1/6/2024 0 Comments I am gangster movie reviewThey manage to give solid performances in their roles, particularly Oldman and Harris.ġ2. Terry is, in secret, working as an undercover officer who soon finds himself immersed in a moral crossroad: either he respects his loyalty to his family and friends, or he chooses to follow his duties as a police officer.Įven though the plot may lack in terms of originality and be quite complicated at times, the great aspect of this film is perhaps the actors’ performances, who understand the importance of behaviour and body language in a film like this. Jackie is part of the Irish mafia as is his brother Frankie (Ed Harris), who happens to be the leader of a local gang. The film was heavily inspired by the Hell’s Kitchen culture, and it tells the story of a man named Terry Noonan (Sean Penn) who returns to New York and reunites with his childhood friend Jackie Flannery (Gary Oldman). It depicts life in a very honest way and therefore, it stands as a very close-to-heart film.ĭespite having been outshone by the release of “Goodfellas” which happened around the same time, “State of Grace” is another interesting depiction of organized crime produced in the 90s. And perhaps the key lies on the fact that this is a very human drama that has the power and pace to lead the audience through a range of varied feelings and states of mind, from anger to irony to laugher. This film is a coming-of-age tale which benefits from the great screen presences of veterans De Niro and Palminteri, who actually wrote the play upon which the film is based as well as the film’s screenplay. From his childhood up to his teenage years, he has his life divided by the guidance of two opposite men – his father Lorenzo (Robert De Niro) and a mafia boss named Sonny LoSpecchio (Chazz Palminteri). Directed by Robert De Niro in his first directorial effort, “A Bronx Tale” is set in the 1960s against an Italian mafia background, following the path of a young boy named Calogero Anello. However, the audiences were driven by it and it became a successful film, particularly because of the film’s concentration on the ‘Chicano’ and ‘Barrio’ cultures, as well as the violence between street gangs and police in Los Angeles, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s.įrom California, we travel to the other end of the country, New York, specifically the Bronx. Soon they see themselves involved in a violent event that will alter their lives and dictate their separation as Paco becomes a police officer, Miklo is sent to San Quentin State Prison, whereas Cruz becomes a painter with a serious drug addiction.Īt the time of its release, the film received a mixed wave of critics some thought the film fell too much on the cliché and lacked originality either visually speaking or in terms of the story. The film opens in 1972 with the three men being part of a Los Angeles gang named “Vatos Locos”. One of the most popular films of the 90s, “Blood In Blood Out” is set in sunny California and revolves around the lives of three Mexican-Americans – Miklo (Damian Chapa), Cruz (Jesse Borrego) and Paco (Benjamin Bratt). Blood In Blood Out (1993, Taylor Hackford) So, despite the economic growth felt during the 90s, there was a group of elements that might have led to the genre’s revival, which, of course, affected film as we shall see in this list.ġ5. The Los Angeles riots brought attention once more to police methods and organized crime, the hip-hop culture also emphasized the gang culture, the savings and loans crisis put under focus the corruption of figures and institutions connected with the nation’s law and order (The Keating Five). Video games started including new features and genres such as the first-person shooter. Pistone, “Casino” by Nicholas Pileggi, “The Last Don” by Mario Puzo). Books concentrated on organized crime became successful (“Donnie Brasco” by Joseph D. This trend might have been the result of perhaps a handful of events that happened in the end of the 1980s and during the 90s that had an impact on the United States, including the end of the Cold War.Īmerican television started to concentrate more on the production of crime dramas (“Law & Order”, “Homicide: Life on the Street”, “The Sopranos”, “Wiseguy”). Thus, the concept of organized crime within a family or a small circle, the values of tradition and above all loyalty were specially emphasized in the materials produced during the 90s. There was a restoration of the interest in the mafia, particularly the Italian mafia and New York City as the central setting for these stories. In the 1990s, there was a revival of the gangster genre, not only in film but also in the literary circle. This is the third installment on the series American Gangster Films (1970s – 1990s).
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