Please check out my other listing below which I have listed or have sold in the past.
1. A Man Apart (2003)
2. Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)
3. The Mule (2018)
4. Prayers for the Stolen (2021)
5. Narco Cultura (2013)
6. Sicario (2015)
Ironman
Fantastic 4
Marvels Avengers
Daredevil
Hulk
Green Hornet
Green Lantern
National Treasure 2
Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Mans Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean At World's End
X-Men
X2 Xmen United
Xmen 1.5
Xmen Origins Wolverine
300
Batman Forever
Batman Begins
The Dark Knight
Superman the Movie
Superman Returns
Day After Tomorrow
Independence Day
Transformers
Transformers Revenge of the Fallen
Transformers Dark of the Moon
MIIB Men in Black II
Men in Black3
Spiderman
Spiderman 3
Matrix
Matrix Reloaded
Matrix Revolutions
Planet of the Apes
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Star Wars 1
Star Wars 2
Star Wars 4
Harry Potter Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Order Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 1
Twilight New Moon
Twilight
Twilight Breaking Dawn
Lord of the Rings
Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
Lord of the Rings The Fellowship Ring
Hunger Games
Hunger Games Mocking Jay Part 1
Hunger Games Catching Fire
City of Ember
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Jurassic Park lll
Ocean's Thirteen
American Pie 2
About Schmidt
Ace Ventura
Anchorman
Bruce Almighty
Blades of Glory
Caddyshack
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Jackass #2
Juno
Meet the Parents
Meet the Fockers
Night at the Museum
Old School
Office Space
The Royal Tenenbaums
Simpsons the Movie
Wedding Crashers
Van Welderman
3:10 to Yuma
Catch Me if you Can
Up in the Air
Blow
Charlies Angels
Charles Angels Full Throttle
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Hitch
Castaway
Troy
Big Fish
*****************************************************************************
50 Highest-Grossing Actors of All Time
50. Christoper Lee
The
late Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee starred in a number of
blockbuster franchise films including “Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of
the Clones” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.”
His films have grossed a total of $3.4 billion over the course of his
lifetime.
49. Owen Wilson
Owen Wilson sneaks into the top 40
with a box-office total of $3.4 billion. After more than two decades in
the business, his 40-plus films boast average showings of $69 million.
48. Robert De Niro
After
more than 40 years and more than 80 films that include “The Godfather,”
“Raging Bull” and “Goodfellas,” Robert De Niro can claim a lifetime
box-office gross of $3.43 billion.
47. Robbie Coltrane
Comedian
Robbie Coltrane might be best known as Hagrid in the “Harry Potter”
films, but he also starred in two James Bond movies. His movies have
grossed an average of $84 million each for a lifetime total of $3.46
billion at the domestic box office.
46. Lupita Nyong'o
As one
of the stars of “Black Panther” — which is one of the top-grossing films
of all time with a lifetime gross of $1.35 billion worldwide — it
should be no surprise that Lupita Nyong’o made it onto this ranking. Her
films have grossed a total of $3.47 billion.
45. James Earl Jones
A
star of both the stage and screen, James Earl Jones has starred in a
number of notable films that have brought his lifetime box-office gross
to $3.48 billion. Among his acting credits are the movies “Rogue One: A
Star Wars Story,” “The Lion King,” “The Hunt for Red October” and “Star
Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi.”
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44. Paul Rudd
Paul
Rudd’s films have grossed $3.48 billion, with his average gross per
film at nearly $76 million. He has over 120 acting credits and has
starred in such hits as “Ant-Man,” “I Love You Man” and “The Perks of
Being a Wallflower.”
43. Stellan Skarsgard
Although his top
box-office hits include critical darlings and nine-digit powerhouses
like “Good Will Hunting” and “Angels & Demons,” Stellan Skarsgard’s
biggest films come from the “Avengers” and “Pirates of the Caribbean”
franchises. In all, his movies have grossed $3.48 billion.
42. Robin Williams
The
late Robin Williams claims box-office receipts of $3.51 billion thanks
to blockbusters like “Mrs. Doubtfire,” the “Night at the Museum”
franchise and voice work for animated films like “Aladdin” and “Happy
Feet.”
41. Michael Caine
Although over 170 acting roles dot
Michael Caine’s long and prestigious resume, much of his $3.54 billion
total box-office gross can be attributed to the “Batman” trilogy, along
with nine-digit showings from films like “Inception,” “Cars 2” and
“Interstellar.”
40. Alan Rickman
Acting great Alan Rickman,
who died in 2016, racked up a total box-office gross of $3.55 billion in
his lifetime. His memorable films include “Die Hard,” “Robin Hood:
Prince of Thieves,” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” and
“Galaxy Quest.”
39. Jeremy Renner
Although Jeremy Renner has
earned critical acclaim for roles in “The Hurt Locker” and “The Town,”
franchise films are his bread and butter. Much of Renner’s $3.58 billion
domestic gross comes from parts in series like “The Avengers,” “Captain
America” and “Mission: Impossible.”
38. Bruce Willis
With
$3.6 billion in domestic box-office earnings, Bruce Willis counts an
’80s movie — “Look Who’s Talking” — and two ’90s movies — “Armageddon”
and “The Sixth Sense” — among his highest-grossing movies. The iconic
“Die Hard” series, the blockbuster “Expendables” franchise and critical
favorites like “Pulp Fiction” only sweeten the pot — and his net worth.
37. Eddie Murphy
Few
actors have had a better or longer run than funnyman Eddie Murphy,
whose films average nearly $99 million each for a total of $3.76
billion. His high-grossing films include early hits, like “Beverly Hills
Cop” and “Coming to America,” groundbreaking ’90s performances in “Dr.
Dolittle” and “The Nutty Professor,” and voice work for the blockbuster
“Shrek” franchise.
36. Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen movies have
earned a total of $3.82 billion ? thanks in part to the success of
2017’s “Beauty and the Beast,” which boasts a lifetime worldwide gross
of $1.26 billion. He also has landed unforgettable roles in the “Lord of
the Rings,” “Hobbit” and “X-Men” franchises, giving him a stunning $89
million per-film average.
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35. Anthony Mackie
The
“Avengers” and “Captain America” franchises have catapulted Anthony
Mackie to become one of the top-grossing actors of all time. His movies
have earned an average of $89 million a pop in box offices for a total
of $3.9 billion domestically.
34. Woody Harrelson
Woody
Harrelson’s role in “The Hunger Games” franchise has added to the tally
of his highest-earning films. From “No Country for Old Men” and “Natural
Born Killers” to “White Men Can’t Jump” and “The Thin Red Line,”
Harrelson claims a long string of successful films that have brought his
total box-office earnings to $3.96 billion.
33. Mark Ruffalo
Mark
Ruffalo has starred in two of the top five highest-grossing films of
all time: “Avengers: Endgame,” which is the No. 1 highest-grossing film
with nearly $2.8 billion in worldwide box-office earnings, and
“Avengers: Infinity War,” which is the No. 5 highest-grossing film with
$2.05 billion in worldwide box-office earnings. All in all, his domestic
box-office gross totals $3.97 billion.
32. Will Smith
Will
Smith can be relied on for an impressive $126 million average box-office
gross thanks to blockbusters like “Independence Day,” “Men in Black,”
“I Am Legend” and “Aladdin” — all of which grossed more than $200
million. In total, his 32 movies are responsible for $4.02 billion in
box-office receipts.
31. J.K. Simmons
J.K. Simmons has starred
in a healthy mix of indie and big-budget films, with notable roles in
“Whiplash,” “Juno,” “La La Land” and the “Spider-Man” franchise. His
film “Spider-Man: Far From Home” boasts a worldwide box-office gross of
$1.13 billion, and in total, his films have grossed $4.04 billion
domestically.
30. Hugo Weaving
Starring in “The Lord of the
Rings” films has helped place Hugo Weaving on this ranking. His 32 films
have grossed an average of $128 million each, for a total gross of
$4.09 billion.
29. Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett owes the
lion’s share of her $4.11 billion resume to the “Lord of the Rings,”
“Hobbit” and “Thor” films, which have all been major moneymakers. She
also claims a handful of nonfranchise films that grossed nine figures
each.
28. Matt Damon
Matt Damon’s top-grossing movies
represent three decades of the versatile actor’s work, including “Good
Will Hunting” and “Saving Private Ryan” in the 1990s, the “Bourne”
franchise in the 2000s and “The Martian” in the 2010s — all of which
posted nine-digit box-office receipts. In all, his efforts have earned
$4.12 billion.
27. Dwayne Johnson
The man known as “The Rock”
averages nine figures per film ? over $118 million each, which isn?t bad
for a crossover actor who?s a wrestler by trade. Thanks to the “Fast
and the Furious” franchise, as well as blockbusters like “Moana” and
“San Andreas,” Dwayne Johnson’s movies have earned $4.14 billion.
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26. Benedict Cumberbatch
Although
he’s starred in plenty of Oscar fodder — “1917,” “The Imitation Game,”
“August: Osage County,” etc. — Benedict Cumberbatch hasn’t shied away
from big-budget blockbusters too. As Doctor Strange in the “Avengers”
films, he’s helped to rack up big money in the box office. His movies
have grossed a total of $4.14 billion in the U.S. and Canada.
25. Gary Oldman
Gary Oldman’s $4.2 billion box-office haul is impressive, even for a veteran actor with 50 films under his belt.
24. Paul Bettany
Voicing
JARVIS in the original “Iron Man” film turned out to be a lucrative
role for Paul Bettany. He reprised the voice role for “Iron Man 2,”
“Iron Man 3” and “Avengers”– all of which earned over a half-billion
dollars at the worldwide box office. His movies have grossed a total of
$4.27 billion domestically.
23. Frank Oz
You might not
recognize Frank Oz’s face but you probably recognize his voice. He’s
voiced a number of Muppets, including Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy, and he
has voiced Yoda in some of the “Star Wars” movies. His highest-earning
movie, “Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi,” grossed $1.33 billion
worldwide. Overall, his films have brought in $4.28 billion at the
domestic box office.
22. Johnny Depp
A longtime fan favorite,
Johnny Depp has been a reliable hitmaker since he first appeared in “A
Nightmare on Elm Street” in 1984. The biggest source of his $4.3 billion
box-office total, however, comes from the “Pirates of the Caribbean”
franchise and “Alice in Wonderland,” which are among the top-grossing
films of all time.
21. Don Cheadle
Don Cheadle’s most
critically acclaimed works — including “Hotel Rwanda,” “Boogie Nights”
and “Crash” — earned low- to mid-eight-figure box-office receipts. But
his movies have brought in $4.33 billion in total.
If you’re
wondering how that’s possible, note that Cheadle starred in three movies
that pulled in more than $400 million each domestically — “Avengers:
Age of Ultron,” “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame” —
between the years 2015 and 2019.
20. Idris Elba
Idris Elba’s
movies have earned $4.38 billion. As it stands, his biggest movie is
“Avengers: Infinity War” — which earned $2.05 billion worldwide and $679
million domestically — though “The Jungle Book (2016)” and “Zootopia”
are no slouches, either.
19. Stanley Tucci
Stanley Tucci has
credits dating back to the 1980s, but his roles in modern
mega-franchises are the source of most of his $4.39 billion box-office
total. He struck gold in the “Transformers,” “The Hunger Games” and
Marvel Cinematic Universe series, as well as 2017’s “Beauty and the
Beast.”
18. Elizabeth Banks
Elizabeth Banks’ movies have
earned nearly $4.44 billion. Thanks to “The Hunger Games” franchise and
several other blockbusters, her films score an average of $91 million
apiece.
17. Tom Cruise
For the last few decades, Tom Cruise
has been one of Hollywood’s hit machines, with classics like “Top Gun,”
“A Few Good Men” and “Rain Man” among his starring roles. The biggest
source of his $4.45 billion total haul and $101 million per-movie
average, however, is the incredible success of the “Mission: Impossible”
franchise.
16. Chris Pratt
Chris Pratt has starred in three
of the top 10 highest-grossing movies of all time: “Avengers: Endgame,”
“Avengers: Infinity War” and “Jurassic World.” With an average gross of
$171 million per movie, Pratt’s films have grossed a total of $4.45
billion.
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15. Chris Hemsworth
“The
Avengers” and its spin-off “Thor” franchises have made Australian actor
Chris Hemsworth one of the highest-grossing movie stars of all time.
His films have brought in a total of $4.51 billion at the domestic box
office.
14. Chris Evans
It pays to be Captain America. Thanks
to Chris Evans’ blockbuster movie role, he’s grossed an average of $153
million per film for a domestic box-office total gross of nearly $4.58
billion.
13. Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel’s biggest movies include
the “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Fast and the Furious” franchises. In
total, the action star’s movies have grossed nearly $4.59 billion.
12. Zoe Saldana
Zoe
Saldana had a starring role in “Avatar,” the second-biggest movie of
all time. That, along with the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise,
helped her over 30-strong film resume gross almost $4.6 billion.
11. Liam Neeson
Liam
Neeson’s more than six dozen movies have hauled in roughly $4.72
billion. Although several of his movies didn’t break six figures,
Neeson’s roles in the “Star Wars” films balance the scales in the
actor’s favor.
10. Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwenyth Paltrow gained fame
in the ’90s with films that included “Emma,” “Sliding Doors” and
“Shakespeare in Love,” but it’s the “Iron Man” and “Avengers” films that
have added the most to her net worth. Her role as Pepper Potts in the
highly successful franchises has allowed her to claim a total gross of
$4.47 billion at the domestic box office.
9. Bradley Cooper
A
quirky breakout role in 2005’s “Wedding Crashers” launched Bradley
Cooper into a decade-plus run that included critical and commercial
smashes like “The Hangover” movies, “American Sniper,” “American Hustle”
and the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise. In all, his movies have
brought home nearly $4.93 billion, with an impressive average of more
than $140 million per film. No wonder his net worth is sky-high these
days.
8. Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman’s legendary resume
includes critically acclaimed titles like “The Shawshank Redemption,”
“Driving Miss Daisy” and “Lean on Me.” His $5.13 billion box-office
total, however, has a lot to do with his role in the franchise
blockbuster “Dark Knight” and its sequel, “The Dark Knight Rises.”
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7. Harrison Ford
Many
of the actors on this list with a nine-figure average per movie have a
relatively short resume — but not Harrison Ford. He boasts $108 million
per film for a total of $5.4 billion, thanks to a nearly unprecedented
run that includes the “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” franchises, as
well as critical and commercial hits like “The Fugitive,” “Clear and
Present Danger” and “Patriot Games.”
6. Scarlett Johansson
The
silver screen’s Black Widow, Scarlett Johansson has a long, impressive
resume dating back more than two decades. Her $5.4 billion in box-office
receipts, however, has largely been accumulated over the last few
years. Her roles in “The Jungle Book,” “Sing” and the Marvel Cinematic
Universe franchise earned more than $200 million each.
5. Anthony Daniels
Although
his resume lists just 15 films, Anthony Daniels claims $5.57 billion in
total box-office dollars and a staggering per-film average of $371
million. Why? Because of his 15 movies, most of them contain the words
“Star Wars.”
4. Tom Hanks
Arguably the most versatile actor in
history, Tom Hanks evolved from silly and lighthearted fare like
“Splash” and “The Money Pit” to iconic game-changers like “Saving
Private Ryan” and “Cast Away.” His $5.57 billion cumulative box-office
earnings — as well as his multimillion-dollar net worth — have been
boosted by the success of animated series like “Toy Story,” but also
come from critical darlings like “Forrest Gump.”
3. Andy Serkis
Andy
Serkis lays claim to a portfolio of films that has earned $5.68
billion. The “Lord of the Rings,” “The Hobbit,” “Planet of the Apes” and
“Star Wars” franchises have done the bulk of the heavy lifting for
Serkis, whose films average an imposing $189 million each.
2. Robert Downey Jr.
Robert
Downey Jr. broke out with ’80s cult classics like “Less Than Zero” and
“Weird Science” — but his massive $5.97 billion box-office returns can
largely be credited to his career’s second act. His role as Iron Man, as
well as the success of the “Sherlock Holmes” franchise, make him one of
history’s highest-grossing actors — as well as one of the richest.
1. Samuel L. Jackson
Although
he is not the highest-paid actor in Hollywood, Samuel L. Jackson —
whose 112-film-strong resume includes “Pulp Fiction” and “A Time to
Kill” — is the only actor who can claim gross receipts greater than $10
billion thanks to his roles in film franchises that include “The
Avengers” and “Star Wars.”
Action
& Adventure, Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Kids
& Family, Mystery & Thrillers, Performing Arts, Romance,
Science Fiction, Special Interests
30. Suburra (2015)
Our criteria here is films featuring actual mobsters and the organised crime milieu – as opposed to hitmen, heists or bank robbers. Stefano Sollima’s punchy neo-noir, set in 2011, fits the bill with its imbroglio of crime families, political corruption and Rome real estate. Financed by Netflix, this is essentially a feature-length pilot for the addictive Suburra: Blood on Rome prequel series.
29. Brother (2000)
Writer-director Takeshi “Beat” Kitano plays a Japanese gangster forced to relocate to Los Angeles, where he muscles in on the local drug operation by shooting everyone in sight. Unfortunately, this rubs up the Italian-American mafia the wrong way. Brace yourself for splattered brains, chopsticks up nostrils and chopped-off pinky fingers.
Takeshi Kitano in Brother.
Takeshi Kitano in Brother. Photograph: Channel 4/Allstar
28. Casino (1995)
Martin Scorsese seems almost to be parodying himself in this portrait of a Las Vegas bookie running a mob casino, but it’s a wild ride with non-stop needle drops. Robert De Niro wears natty threads; Joe Pesci crushes someone’s head in a vice; Sharon Stone and James Woods steal the show.
27. Dead or Alive (1999)
Takashi Miike turns what might have been a routine yakuza yarn into a dazzling (and sometimes revolting) burst of film-making adrenaline, the first of a trilogy. If the opening eight-minute cocktail of cocaine, noodles and carnage makes most Hollywood action movies look arthritic, the climax will make your head explode.
26. A Bittersweet Life (2005)
Kim Jee-woon followed A Tale of Two Sisters with this stylised neo-noir starring Lee Byung-hun, exhibiting Alain Delon levels of inscrutable male beauty as a high-ranking enforcer for the Korean mob who is asked to spy on his boss’s mistress, precipitating a series of decisions that ends in a bloodbath.
James Cagney and Edward Woods in The Public Enemy.
James Cagney and Edward Woods in The Public Enemy. Photograph: Warner Bros/Allstar
25. The Public Enemy (1931)
Whether mashing a grapefruit in his girlfriend’s face or making his nightmarish final entrance, James Cagney scorches the screen in his astonishingly modern breakthrough performance as Tom Powers, working his way up through Chicago’s bootlegging fraternity. One of the pre-Hays Code Warner Bros pics that set the tone for gangsters to come.
24. Scarface (1983)
Brian De Palma pumps up the rise and fall of a lowlife Cuban immigrant into an operatic Bildungsroman brimming with Hawaiian shirts, chainsaw massacres, enough cocaine to rot the septa of the entire population of Miami, and Al Pacino burbling in a garbled accent. “Say hello to my leetle friend!”
23. New World (2013)
Park Hoon-jung followed his script credit for I Saw the Devil by writing and directing this terrific South Korean variation on Infernal Affairs. A cop in deep cover with a major crime syndicate begs for reassignment, but his police chief prefers to keep him in play as a pawn. With ironic results.
Christopher Walken and Chris Penn in The Funeral.
Christopher Walken and Chris Penn in The Funeral. Photograph: October Films/Allstar
22. The Funeral (1996)
Two cult Christophers – Walken and Penn – play brothers of a recently murdered mafioso in Abel Ferrara’s intense study of a 1930s New York mob family in mourning around the coffin. Claustrophobic tension mounts as they plot revenge, watched anxiously by their wives. A powerful chamber piece with a shocking climax.
21. Battles Without Honour and Humanity (1973)
Before Battle Royale, Kinji Fukasaka injected his raw energy and restless camera into a series of five films collectively known as The Yakuza Papers. The first in the pentalogy shows mobsters filling the lawless void of postwar Japan with gambling, macho posturing and murder. Includes a useful primer in yubitsume, or pinky-chopping.
20. The Irishman (2019)
An elderly war veteran reflects on his long career in crime, from the Bay of Pigs to the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa. The subject of Scorsese’s sorrowful crime epic is nothing less than America itself: who has power, what they do with it – and why it’s crooks who call the shots.
Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren in The Long Good Friday.
Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren in The Long Good Friday. Photograph: Cinetext/Handmade Films Ltd/Allstar
19. The Long Good Friday (1980)
Bob Hoskins gives a Cagney-sized performance as Harold Shand, the cockney mob boss whose plans to develop Docklands (with a little help from the American mafia) are spectacularly derailed by mysterious rival gangsters. Helen Mirren plays his posh girlfriend, and Hoskins gets one of the all-time great extended facial closeups.
18. A Better Tomorrow (1986)
Shaw Brothers legend Ti Lung and Farewell My Concubine’s Leslie Cheung play brothers on opposite sides of the law in this John Woo gun-fu blockbuster bromance, but all eyes are on Chow Yun-fat as Lung’s triad comrade-in-crime, the epitome of cool in the film that put him and the “heroic bloodshed” subgenre on the map.
Fred Williamson in Black Caesar.
Fred Williamson in Black Caesar. Photograph: Moviestore Collection Ltd/Alamy
17. Black Caesar (1973)
Fred Williamson rocks a dandy hat as head of an African American crime syndicate taking on Italian mobsters and racist cops in this blaxploitation classic, also known as The Godfather of Harlem. Larry Cohen directs with low-budget verve; James Brown and Fred Wesley provide the score: “Paid the cost to be the boss ...”
16. The Traitor (2019)
Marco Bellocchio’s biopic of Tommaso Buscetta, a Sicilian mobster who turned informant when the Cosa Nostra started killing his family, exposes the truth about their hypocritical codes of honour. Notable sequences include the 1986 Palermo “maxi-trial” and sickening mafia celebrations after the assassination of the judge Giovanni Falcone, his wife and bodyguards.
Le Deuxième Souffle 1966
Le Deuxième Souffle 1966 Photograph: IMDB
15. Le Deuxième Souffle (1966)
Jean-Pierre Melville’s adaptation of a José Giovanni novel opens a window on to the French underworld: its loyalties, networking (the mysterious Orloff) and louche nightclubs with dancing girls. Lino Ventura, never better, stars as Gu, who escapes from prison and takes on the proverbial “one last job” down in Marseille.
14. Eastern Promises (2007)
London midwife Naomi Watts strays into the perilous orbit of a borscht-loving clan of thugs in David Cronenberg’s dreamlike descent into an underworld of human trafficking and throat-slashings; it’s Casualty meets the Russian mafia. Highlights include Viggo Mortensen’s fight to the death in a Turkish bath, clad in nothing but tattoos.
13. Election (2005)
Johnnie To’s dense drama exposes the inner workings of Hong Kong triads (and injects sly political subtext) as they prepare to elect a new “godfather” amid ever-shifting allegiances and double-crossings. No guns are fired, though some poor bastards are nailed up in crates and rolled down a hill. The ending is a kicker.
Paul Muni in Scarface.
Paul Muni in Scarface. Photograph: United Artists/Allstar
12. Scarface (1932)
Howard Hawks’s pre-Code gangster pic stands up brilliantly, thanks to dynamic directing, proto-noir cinematography and a primal performance from Paul Muni that makes his successor, Pacino, seem almost restrained. It feels very immediate – prohibition and bootlegging were still going on – and also pretty daring when Tony exposes his sister’s bra strap.
11. Donnie Brasco (1997)
Mike Newell’s grungy mob pic showcases Pacino as a has-been hitman at the scrag-end of the food chain. Trying to impress his peers by mentoring a newcomer, he’s tragically unaware his protege is an undercover FBI agent, nicely played by Johnny Depp in the days before he started with the tiresome overacting.
10. The Mission (1999)
A perfect introduction to the films of To, godfather of Hong Kong action cinema, and a must-see for fans of Melville and Woo. A triad boss hires five bodyguards (played by To regulars including Anthony Wong, Simon Yam and Suet Lam) who must ultimately decide where their loyalties lie. A catchy score, super-stylised shootouts and male bonding aplenty.
The Mission.
The Mission. Photograph: Photo 12/Alamy
9. King of New York (1990)
Walken lords it in Ferrara’s organised crime epic as a gang boss who lives at the Plaza hotel and travels by limo, flanked by female bodyguards who look like Helmut Newton models. He decides to give something back to the community by financing a children’s hospital in the Bronx, and only has to kill a gazillion people to do it.
8. Tokyo Drifter (1966)
When his boss retires, a loyal enforcer finds himself targeted by rival gangs in a yakuza fantasy of mad camera angles, fever-dream colour schemes and more talk about real estate than you might expect. It also has an earworm theme song. After this and Branded to Kill, the Nikkatsu studio fired the director, Seijun Suzuki, for making “incomprehensible” movies. Nonsense: they may be nuts, but they’re perfectly clear.
Tetsuya Watari and Chieko Matsubara in Tokyo Drifter.
Tetsuya Watari and Chieko Matsubara in Tokyo Drifter. Photograph: Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy
7. Touchez Pas au Grisbi (1954)
Trust French mobsters to have the best lifestyles. Jean Gabin revived his flagging career in Jacques Becker’s mob pic about a middle-aged Paris gangster who appreciates a nice paté and wears jim-jams to bed when he’s not hijacking gold bullion. Lino Ventura makes his film debut as the antagonist; Scorsese cited it as one of the films that influenced The Irishman.
6. Gomorrah (2008)
Matteo Garrone’s adaptation of Robert Saviano’s bestselling exposé strips all the glamour from the gangster genre in its meticulous depiction of the workings of the Camorra, the Neapolitan mafia; this is a bleak but gripping picture of how organised crime permeates every level of society. Handheld camera and natural lighting give it a fly-on-the-wall docudrama feel. Immense and harrowing.
Gomorrah.
Gomorrah. Photograph: IFC Films/Everett/Rex Features
5. Infernal Affairs (2002)
Forget The Departed; accept no substitute for the brilliant original, starring Tony Leung as a cop in deep cover with the triads, and Andy Lau (no relation to co-director Andrew Lau) as a triad embedded in police HQ. Each is assigned by his respective boss to flush out the other mole, leading to escalating tension and identity crises all round.
4. Once Upon a Time In America (1984)
Sergio Leone’s final masterpiece is a Jewish gangster epic, spanning 50 years, with a Proustian approach to time and memory. De Niro plays a guilt-ridden thug seeking the truth about a botched heist that left his friends dead. A Lower East Side childhood gives way to prohibition-era violence and political corruption, set to one of Ennio Morricone’s most sublime scores.
Robert De Niro in Once Upon a Time in America.
Robert De Niro in Once Upon a Time in America. Photograph: Warner Bros/Allstar
3. The Godfather (1972)
Francis Ford Coppola’s magisterial mobster epic is packed with dialogue and scene-settings that have since been enshrined in the gangster movie lexicon. But my favourites are the little things: Michael noticing his hand doesn’t shake when he lights a cigarette, or the bodyguard’s sidelong glance as Michael’s lovely Sicilian bride prepares to start the car. None of it ever gets old.
2. Goodfellas (1990)
Ray Liotta provides voiceover as the outsider inducted into an Italian-American crime syndicate in Scorsese’s everyday story of extortion, robbery and murder by guys who aren’t as smart as they think they are. Pesci gets the showy loose-cannon role, but it’s De Niro who is the really scary one as he sits at the bar, silently plotting to kill his friends.
Al Pacino in The Godfather Part II.
Al Pacino in The Godfather Part II. Photograph: Cinetext Bildarchiv/Paramount Pictures/Allstar
1. The Godfather Part II (1974)
Part two of Coppola’s peerless gangster saga surpasses its predecessor as it takes the Corleone family in two directions: back into the past to trace Don Corleone’s rise from orphaned Sicilian immigrant to Little Italy crime lord, and forward into the 1950s with his son, who consolidates his power but, in a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, destroys his family in his process.
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