The Godfather is a masterpiece and, to so many, the greatest movie of all time. Francis Ford Coppola changed movie history with his lengthy but detailed Godfather trilogy, which he co-wrote with the novel’s author, Mario Puzo. After its magnificent success, movies about crime families became a staple of cinema, and the mafia was once again a relentless source of inspiration, whether depicting some of the most violent on-screen gangster villains or drawing direct inspiration from The Godfather itself.
It’s tough to find anything that matches its genius and appeal, but cinema is beautiful precisely because of that. Though it’ll never be replicated, The Godfather left a rich cinematic legacy and influenced many future pictures covering similar themes. Cinema across the globe, not just in the USA, has many great movies similar to this crime masterpiece in both narrative and scope. Thus, fans of The Godfather should make sure to check out these movies, especially if they’re looking for other riveting, intricate, and compelling depictions of the darkest and most complex sides of human nature.
10 ‘The Departed’ (2006)
Directed by Martin Scorsese
The Departed is a remake of the Hong Kong hit thriller Infernal Affairs. Unlike the original, which eventually became a trilogy, The Departed leaned a bit into The Godfather territory. Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio star in this duplicitous, elaborate thriller, where loyalties lie nowhere in particular, and it’s seemingly every man for himself.
Damon plays Colin Sullivan, a criminal inserted into the Massachusetts State Police as a police officer; DiCaprio plays a police officer inserted undercover into the crime family of Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). When the two learn of each other’s existence (but not identities), everything turns into a cat-and-mouse game. Scorsese makes a well-loved masterpiece here, a movie that was as equally talked about in the 2000s as The Dark Knight. Often considered one of Scorsese’s best movies ever, the filmmaker has an accolade to boot, earning his only Oscar win for Best Director thanks to this beloved crime thriller.
9 ‘New World’ (2013)
Directed by Park Hoon-jung
South Korean cinema has seen a unique rise in popularity over the past 20+ years. With the appearance of Oldboy, eyes around the world turned to the East for more than just English-speaking classics. Since 2002, many South Korean filmmakers have started feeling bolder and more encouraged to create Westernized movies and stories inspired by Western films. New World is one such movie. The movie follows Ja-sung (Lee Jung-jae), an undercover officer embedded in the Goldmoon corporate crime organization. Though he’s been undercover for nearly a decade, Ja-sung is tired and wants out, but his boss, Police Chief Kang (Choi Min-sik), threatens to expose him if he leaves.
Though obviously inspired by
The Godfather
,
New World
‘s depiction of the South Korean corporate crime syndicate Goldmoon International makes it one of Korea’s most ambitious thrillers.
The story breaks loyalties and promises while ultimately testing Ja-sung’s patience and integrity. Lee Jung-jae, Choi Min-sik, and Hwang Jung-min are some of South Korea’s greatest acting powerhouses. Their charismatic personalities carry each movie they star in on their own, making New World a truly powerful movie. Though obviously inspired by The Godfather, its depiction of the South Korean corporate crime syndicate Goldmoon International makes it one of Korea’s most ambitious thrillers.
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8 ‘American Gangster’ (2007)
Directed by Ridley Scott
A lot of what makes American Gangster great comes from Riddley Scott‘s experience; he simply knows how to tell a story and stick to the landing he wishes for, whether that’s good or not. American Gangster follows the real-life criminal Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) and detective/lawyer Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe). Lucas enters the heroin trade after the death of his boss, Bumpy Johnson and soon realizes he must grease the palms of various police officers to get away with what he does. For his part, Richie Roberts aims to root out corruption, a theme that unifies the struggles of both Lucas and Roberts.
Interestingly, the real-life Roberts and Lucas formed a long-lasting friendship, and when asked about the film, their universal response was that it’s mostly fabricated. American Gangster confused facts and fiction, so much so that several DEA agents tried to sue Universal Studios for wrongful depiction of their agency. True or not, American Gangster remains one of Denzel Washington’s best and most charismatic roles and one of Scott’s greatest, most underappreciated features.
7 ‘Battles Without Honor and Humanity’ (1973)
Directed by Kinji Fukasaku
Japanese yakuza films are a separate category that deserves attention and analysis. The yakuza are, to the regular Japanese folk, a shame to society and people that must be avoided like the plague. However, they have proven themselves more complicated than some believe, becoming a polarizing part of Japanese society. Those who join a life of crime can often do good for those around them, even if it comes at another’s expense.
Battles Without Honor and Humanity
perfectly encapsulates the rise and fall of a gangster from a uniquely Japanese perspective.
In Battles Without Honor and Humanity, an elaborate yakuza movie that was followed by ten sequels, all those impacts and actions can be seen from the lens of a filmmaker. It puts small-time criminal Shozo Hirono (Bunta Sugawara) as its protagonist but depicts a large ensemble cast portraying ruthless yakuza members. Hirono makes friends with a Yakuza family member, Hiroshi, who helps him and his war veteran friends enter the family and run Hiroshima underground. Battles Without Honor and Humanity perfectly encapsulates the rise and fall of a gangster from a uniquely Japanese perspective.
6 ‘Goodfellas’ (1990)
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Few movies are more thematically similar to The Godfather than Goodfellas. A gangster cinema staple and a visual and storytelling masterpiece, Goodfellas is inspired by the ascent and inevitable descent of real-life gangster Henry Hill. It opens with the sentence, “As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster,” introducing viewers to Henry Hill’s (Ray Liotta) entry into the local branch of the mafia and following his days as a made man. He is guided and shaped by ruthless men like Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro), Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci), and Paulie Cicero (Paul Sorvino).
Goodfellas shows something that not many other gangster films imply: being a gangster is a state of mind. Henry’s mindset and intent are shown within the first few minutes of the film. He was molded by who he wanted to be, and his drive made him a successful gangster. Goodfellas is known for so many great aspects, but probably most notably for Joe Pesci’s exceptional performance as Tommy DeVito, which seems to have been true to the core.
5 ‘Carlito’s Way’ (1993)
Directed by Brian De Palma
Carlito’s Way is the second successful collaboration between Brian De Palma and Al Pacino after Scarface. The difference between Scarface‘s Tony Montana and Carlito Brigante from Carlito’s Way is that the former is a newcomer in Miami on the rise to become a hotshot criminal, while the latter is a known criminal trying to correct his ways after being prematurely released from prison. Carlito sees the world with new eyes and wishes to lead a family life with his girlfriend, Gail (Penelope Ann Miller), but Bronx-based criminal Benny Blanco (John Leguizamo) has other ideas.
Al Pacino skillfully portrays a man desperate for signs by the road that could help him leave his old life. However, once someone becomes an established gangster, it’s tough to simply leave and never look back. This crime thriller wasn’t all that noted when it came out but has since gained a cult-like following and is deemed one of the greatest crime movies of all time. Besides that, the Pacino/De Palma combo seems to be a secret weapon in creating some incredible, poignant films that double as character studies.
4 ‘The Bad Sleep Well’ (1960)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
The Bad Sleep Well follows Koichi Nishi (Toshiro Mifune), the secretary of the Public Development Corporation, in a revenge-seeking plot against his own company. The movie opens with a wedding ceremony in which Koichi is getting married to the president’s daughter. When a cake in the shape of the corporation’s building is rolled out, with a rose peeking out of the window from which a former employee jumped to death, it’s apparent that the situation is a lot more sinister than its awkward introduction.
Francis Ford Coppola often cited Akira Kurosawa as his favorite filmmaker and The Bad Sleep Well as one of his favorite films. It seems this inspiration helped him create the vibe and atmosphere of The Godfather, specifically the opening scene that establishes the motives of the main character. Kurosawa loosely based the movie on Hamlet, tackling themes of corruption, greed, revenge, and anger in a post-war Japanese business setting. The corporate world is ruthless, and in Japanese culture, it is often a test of loyalty for numerous employees.
3 ‘A Prophet’ (2009)
Directed by Jacques Audiard
A Prophet is a large film squeezed into a runtime of 2 hours and 35 minutes. ITahar Rahim plays Malik, a young man who is essentially a “blank slate,” rebellious but only in a childlike way, as he fights his way through brutal prison ranks and navigates gang warfare. A Prophet is like so many of the greatest gangster movies, except the directing by Jacques Audiard makes it feel grittier and punchier than most.
In prison, Malik discovers himself while working as a henchman, learning how to read and write, self-defense, and people-reading. He also often experiences almost prophetic dreams that help him in dire times. Roger Ebert gave A Prophet a delighted four stars, describing Arestrup as having “absolute power over life and death for so long that he acts as if it’s innate” and Rahim as an enigma, comparing him to Alain Delon in Le Samourai.
2 ‘Miller’s Crossing’ (1990)
Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
The Coen Brothers directed movies with various themes, from black comedies to one of the best westerns ever made, but Miller’s Crossing is a very special blend of their abilities made after the duo became inspired by Dashiell Hammett‘s novel The Glass Key. The movie is a gangster story revolving around the Irish mafia in an unnamed town in the US. The protagonist is Tom Reagan (Gabriel Byrne), the right hand of the notorious gangster Leo O’Bannon (Albert Finney). When Tom and Leo enter a conflict, and Tom is banished, he turns to the opposing faction to work against Leo.
The name of the movie, Miller’s Crossing, represents a location in the woods not far from town. John Turturro delivers a career-best performance here, and though he is a fantastic and diverse actor, his talent and prowess shine the brightest when he’s being directed by the Coen brothers. Gabriel Byrne carries the weight of the film well within his means, too. He was a huge protagonist during the 90s, and though slightly forgotten, he’s one of the actors that many of us have seen on our TV screens growing up.
1 ‘Once Upon a Time in America’ (1984)
Directed by Sergio Leone
A titanic achievement of cinema, Once Upon a Time in America is the gangster epic everyone should see at least once in their life, and with a generous runtime of 3 hours and 49 minutes, once may be enough for some. More than a gangster genre staple, it’s a cinema staple, with each scene, frame, and performance defining a lot of what makes filmmaking great. The story follows best friends “Noodles” Aaronson (Robert De Niro) and Max Bercovicz (James Woods) and their rise to the top of the local gang, becoming prominent figures in New York City’s criminal underworld.
Based on Harry Grey‘s book The Hoods, Once Upon a Time in America finds Sergio Leone creating a timeless feature that was the mold for many performances and gangster movies later on. This was Leone’s final film in his long directing career, delving into themes of fractured childhood friendships, the desire for love, coping with loss, and becoming greedy. Supported by a magnificent score by Ennio Morricone, the beautiful shots of the city paired with the brutality of gangster life make this movie a poetic tale where viewers can’t really cheer for any of the characters but are immersed anyway. Interestingly, Leone was offered to direct The Godfather but declined because he felt the story glorified the mafia.
