Wise Guys: Are Mob Movies Finally Making a Comeback?

What happened to the gangster film? Is it me or are mob movies not what they used to be anymore? It seems as though throughout my entire childhood I was raised on some of the best films, let alone mob movies, ever. From 1990 to 2000, Hollywood saw an extreme surplus of this genre starting with Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas in 1990, and ending with Analyze This in 1999. In between, we saw amazing films such as Reservoir Dogs in 1992, A Bronx Tale in 1993, Pulp Fiction in 1994, The Usual Suspects in 1995, Fargo in 1996, Donnie Brasco in 1997, and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in 1998. Along with many other films such as Jackie Brown, Dick Tracy, and Carlito’s Way, it seemed as though every year in the 1990’s, audiences were blessed with at least one amazing gangster film. With the exception of The Departed, which won Best Picture in 2006, and few others, audiences have not seen many gangster films since 2000. As 2008 comes to a close, and with one more year left in the decade, it appears as though the 2000’s will not be known for its gangster films. However, after some research, I believe the 2010’s could potentially be the decade mob movies come back in full force.

Recently, producers Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher have acquired the rights to a book written by Joaquin “Jack” Garcia, the title character to the film Making Jack Falcone, which will be produced by Paramount Pictures. The film follows Jack Garcia, a Cuban-American FBI agent who went undercover and infiltrated the Gambino crime family, coming within weeks of being a made man. Steven Soderbergh is set to direct, and he will be working again with a great writer named Peter Buchman, who wrote Soderbergh’s latest project, Che. Buchman was quoted saying that Falcone will be “a perfect vehicle for an actor with shape shifting tendencies; this is a mob man, after all, who moved fluidly not only between scenes but ethnicities.” The Hollywood Reporter also notes, “Paramount has several mob and undercover projects in development, including an undercover prison tale to be penned by William Monahan.” One of these “several” projects includes I Heard You Paint Houses, which be helmed by the master of the modern gangster film, Martin Scorsese, and will star Robert De Niro. This film will mark Scorsese and De Niro’s first partnership in a gangster film since Casino. The film is an adaptation, based on the book of the same name about infamous hitman Frank “the Irishman” Sheeran, who “is reputed to have carried out more than 25 mob murders”, including the death of the Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa. Steve Zaillian, who is responsible for mob movies such as American Gangster and Gangs of New York, will write the film. I believe that if I Heard You Paint Houses and Making Jack Falcone are successful, which they probably will be, they will be the catalyst that brings back the gangster genre. However, the increase in mob films will not be caused only by audience demand.

In my first post, “2009 Oscars: Why They’re Going to be ‘Revolutionary’”, I briefly discussed what was known as “response films” of the 1930s, which were made as a “response” to something awful in America, most notably The Great Depression. As it so happens, most of these films were gangster films. The 1930’s saw a surplus of gangster films such as Little Caesar in 1930, The Public Enemy in 1931, Scarface: The Shame of a Nation in 1932, and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse in 1933. I believe one of the reasons Hollywood is about to see more and more gangster films is because Hollywood is finally “responding” to the chaos that has amassed in the last eight years. Films have always been a commentary on American lifestyle, capitalism, and the current establishment. However, when the economic or social climate becomes abysmal, particular films are made to distract audiences from their current woes, especially gangster films. Now, one may of course question the validity of this theory, stating that the surplus of gangster or mob films of the 1990s as well as the 1970s (The Godfather, Serpico, Get Carter) were not in response to anything in particular. I happen to agree. The reason audiences saw so many gangster films in the 1970s and 1990s were because these were both decades in which all genres, not just the gangster film, were reinvented. The 1970s marked the beginning of modern films, and the 1990s marked the beginning of what film historians call post-modernism. However, in the upcoming years, the gangster genre, and all other genres, will not be reinvented, and 2010 will not mark a new era in film history. It is this reason that leads me to believe even more that the upcoming increase in gangster films will be because they are in response to the economic and political turmoil that America is currently facing. Audiences simply prefer it, and Hollywood subconsciously responds. Of course, it will be impossible to tell if this theory is true until the next decade comes to a close. However, after Making Jack Falcone and I Heard You Paint Houses are released, I recommend you keep an eye on the gangster films that are being picked up by studios and production companies alike. It’s time for the gangster to make a comeback in Hollywood, and that time is coming incredibly soon.