Scarface - The 1932 version by Howard Hawks
Look for the letter “X” using objects or lighting in the background of shots as that foreshadows someones imminent demise.
Yeah, Miller’s Crossing. It’s so transcendent that it pretty much broke the genre for me. It’s really hard to enjoy other gangster movies by comparison, and whenever I do catch a snippet of another gangster movie, even a really good one, it kind of just makes me want to watch Miller’s Crossing again. It’s that good.
I just watched Get Carter yesterday and damn was Michael Caine a mean looking son of a bitch in his younger days. The kind of half closed eyes that makes him out to look like some harmless old codger in his old age, was menacing (and in one scene perverted) along with a crooked smile that bellied his nature. Definitely a great movie which is punctuated by the unfortunately limp remake I’m forcing my way through at the moment.
It’s immediately obvious how much the remake is going to suck because it totally misunderstands the opening of the original or how it works, instead, it gives away a bunch of shit in the opening sequence and just apes the music and the interior train shots as a lame homage with this MTV cut up the frame montage of how badass Stallone is supposed to look (rather than how he really looks, kind of dopey). Let’s not even get into the overly interested cinematography is telegraphing everything.
The other thing I find pretty interesting is how tame it is so far with Stallone’s Carter having a much lighter touch than Caine’s (which robs some of the one liners they retain of their punch). Anyway, I’m not done yet, but somehow I thinking this film isn’t going to ask me, “What would Jesus do?” or have a Stallone in his birthday suit brandishing his shotgun as he walks two thugs out of the place he’s staying and into the street. Like I said, totally limp.
Edit: SPOILERS I think they are setting up this emo Carter for some redemption. I preferred the live by the sword die by the sword end of the original, but maybe they will kill him in the remake. It’s nice to see the original is where Saint’s Row 2 got its Destruction Derby revenge scene.
Edit 2: God damn, I was right. What a pathetic remake.
If anyone mentioned Get Shorty, sorry I didn’t see it. It’s a great Hollywood movie with gangsters in it. What’s funny is how all the gangsters want to be involved in the movies.
And if you want a silly musical take on gangsters, Robin and the Seven Hoods can be fun if you’re in the right mood.
Oh, and Made with Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn, back when Vince Vaughn was still interesting.
I love Made. It’s a great suggestion. It’s one of those movies that if I’m a bad mood, it will usually turn it around. I really like Vaughn’s response when he can’t smoke while at the pottery place. It’s also one of those movies I watch like a kid at a scary movie, Vaughn is so embarrassingly unbelievable (in a good way) I just can’t watch it sometimes (like him on that first class flight).
Get Shorty is a good one as well. I really liked Travolta as the loan shark. Skip the sequel (Be Cool). It sucked.
Seeing as there have already been a couple of TV series recommendations, Underbelly, about the Melbourne gangland killings, is one of the best series I have ever seen.