The Best '80s Gangster Movie
How do you follow up a decade which many consider to have included the two single greatest gangster films in The Godfather (1972) AND The Godfather Part II (1974)? It's no easy task, but the 1980s (a time full of underrated little gems) was a great time for the gangster genre, featuring some of the best actors and directors of our time at the top of their cinematic game.
Which of these 1980s Gangster movies will you most likely remember?
After voting, you may discuss the poll here.
Also vote for Best Gangster Movie >>> 2000s
Which of these 1980s Gangster movies will you most likely remember?
After voting, you may discuss the poll here.
Also vote for Best Gangster Movie >>> 2000s
List activity
20K views
• 76 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
35 titles
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsAl PacinoMichelle PfeifferSteven BauerIn 1980 Miami, a determined Cuban immigrant takes over a drug cartel and succumbs to greed.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsRobert De NiroJames WoodsElizabeth McGovernA former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan 35 years later, where he must once again confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsKevin CostnerSean ConneryRobert De NiroDuring Prohibition, Treasury agent Eliot Ness sets out to stop ruthless Chicago gangster Al Capone, and assembles a small, incorruptible team to help him.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsMichael DouglasAndy GarciaKen TakakuraTwo NYC cops arrest a Yakuza member and must escort him when he's extradited to Japan.
- DirectorDennis HopperStarsSean PennRobert DuvallMaria Conchita AlonsoAn experienced cop and his rookie partner patrol the streets of East Los Angeles while trying to keep the gang violence under control.
- DirectorJohn MackenzieStarsBob HoskinsHelen MirrenPaul FreemanAn up-and-coming gangster is tested by the insurgence of an unknown, very powerful threat.
- DirectorJohn WooStarsLung TiLeslie CheungChow Yun-FatA reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsRichard GereGregory HinesDiane LaneMeet the jazz musicians, dancers, owner, and guests (like gangster Dutch Schultz) of The Cotton Club in 1928-1930s Harlem.
- DirectorEddie MurphyStarsEddie MurphyRichard PryorRedd FoxxDuring the 1930s, a New York City illegal gambling house owner and his associates must deal with strong competition, gangsters, and corrupt cops in order to stay in business.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsJack NicholsonKathleen TurnerRobert LoggiaTwo professional assassins fall in love.
- DirectorAmy HeckerlingStarsMichael KeatonJoe PiscopoMarilu HennerSet in the 1930s, an honest, good-hearted man is forced to turn to a life of crime to finance his neurotic mother's sky-rocketing medical bills.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsMichelle PfeifferAlec BaldwinPaul LazarA mobster's wife hates her lifestyle, but gets a chance to change it when her husband is killed - if the Long Island mob and the FBI let her.
- DirectorLouis MalleStarsBurt LancasterSusan SarandonKate ReidIn a corrupt city, a small-time gangster and the estranged wife of a pot dealer find themselves thrown together in an escapade of love, money, drugs and danger.
- DirectorKar-Wai WongStarsAndy LauMaggie CheungJacky CheungMid-level gangster Wah falls in love with his beautiful cousin, but must also continue to protect his volatile partner-in-crime and friend, Fly.
- DirectorRichard BenjaminStarsClint EastwoodBurt ReynoldsJane AlexanderSlick Private Investigator Mike Murphy (Burt Reynolds) and tough Police Lieutenant Speer (Clint Eastwood), once partners, now bitter enemies, reluctantly team up to investigate a murder.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsJames CaanTuesday WeldWillie NelsonAn ace safe cracker wants to do one last big heist for the mob before going straight.
- DirectorRick RosenthalStarsSean PennReni SantoniJim MoodyChicago crime kid Mick O'Brien is sent to reform school after accidentally killing a rival's kid brother.
- DirectorAlain CorneauStarsYves MontandGérard DepardieuCatherine DeneuveThe powerful story of a reformed underworld kingpin whose stable lifestyle is turned upside-down when a desperate, escaped killer hides out at his rural estate.
- DirectorMichael CiminoStarsMickey RourkeJohn LoneArianeA police detective cracks down on organized crime in Chinatown after the murders of Triad and Mafia leaders.
- DirectorMike FiggisStarsMelanie GriffithTommy Lee JonesStingA crooked American businessman tries to push the shady influential owner of a nightclub in Newcastle, England to sell him the club. The club's new employee and the American's ex lover fall in love and inadvertently stir the pot.
- DirectorLucio FulciStarsFabio TestiIvana MontiMarcel BozzuffiSomeone is muscling in on the two brothers' cigarette smuggling into Italy at Naples. The police is tipped off, then Mickey's stable burns down, then the killing etc. starts. Luca responds.
- DirectorTom CleggStarsRoger DaltreyAdam FaithCheryl CampbellJohn McVicar was a notorious London criminal known as "Public Enemy No. 1" for armed bank robberies. He was captured and imprisoned in a high security facility, but continued attempting escapes.
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsFreddie StuartRalph BrownA.J. ClarkeTen years after ratting on his old mobster friends in exchange for personal immunity, two hit men drive a hardened criminal to Paris for his execution. However, while on the way, whatever can go wrong, does go wrong.
- DirectorJohn CassavetesStarsGena RowlandsBuck HenryJulie CarmenWhen a young boy's family is killed by the mob, their tough neighbor Gloria becomes his reluctant guardian. In possession of a book that the gangsters want, the pair go on the run in New York.
- DirectorDavid MametStarsDon AmecheJoe MantegnaRobert ProskyShoe-shiner Gino is hired to take the rap for a mafia murder. Two-bit gangster Jerry watches over Gino and gives him a weekend to remember.