Mobsters
2 hours
Origins
The American Mafia has its roots in Italy. Italian immigrants came over
and continued or established criminal enterprises. The most famous of
these was based in New York City. The Mafia in New York operated under
a hierarchal structure under the boss of bosses (capo di tutti capi).
Prohibition in the U.S. brought a lot of opportunity for many people to
get rich selling illegal alcohol. Among this group of people were
members of the Mafia. Mix money and power with competition, and war was
inevitable. The Castellammarese War between two New York bosses, Joe
Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano, helped create the modern Mafia
structure: The Five Families of New York and various other bosses of
other areas around the country. This war resulted in the death of both
old-time bosses and opened the door for a younger generation to take over.
This movie focuses on that younger generation: Lucky Luciano; Meyer
Lansky; Frank Costello; and Bugsy Siegel. They restructured the Mafia so
there wouldn't be a grand boss, but instead a Commission made up of the
various bosses who met like a board of directors and tried to keep their
business peaceful. The Commission also worked with non-Italians, such as
Lansky, and this made it a truly American invention along with the
National Crime Syndicate.
Starring Christian Slater, Patrick Dempsey, and Richard Grieco.
The Untouchables
2 hours
Al Capone
The American Mafia extends far beyond New York and it was notoriously
active in Chicago during Prohibition under the rule of Al Capone, head of
the Chicago Outfit. Al Capone was known as Scarface and also Public
Enemy Numer 1. Capone thoroughly enjoyed his notoriety and indulged in
his wealth and celebrity. Al Capone, however, was a violent man with an
even more violent reputation. He was responsible for bombings, murders,
massacres, and even baseball bat head beatings. It's almost funny that
this man only went down because of a non-violent white collar crime.
This movie is about the police investigation and hunt to take down
Al Capone. The film focuses on the federal agents who led the
investigation and were given wide latitude to bring Capone to justice.
Starring Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro, and Sean Connery.
Hoodlum
2 hours, 10 min.
Harlem: Bumpy Johnson
American being a melting pot means that there are many different groups
of people operating in every industry. Italians and Jews are not the
only ethnicities that make up New York and they were not the only ones
who ran New York crime.
Stephanie St. Clair, or Madam Queen, ran Harlem and fought to stay
independent from the Mafia. After a hard fight, she gave up control of
the business to her protégé, Bumpy Johnson, who continued her fight. The
battle in Harlem was generally between Black owned business and the
Mafia. Specifically it was between Bumpy Johnson and Dutch
Schultz and it was about control of Harlem.
This movie focuses on Bumpy Johnson, his work for Queen, Queen giving
Bumpy control, and Bumpy's relationship with the Mafia. Lucky Luciano,
head of The Commission, also made substantial efforts and decisions to
make peace in Harlem and a deal with Bumpy.
Starring Laurence Fishburne, Tim Roth, and Cicely Tyson.
Lansky
1 hour, 56 min.
Meyer Lansky
The Jewish mob has been closely associated with the Italians since
the creation of The Commission. This is due to the friendship and early
successes between Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky. The two rose up in the
criminal world together along with Lansky's friend Bugsy Siegel, who
earned his own place in Mafia history. They all reached the top while
still fairly young.
Luciano went on to become the first chairman of The Commission.
Meyer Lansky became one of the most
important figures in the American Mafia and gambling history.
Lansky was incredibly smart and sometimes called the Mob's Accountant.
After Prohibition, Lansky successfully led the way for criminal control
of gambling all around the world. Famous gambling centers from the mid-
20th century such as casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada and Havana, Cuba were
notoriously run by Meyer Lansky. An equally important mark of criminal
success, Lansky was only ever convicted of illegal gambling and died
an old man and of natural causes. Authorities believe that he had
amassed a fortune of over a quarter billion dollars, but he had less than
fifty thousand in his bank account when he died.
This movie shows an older Lansky looking back on his life and his rise
to one of the key figures of the American Mafia. The film shows his
early friendships with Bugsy and Luciano; his and Luciano's mentor,
Arnold Rothstein; and his time as a member of the American Mafia and all
the difficulties that came with.
Starring Richard Dreyfuss, Eric Roberts, and Anthony LaPaglia.
Bugsy
2 hours, 30 min.
Bugsy Siegel
A big part of American history is the notion of "Manifest Destiny" that
has come to describe the nation's westward expansion. Similarly, the
Mafia went West and found riches. That move can be described by the
city of Las Vegas and the vision of Bugsy Siegel.
Bugsy was an early friend of Meyer Lansky, close associate of Lucky
Luciano and also a had a big role in the American Mafia. He flaunted
his money and was also feared as he was an infamous murderer and helped
establish the National Crime Syndicate's on-call-hitmen, Murder, Inc.
Trouble in New York sent Bugsy to California to run the Mafia's gambling
operations there. He certainly enjoyed his money and fame as he
often hung around movie stars and even bought a house in Beverly Hills.
He became a very powerful figure in Hollywood, even having a famous
romantic relationship with stars like Virginia Hill.
This movie covers the thing Siegel is probably most remembered for:
Las Vegas and the Flamingo Hotel. After all the crime, the Mafia found
a place to do business legally and that was Nevada where gambling was
legal. Financed by the rest of the Mafia, Bugsy ventured on
a project to build the greatest hotel and casino in America.
Unfortunately for Siegel, this was an unfathomably expensive project
and money was not coming in. Adding to the misfortune was the fact that
the Mafia was very serious about debts and even old friendships
couldn't prevent the inevitable.
Starring Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, and Ben Kingsley.
Bonanno: A Godfather's Story
2 hour, 50 min.
Joseph Bonanno (Joe Bananas)
The Castellammarese War in New York resulted in a young generation taking
over the Mafia in America. Among that generation was Joseph Bonanno, who
worked directly under one of the two bosses who were killed in the War.
Bonanno took over his old boss's business and became a boss on The
Commission at 26 years old. This bagan in the notorious Bonanno Crime
Family. This Organization, like the others in the Mafia, has a violent
history with periods of instability that has contributed to its
notoriety.
This movie shows the life of Joe Bonanno from his childhood to his time
as an American Mafia boss and then rebel, and then retirement. Bonanno
died in 2002 at age
97. He lived a long life full of American Mafia history, having taken
part in the creation of The Commission and living into the 21st century.
Starring Martin Landau, Guido Grasso Jr., and Bruce Ramsay.
American Gangster
2 hours, 38 min.
Harlem: Frank Lucas
After Bumpy Johnson died there was a void in Harlem's criminal power
structure and a danger that the Italian Mafia would encroach and take
over. In comes Frank Lucas, who made a dramatic innovation in the
drug business that led to him becoming the dominant criminal force out
of Harlem.
This movie starts at the beginning of Lucas's career and follows him to
Vietnam and back through his rise in the criminal world. Lucas got his
heroin supply straight from the source in Asia and was then able to
dominate the drug market in New York because he had the strongest
product available. What's even more impressive, and incredible, is how
Frank Lucas smuggled drugs into the U.S. In case you haven't read up on
this story, the smuggling secret will not be revealed here because it is
a big reveal moment in the movie.
Frank Lucas continued the Harlem gangster tradition of being independent
from the Mafia. In addition to being his own boss, Lucas was extremely
successful. He had more money than the movie makes it seem, which is
pretty amazing because he is clearly rich in the movie.
Starring Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Boss of Bosses
1 hour, 33 min.
Paul Castellano
Among the founding members of The Commission was a man named Vincent
Mangano. One of Mangano's underbosses was Albert Anastasia who was also
a big mob figure when The Commission was formed and a close associate of
Lucky Luciano. Anastasia was also one of the heads of Murder, Inc.
After years of Mangano being frustrated that his underboss pretty much
acted like a boss, Mangano was cut out of the picture. Anastasia
became the new boss and he made Carlo Gambino, his underboss. Gambino
was also around during The Commission's creation. Gambino's cousin and
brother-in-law, Paul Castellano then took over Gambino's old spot.
Anastasia was famously murdered in a barbershop, thus making Gambino the
new boss and also promoting Castellano.
Castellano was a criminal but he was also known as the Howard Hughes
of the Mob. He focused on legitimate white collar businesses that
could be given a bump from his Mafia connections. While Castellano was
focused on making money as legally as possible, Gambino was building up
what became the biggest and strongest Family in New York. Gambino died
an old man of natural causes and named Castellano as his successor.
This movie shows Castellano's rise to be boss of the Gambino
Family and then his untimely end.
Castellano inherited an empire and only built upon it. There was nowhere
to go but down. With money, power, and competition at every level,
conflict came for Castellano from within his own Family and from a
younger generation with different ideas.
Starring Chazz Palminteri, Al Ruscio, and Sonny Marinelli.
Gotti
1 hour, 56 min.
John Gotti
The Gambino Family was a powerful force under Paul Castellano who was in
American Mafia history since the early days of the Commission. He helped
create a money making machine. Yet there was still internal conflict.
Castellano had a no-drug rule to protect himself from getting criminal
charges. This policy hindered a lucrative business and members of his
Family ignored it, especially John Gotti. Legal troubles came and push
was bound to come to shove. So Gotti acted first and orchestrated
the murder of Castellano outside of a steakhouse in midtown Manhattan
in 1985.
This movie follows Gotti from his rise in the Gambino Family to his
forced ascension to boss of the most powerful Mafia Family. Gotti was
in the public eye a lot. Like Mafia figures of the past, Gotti enjoyed
his power and wealth and the celebrity that inevitably came with it. A
man like this was undoubtedly going to run into legal troubles often; he
did. However, his frequent visits to criminal court only resulted in his
nickname, the Teflon Don, because the charges couldn't stick. After the
authorities figured out the jury tampering scheme, they finally got him.
John Gotti died in prison in 2002. The movie really shows that that life
cannot sustain loyalty or trust.
Starring Armand Assante, Anthony Quinn, and Vincent Pastore.
Goodfellas
2 hours, 28 min.
The Life
Many mob movies are about bosses and the most famous figures of the
criminal history. This one is instead focused on a Mafia associate who
was not around for the creation of The Commission and wasn't actually a
"full" member of the organization. However, Hill definitely worked with
Mafia members and was well connected, specifically to the
Lucchese Crime Family.
This movie shows Hill's life from his early Mafia association up to him
entering the witness protection program. Other main characters in the movie
are directly based on real people. Tommy DeVito is based on Tommy
DeSimone; Jimmy Conway is based on Jimmy Burke; and Paul Cicero is based
on Paul Vario. One of the big plot points is about the actual theft at
JFK Airport that is known as the Lufthansa Heist in 1978 where almost
$6 million was stolen. The film is extremely entertaining and even
more so when you read up on how much of the film is based on reality.
Starring Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, and Joe Pesci.
Donnie Brasco
2 hours, 27 min.
FBI Infiltration
In the mid 70s, FBI Agent, Joseph D. Pistone began an undercover
operation to gain entry into the Bonanno Family. His undercover name was
Donnie Brasco. The assignment lasted for 6 years and only ended when the
FBI believed Pistone was in too deep as he was already ordered to commit
a murder in order to become a made man. They pulled him out before he
had to kill anyone. But during his time as Donnie Brasco, Pistone
learned more than anyone thought he could. The members of the Bonanno
Family that let Pistone get close and learn about the Mafia's inner
workings were all either killed or arrested (probably for their
protection).
This movie shows Pistone's time working undercover from when he meets
the Bonanno members who take him in up until the FBI pulls him out.
After the FBI revealed the operation to the Bonannos, a half a million
dollar contract was put on Pistone. The Bonanno Family was also removed
from The Commission because of Pistone's infiltration. Paul Castellano,
head of the Gambino Family, called the contract off in order to try to
calm things down. Being off the Commission, the Bonanno Family was able
to avoid heavy convictions during the Mafia Commission Trial, which sent
the top people of the Five Families to prison.
Starring Johnny Depp, Al Pacino, and Michael Madsen.
Black Mass
2 hours, 2 min.
Irish Mob
Like the Italians, Irish organized crime has had a presence in major
cities across America and its history has been full of power, money,
competition, and inevitable violence. There had also been infamous battles between
the groups throughout the 20th century. One of the famous Irish groups
operated in Boston and ran the city for over 30 years. This group was
the Winter Hill Gang, and it also included some Italians.
This movie focuses on Whitey Bulger who led the Winter Hill Gang. Whitey
strategically became an FBI informant but ended up manipulating the
agent that was assigned to him. Whitey literally got away with murder
by using his informant status and controlled agents as protection. This
protection also allowed Whitey to expand and tighten his grip on Boston
until his arrest and ultimately, his death in prison.
Starring Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, and Benedict Cumberbatch.
The Godfather trilogy
After learning about the history of the American Mafia, these movies are
only more enjoyable. The Godfather trilogy are three great films, with
the first two winning the Oscar for Best Picture. The stories that make
up these plots are very entertaining and some of the plot points and
characters are very similar to real events and figures in Mafia History.
Starring Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, and Diane Keaton.