The Mafia's Greatest Hits

Bob McDob · Post by **Bob McDob** » 2003-12-28 01:58am

I'm making a list of the greatest Mafia references in pop culture. My flaw is that I'm sadly ignorant of mob philia. I think we can all agree on a few (The Godfather, Goodfellas, The Sopranos); are there any other popular ones?

Gunshy · Post by **Gunshy** » 2003-12-28 02:12am

One of my favorite mob flics is Casino, with Robert Deniro and Joe Peschi. Fantastic, if long film. It's about the mob's influence on Las Vegas during the seventies. If anyone hasn't seen it, I give it 4 thumbs up.

master_yoda · Post by **master_yoda** » 2003-12-28 02:59am

Do you want Gangster flicks as well?

Post by **Dalton** » 2003-12-28 03:06am

Analyze This

The Cleric · Post by **The Cleric** » 2003-12-28 03:11am

Analyze That

Bertie Wooster · Post by **Bertie Wooster** » 2003-12-28 12:36pm

Gottie with Armande Assante was pretty good IMO, even though it was just an HBO feature. Donnie Brasco was about the mob, although the protagonist was an FBI agent.
Bugsy with Warren Beatty was excellent. Even though he was not in the Cosa Nostra, he was in business with mafioso such as Joey Adonis and Lucky Luciano, who are in the movie as well.

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2003-12-28 06:00pm

Which Mob?

the whole British Mob sub-genre is cool from the Documentary "The Krays", to the old Micheal Caine stuff to the stuff Guy Richie has produced.

oh and don't get me started on the Action films about the Chinese Mob that have come out of Japan and Hong Kong.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2003-12-28 06:50pm

The OP said mafia films. That is pretty specific.

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2003-12-28 06:55pm

Yes but then the Brit Mafia films would count.

and the Triads/Yakuza are also called the Chinese and Japanese Mafia respectivly.

After all the main rivals/consolidation withing the traditional Mafia has always included the Irish (Sullivan, Durant, & Kennedy), Italian (Luciono, Gambino), Jewish(Shultz, Malone), and Russian (Murder Incorperated) elements in it.

Bertie Wooster · Post by **Bertie Wooster** » 2003-12-28 07:07pm

I guess Mafia is a flexible term, since its literal definition refers to the organized crime in Sicily specifically, when in fact the term mafia is used to describe la cosa nostra rackets and organizations in the USA as well, even neapolitans such as Capone and Gotti, and even the Sopranos who are supposed to be related to the Camorra (as opposed to the mafia) in Italy.

I think its too much of a stretch to use the term mafia to describe non- la cosa nostra organizations, however.

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2003-12-28 07:24pm

What I was saying is take "Snatch" for example, the american Mafia is deeply involved in that one.

Ok, not in lock stock and two smoking barrels.

Definatly in the original Get Carter, or in the British Docu-drama on the Krays.

Bertie Wooster · Post by **Bertie Wooster** » 2003-12-28 07:36pm

The Yosemite Bear wrote:What I was saying is take "Snatch" for example, the american Mafia is deeply involved in that one.

Ok, not in lock stock and two smoking barrels.

Definatly in the original Get Carter, or in the British Docu-drama on the Krays.

That was weird in Snatch, with the American gangsters. They had Dennis Farina, an actor with an Italian last name who has played Italian gangsters in the past (goodfellas and Get Shorty) in a role as a Jewish diamond broker who didn't care much for doing things legally. They were definately gangsters, but I don't think there was any evidence that they were mafioso or even affiliated with any of the mafia families in the U.S.

I would say that in mafia movies it is understood that the mafioso are criminals who follow the oath of omerta.

Maybe I'm wrong and mafia and gangster are synonymous terms now, but I never understood them as such.

aphexmonster · Post by **aphexmonster** » 2003-12-29 07:07am

ichi the killer

all the japaneese yakuza you need to see

Post by **weemadando** » 2004-01-02 11:05pm

Falcone was a pretty good tele-movie.