18. Donnie Brasco (1997)

Posted on 14 oktober 2026 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Mike Newell
Writers: Paul Attanasio (screenplay), Joseph D. Pistone (book), Richard Woodley (book)
Stars: Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen

This review is part of the feature:

The 33 Gangster Films You Can’t Refuse

Donnie Brasco opens with New York wiseguy Lefty (Pacino) meeting Don the Jeweller (Depp) in a bar. He wants him to sell a diamond on his behalf, but Donnie turns him down because the stone is a fugazi, a fake, an artificial specimen. We soon learn that Donnie is a fugazi himself. He is an undercover FBI agent acting like a potential Mafia associate.

Lefty likes him a lot and introduces him to his dangerous crew that is part of the Bonanno crime family. Now Donnie is in and he’s assigned to take down Lefty’s boss Sonny Black (Madsen) and his whole crew with him if possible. Pretty soon tension for Donnie reaches a boiling point both in the mob and in his private life with his estranged wife and children.

Donnie Brasco is based on the incredible true story of FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone told in the 1988 book ‘Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Maffia’. You must admire the balls it takes to infiltrate this gang of sociopathic murderers.

The casting agency who did this movie deserves an Oscar. The mob world it takes place in feels 100% authentic and the lead cast is sensational. It is especially enjoyable to watch Pacino, normally a boss in mob movies, play an uncertain, low level, nickel and dime foot soldier.

In the undercover cop genre, Donnie Brasco is up there with the very best, like State of Grace and The Departed. It’s an excellent movie with some very powerful scenes, such as Donnie being forced to help cut up the bodies of slain enemies.

It is also the number one guide to learn how to behave as a wiseguy. There is a whole scene explaining how to use the term fuhgeddaboudit which is both hilarious and unforgettable.

“Forget about it is, like, if you agree with someone, you know, like ‘Raquel Welch is one great piece of ass. Forget about it!’ But then, if you disagree, like ‘A Lincoln is better than a Cadillac? Forget about it!’ You know? But then, it’s also like if something’s the greatest thing in the world, like, ‘Minghia! Those peppers! Forget about it!’ But it’s also like saying ‘Go to hell!’ too. Like, you know, like ‘Hey Paulie, you got a one-inch pecker?’ and Paulie says ‘Forget about it!’ Sometimes it just means ‘Forget about it’.”

19. The Godfather: Part III (1990)

Posted on 13 oktober 2026 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Writers: Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Andy Garcia, Talia Shire

This review is part of the feature:

The 33 Gangster Films You Can’t Refuse

16 years after the outstanding second installment, director Francis Ford Coppola completed the series with this memorable, though not flawless film.

Part III was not nearly as well received as the first two movies. While it is true that Coppola slipped up once with the casting of his daughter Sofia in the crucial role of Michael’s daughter Mary Corleone, there is still no mistake about it: This is a Godfather movie. And it has plenty going for it.

The main focus of the film is on Michael trying to come to grips with his past, and finding some absolution before fate deals him one final blow. Coppola wanted to call it The Death of Michael Corleone, but the commercially thinking studio wouldn’t let him.

In 2020 they made it up to him and Coppola got to release a slightly altered version of the film called Mario Puzu’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone. It is a slightly better version with a more suitable beginning and ending.

Michael is off even worse in this cut that, according to Coppola, is closer to the original vision he and Puzo had for the ending.

Whatever version you pick, it definitely feels like the conclusion of the Corleone family saga. After the dramatic and powerful final act at the Opera House, there can be no doubt about it.

22. The Irishman (2019)

Posted on 10 oktober 2026 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: Steven Zaillian (screenplay), Charles Brandt (book)
Stars: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Anna Paquin

This review is part of the feature:

The 33 Gangster Films You Can’t Refuse

This 3,5 hours epic marks the welcome return of the master Scorsese to the genre he does best. And with two of his favorite actors, the magnificent Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. Throw in legend Al Pacino and you have an irresistible team on your hands.

The Irishman takes some getting into; this is a different beast than GoodFellas and Casino. Slower, more contemplative, but nevertheless featuring Scorsese’s trademark moments of humor and violence. It is the perfect retirement feature for this legendary cast, who are made young again with de-aging technology and get to live through several decades of mob history.

The story revolves around WW2 veteran Frank Sheeran (De Niro) who becomes a killer for the very controlled mob boss Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci in a role that is the polar opposite of his explosive GoodFellas and Casino characters). Sheeran later becomes bodyguard and enforcer for Teamster president Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino) who becomes his best friend.

Although the story is not very spectacular nor surprising (we already know what will happen to Hoffa for example) its direction is nearly flawless. Every wonderful frame and edit is brimming with meaning, even if we usually have to work out what that meaning is for ourselves.

One of the main themes is looking back at one’s life and regretting certain actions. In the case of Sheeran a major betrayal. And if you’re one of the few mobsters to actually survive (every mob character gets a title card detailing how he eventually got whacked) you might end up as a very sad old man in prison.

It is fitting for Scorsese (75 at the time of shooting) to approach the gangster life from this angle this time around. But unlike Sheeran, he ain’t got nothing to be embarrassed about. The Irishman is one for the ages.

Scarface (1983)

Posted on 18 april 2025 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

‘He loved the American dream. With a vengeance’

Directed by:
Brian De Palma

Written by:
Oliver Stone

Cast:
Al Pacino (Tony Montana), Steven Bauer (Manny Ribera), Michelle Pfeiffer (Elvira Hancock), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (Gina Montana), Robert Loggia (Frank Lopez), F. Murray Abraham (Omar Suarez), Paul Shenar (Alejandro Soza), Miriam Colon (Mama Montana), Harris Yulin (Mel Bernstein), Angel Salazar (Chi Chi)

Miami, the 1980s: Bad fashion, worse music, neon-lit nightclubs, yeyo, Cubans, Colombians, chainsaws, bikini-clad women, submachine guns, swimming pools, sports cars, hot tubs, and DEA agents. Welcome to the world of Tony Montana, the world of Scarface!

Brian De Palma’s Scarface is a bold, brash remake of Howard Hawks’ classic. Scripted by Oliver Stone – who wrote it while recovering from cocaine addiction in France – the story remains largely the same as the original, but the setting shifts dramatically. Instead of Prohibition-era gangsters, we follow the ruthless rise and fall of Cuban drug kingpin Tony Montana in the seedy underworld of Miami’s cocaine boom.

The film tracks Tony’s journey from a penniless refugee to a feared drug lord. Arriving from Cuba on an immigrant boat alongside his best friend Manny (Steven Bauer), Tony starts off running small-time hustles before proving himself as a vicious enforcer. His brutal ambition propels him up the ranks of Miami’s drug empire, ultimately overthrowing his boss, Frank Lopez, and taking everything – his empire, his woman (Michelle Pfeiffer’s icy Elvira), and his lucrative Bolivian connections.

But the higher Tony climbs, the faster he spirals downward. Paranoia sets in, fueled by mountains of cocaine. His marriage crumbles. His violent possessiveness over his sister hints at some unsettling, unspoken obsession. His reckless decisions alienate his allies, and when he crosses his powerful supplier Alejandro Sosa, the consequences are deadly. The film hurtles toward its legendary, blood-soaked climax, culminating in one of cinema’s most iconic shootouts.

What makes Scarface so compelling is that Tony Montana never truly enjoys his success. Unlike typical gangster flicks that revel in the spoils of crime, Scarface portrays a hollow, joyless ascent. Tony achieves everything he ever wanted, yet the moment he reaches the top, his downfall begins. The film’s bleak tone lingers from start to finish, reinforcing the idea that whether under communism or capitalism, Tony is doomed by his own insatiable greed and self-destruction.

Should you watch it? Absolutely. If only to understand its massive influence on pop culture, especially hip-hop. It’s violent, darkly funny, and features Al Pacino burying his face in a literal mountain of cocaine. Jeppy says go watch it. Okay?

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