective Al Pacino against master–thief Robert De Niro. While this dream pairing generates the…
God of Gamblers Return (1994): Dir. Wong Jing
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat; Chow Yun–Fat returns as a charming poker player who enjoys the quiet life until a challenger kills his wife and begins to target his friends. …
Pulp Fiction (1994): Dir. Quentin Tarantino
Feat. John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman…; With just his second film, Quentin Tarantino not only became a household name but a massive cultural phenomenon. He miraculously surpasses…
Carlito's Way (1993): Dir. Brian De Palma
Feat. Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Viggo Mortensen; De Palma contains his usual showy excess and proves he can be a consummate storyteller with this captivating, multi–layered crime yarn. Al…
Full Contact (1992): Dir. Ringo Lam
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat; Chow Yun–Fat rescues his friend from a loan shark, but the friend leaves him for dead in a botched robbery and takes off with his girlfriend. A…
Men of Respect (1991): Dir. William Reilly
Feat. John Turturro; MacBeth is courageously transposed here into the American gangster milieu, with the dependably good Turturro as the power–hungry tyrant whose…
Mobsters (1991): Dir. Michael Karbelnikoff
Feat. Christian Slater, Richard Greico, Patrick Dempsey; Christian Slater, Richard Grieco and Patrick Dempsey play the infamous trio that changed the face of organised crime. Very violent film attempts to…
Dick Tracy (1990): Dir. Warren Beatty
Feat. Warren Beatty, Madonna; A glossy update of the comic–book and 1940s TV serial with Warren Beatty as the suave crime–buster. Superb art–direction, costumes…
God of Gamblers (1990): Dir. Wong Jing
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat; Chow Yun–Fat plays a gambling king who is de–throned by amnesia, then embraced by a petty hustler who discovers he can trigger his memory…
Goodfellas (1990): Dir. Martin Scorsese
Feat. Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro…; The double–edged allure of life in the Mafia is richly detailed in Martin Scorsese's riveting saga that follows a young mobster through three…
King of New York (1990): Dir. Abel Ferrara
Feat. Christopher Walken, Laurence Fishburne, Wesley Snipes…; A ruthless drug lord (Walken) is determined to resume his throne as the king of New York's underworld after five years behind bars. A vicious crime…
State of Grace (1990): Dir. Phil Joanou
Feat. Sean Penn, Gary Oldman, Ed Harris; Penn returns to his Irish mob roots in New York's Hell's Kitchen to find tenuous–at–best relations with the neighbouring Mafia. Oldman…
Canton Godfather, The (Miracles; Mr. Canton and Lady Rose) (1989): Dir. Jackie Chan
Feat. Jackie Chan, Anita Mui; Though light on martial arts, this lavish period production is generally considered Jackie Chan's most accomplished movie. At once inspired by THE…
Killer, The (1989): Dir. John Woo
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat; Action at break–neck speed with a body–count to match the running time, this smorgasbord of super–violence with lashings of good…
Colors (1988): Dir. Dennis Hopper
Feat. Sean Penn, Robert Duvall; A grim portrait of law enforcement. Mismatched police partners are assigned to the rife gang–related problems in South–Central L.A.
Flaming Brothers (Jiang hu long hu men) (1988): Dir. Tung Cho 'Joe' Cheung
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat, Alan Tang, Pat Ha; Two close friends from the island of Macao (Tang and Yun–Fat) become dangerously involved in the Chinese triads through decades of prosperity…
Sicilian, The (1987): Dir. Michael Cimino
Feat. Christopher Lambert, Terence Stamp, Joss Ackland…; Still reeling from the box office catastrophe of HEAVEN'S GATE, Michael Cimino turned his attention to this Mario Puzo–scripted saga about an…
Untouchables, The (1987): Dir. Brian De Palma
Feat. Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro; Well–cast and generally classy update of the adventures of Elliot Ness, the earnest law enforcer who took on Al Capone during the prohibition…
Better Tomorrow, A (1986): Dir. John Woo
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat; Chow Yun–Fat stars in the high–octane gangster flick that literally changed the face of the genre. A cop becomes ostracized by the force…
2019: The New Barbarians (Nuovi barbari, I) (1985): Dir. Enzo G. Castellari
Feat. Fred Williamson, Giancarlo Prete; Third and final episode in the post–apocalyptic BRONX WARRIORS series, escapes the bloody rubble of New York City for a MAD MAX–style…
Once Upon a Time in America (1984): Dir. Sergio Leone
Feat. Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern…; An all–star cast feature in Sergio Leone's violent but sobering gangland saga, following the rise and fall of four Jewish childhood pals…
Escape From the Bronx (1990: Bronx Warriors II) (1983): Dir. Enzo G. Castellari
Feat. Henry Silva, Giancarlo Prete; Dystopian sequel to the cult 80s dud BRONX WARRIORS, with New York City a wasteland ruled over by vicious motorcycle gangs and corporate villains.…
Scarface (1983): Dir. Brian De Palma
Feat. Al Pacino; Sweat–breakingly violent portrait of a contemporary mobster with Pacino in top gear as the ruthless megalomaniac. Stunning, if you can hack…
1990: The Bronx Warriors (1982): Dir. Enzo G. Castellari
Feat. Vic Morrow, Fred Williamson, Christopher Connelly; Renowned cheese–fest in which youth gangs of the post–Apocalypse Bronx, battle each other and an evil corporate arms manufacturer. Prime…
Assault On Precinct 13 (1976): Dir. John Carpenter
Feat. Austin Stoker, Darwin Joston; A deserted urban jail comes under siege by a ruthless gang in this contemporary reworking of RIO BRAVO. The pin–drop atmosphere is intensified…
Yakuza, The (1975): Dir. Sydney Pollack
Feat. Robert Mitchum, Ken Takakura; Mitchum challenges the sword and secrets of the Japanese Mafia in this accomplished actioner written by Paul Schrader and Robert Towne.
That Man Bolt (1973): Dir. David Lowell Rich, Henry Levin
Feat. Fred Williamson, Byron Webster, Miko Mayama…; Colourful action film blending blaxploitation, martial arts, and spy influences, with Fred Williamson (HELL UP IN HARLEM) starring as a karate sex…
Boxcar Bertha (1972): Dir. Martin Scorsese
Feat. Barbara Hershey, David Carradine; Dir. Scorsese's first 'for hire' effort, constructing an atmospheric and reasonably sturdy period gangster film, set in the Depression. Produced by…
French Connection, The (1971): Dir. William Friedkin
Feat. Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Roy Scheider…; An influential crime picture based on the largest narcotics seizure of all time. Won the Oscar for Best Picture for its realistic portrait of New…
St. Valentines Day Massacre (1967): Dir. Roger Corman
Feat. Jason Robards Jr., George Segal, Ralph Meeker…; A great, trigger–happy actioner from cult film–maker Corman, based on events that led to the murder of many of Chicago's underworld,…
Machine Gun Kelly (1958): Dir. Roger Corman
Feat. Charles Bronson, Susan Cabot; A baby–faced Bronson gives an exciting edge to this superior B–movie biopic, based around the criminal career of the Depression–era…

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Subgenre Sampler