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14 Robert De Niro Movies That Show Why He's The Godfather of Gangster Flicks
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Vote up the films that prove De Niro is elite.
There's no one better than Robert De Niro to take on the worlds of high wrongdoing and gangster paradise. De Niro can easily be considered the godfather of gangster flicks, for reasons that go far beyond the sheer number of these movies he has taken part in. The range of characters he's played even with this subgenre is incredible, taking on baddies from all eras and walks of life. While he's best known for taking on these mob bosses who mean business, he's also taken on other supporting players, like a crime scene photographer, on occasion.
Thanks to his iconic one-liners, menacing on-screen threats, rough-and-tumble terrifying gangsters, and his level of intense performances, each of these films proves that De Niro owns the gangster genre. Only one can be the best of the best, though.
- 134 VOTES
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Who He Plays: James (Jimmy) Conway, an Irish Brooklyn native with ties to the mob
Premise: Like many of De Niro’s movies, Goodfellas goes the gangster route, and this one dramatizes real events spanning from the ‘50s to the ‘80s.The Brooklyn-based movie centers on Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) embroiling himself in the crime world of Paulie Cicero (Paul Sorvino), Jimmy Conway (De Niro), and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci). Naturally, the trio lives off booze, women, and a whole lot of wrongdoing. They deal drugs and plan a massive heist, backstabbing each other many times along the way - and Jimmy proves to be one of the most lethal, forcing Henry to go into witness protection and live as a “schnook.”
Most Memorable Scene: Henry's coked-up adventure, set to classic songs like “Jump Into the Fire” and “What is Life,” makes for an epic sequence filled with Henry's delusion that he's evading FBI-led helicopters. It's a lot, in the best way.
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Who He Plays: Sam “Ace” Rothstein, a member of the mob who works at the Tangiers Casino
Premise: It's well known that “the house always wins,” but sometimes the house doesn't realize it's losing - to the mob. In the case of De Niro’s aptly titled movie Casino, his character, Sam engages in some less than legal dealings when he heads up the Tangiers Casino, skimming from the profits and keeping the cash for his Mafia bosses. Following the usual gangster flick pattern, betrayals are afoot and so are a hefty number of arrest warrants (and affairs).
Most Memorable Scene: Sam isn't playing around when he gives a customer the boot for putting his feet up on a table. He has his staff literally chuck the rude patron out of the doorway. It's such a severe reaction over such a small slight, which establishes Sam as someone who never messes around.
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- 327 VOTES
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Who He Plays: The young iteration of Vito Corleone, AKA The Godfather, showing his journey to becoming head honcho of the Corleone crime family. He had originally auditioned to play the role of Sonny Corleone in the original movie.
Premise: This sequel picks up with the good ol’ Italian-American Corleone family after the events of the first film, which sees Michael (Al Pacino) go from someone reluctant to partake int he “family business” to stepping into his role as don. While he adjusts to his new responsibilities, De Niro joins the series for the first time in the sequel, playing a younger version of Michael's father, Vito, in flashbacks that show his journey from growing up in Sicily to establishing one of the most powerful crime families in New York City.
Most Memorable Scene: When Vito finally returns to Sicily and avenges his family by stabbing Don Ciccio, it's at once frightening and satisfying. It also feels like a full-circle moment, showing that young Vito has become the powerful don seen in the first film.
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- 417 VOTES
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Who He Plays: Paul Vitti, a mob boss who enlists the help of a psychologist during a stressful period
Premise: While it's nothing new for De Niro to play a mob boss, Analyze This puts a new spin on it by avoiding gritty drama, instead grounding itself firmly as a comedy, which asks: what happens to a mob boss when they have anxiety? They go to a psychiatrist. Vitti makes an appointment with Dr. Ben Sobel (Billy Crystal), and both parties seem to forget that doctor-patient confidentiality doesn't extend to breaking the law. It's all in the name of comedy, though, as the men form a surprisingly real bond, remaining far more loyal than one would expect even as the FBI tries to force Ben into becoming an informant.
Most Memorable Scene: The climax features an intense gunfight between Paul's men and those loyal to his his would-be usurper, Primo (Chazz Palminteri). Ben even gets involved and makes a heroic sacrifice that goes well above and beyond what one would expect from a psychiatrist.
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- 514 VOTES
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Who He Plays: Lorenzo, an MTA bus driver and an honest man who disapproves of the mob
Premise: Who's the bigger villain: the Mafia, or the MTA? New Yorkers are split on that, but Lorenzo prefers the law-abiding life. When his son, Calogero, witnesses a mobster shooting someone and doesn't snitch, Lorenzo's offered a better-paying job as a sort of reward, but he declines. The real trouble comes as Calogero grows up to join his own gang as a teenager, embroiling himself in a heated race conflict as he tries to live up to his mob father figure Sonny, who saved his life as a kid. It's a rare treat to see De Niro play a humble Joe instead of a crime boss.
Most Memorable Scene: At one point, Calogero and his friends get into a street brawl with a group of bikers, which really amps up the drama of a typical mob skirmish. It's both pulse-pounding and extremely tough to watch.
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- 67 VOTES
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Who He Plays: Paul Vitti, an imprisoned mob boss
Premise: The sequel to Analyze This picks up as Paul Vitti, now in a high-security prison, is pursued by guards and assassins. He seems to go off the deep end as a result, so his old pal Dr. Ben Sobel (Billy Crystal) is called in to help discover whether Paul faking a psychotic break to get an early release, or if he's in genuine psychological distress. Paul is released into Ben's custody for one month as a test, to see if he can adjust to a crime-free life. Comedy ensues as Ben attempts to find out if one can teach an old mob boss new tricks.
Most Memorable Scene: De Niro's vast catalog of gangster flicks has to have at least one epic prison fight, and the brawl in Analyze That is just what the doctor ordered.
- 728 VOTES
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Who He Plays: John “Johnny Boy” Civello, who gambles recklessly and tends to get his mob friends in even more trouble
Premise: Everyone has that one friend who can't stop being their own worst enemy - for Charlie Cappa (Harvey Keitel), Johnny Boy is just that. But even the golden kids have to eat, so that doesn't stop Charlie from carrying out jobs for his mob uncle. This is particularly hard for the guy given his heavy Catholic beliefs, so it becomes his personal mission to save Johnny from the loan sharks who come after him for his gambling debts.
Most Memorable Scene: Few locations make a more iconic gangster fight scene backdrop than a pool hall, and Mean Streets uses that setting to serve a brawl that's grounded and petty. What the fight lacks in flash, it makes up for in raw emotion.
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- 813 VOTES
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Who He Plays: Louis Gara, a henchman with a pretty long rap sheet who works with gun runner Ordell Robbie
Premise: Pam Grier stars as the title character, a flight attendant-turned smuggler who gets booked by the ATF. Bailed out by her de facto boss, Ordell, she agrees to play along with law enforcement while smuggling more money for him. Secretly, she works on a plan to get him caught and keep the money, but double-crossing isn't as easy as it seems, whether you're playing the cops, a crime boss, or both. De Niro enters the fray as Louis, an ex-con whom Ordell calls upon as an extra henchman.
Most Memorable Scene: Ordell and Louis get into it in a car and the boss makes his displeasure with Louis known in his favorite manner: offing him.
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Who He Plays: Frank Sheeran, an official for the Teamsters union turned enforcer for the mob
Premise: This 2019 Pennsylvania-set film is based on true events - or at least, one theory about how events surrounding Jimmy Hoffa's disappearance in 1975 could've played out. De Niro steps up as Frank Sheeran, who quickly proves his worth and moves up the food chain in the world of hitmen. Martin Scorsese's epic places Sheeran at the center of the much-disputed historical event, showing him as the one who takes Hoffa out.
Most Memorable Scene: Frank kicking the living daylights out of a shopkeeper for touching his daughter is a sort of nice moment between a daughter and her father - with a mob twist.
- 105 VOTES
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Who He Plays: Al Capone, arguably the most well-known gangster of all time
Premise: Based on the true story of notorious mobster/tax evader Al Capone (De Niro) and relentless prohibition agent Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner), The Untouchables tackles the high-stakes cat-and-mouse game as Capone tries to avoid his unlikely downfall. Much of the film is fictionalized, not sticking too closely to the historical facts, but that's alright, as it makes for a thrilling journey, as one of the most powerful crooks in US history is caught for tax evasion, of all things.
Most Memorable Scene: There's something brilliantly cinematic about the stairway standoff scene in The Untouchables. Tension is rife, with long dramatic wide shots, and a carriage that slowly rolls down the stairs with the baby inside somehow remaining unharmed.
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- 114 VOTES
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Who He Plays: Neil McCauley, a thief who finds his match in Lieutenant Hanna when he carries out his final heist
Premise: Neil McCauley simply wants to do pull off one more big heist before “retiring” to a life of lavish wealth. Meanwhile, Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) is tasked with catching the crook. Though they're on opposite sides of the law, the two men can’t help but admire each other as their game of cat-and-mouse plays out on screen. It's thrilling to see two greats like De Niro and Pacino play off of each other with such a simple but thrilling premise.
Most Memorable Scene: The final standoff between McCauley and Hanna out on the tarmac at the airport gets viewers' hearts pounding just like the characters'.
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- 127 VOTES
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Who He Plays: David “Noodles” Aronson, a criminal haunted by his past in old age
Premise: The story is framed by an older Noodles in the ‘30s, reflecting on his youth and rise to prominence as a Jewish gangster in New York City alongside his friend Max Berkovicz (James Woods). Viewers get to experience his history through the eyes of a wise old man - a milestone that many mobsters don’t even reach. As is often the case when someone knows they’re at the end of their rope, the man just wants closure for his past mistakes.
Most Memorable Scene: When Bugsy kills Dominic in an early scene, young Noodles furiously avenges his friend - not hesitating, even though he only has a knife, while Bugsy's armed with a gun. As he's driven away to prison, it's clear that both Noodles and his other friends have lost any childhood innocence they had left.
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- 131 VOTES
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Who He Plays: Wayne “Mad Dog” Dobie is a crime scene photographer who falls in with the wrong crowd (and the wrong girl)
Premise: De Niro may work for the police in this particular film, which is fueled just as much by romance as by crime, but don't worry - the mob plotlines are still in full swing. Rather than the kind of rough-and-tumble no-nonsense cop you might expect De Niro to play, his character Wayne is rather relaxed, leading to his ironic nickname, “Mad Dog.” When Wayne saves the life of mob boss Frank Milo (Bill Murray), Milo offers him a gift, a week of “services” from a beautiful bartender in his employ named Glory (Uma Thurman). Naturally, Wayne can't help but fall for her, but trouble arises because Milo isn't willing to let her go.
Most Memorable Scene: Milo threatens Wayne with a chilling intensity, warning Wayne not to push him too far, lest his life become “a raging sea.”
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Who He Plays: Mario Trantino, an Italian cyclist and two-bit offender
Premise: This ‘70s crime comedy stars Jerry Orbach as a mobster with a deep envy of his brother’s leadership. Their attempts to thwart each other are reminiscent of a prank war, bringing far more levity than one expects from gangster films. De Niro's character, Mario Trantino, is called in to participate in a mob-orchestrated bicycle race, but ends up sticking around to pull some shenanigans of his own.
Most Memorable Scene: One of the best bits of slapstick comedy comes as several gangsters attempt to fight a car to stop it from leaving. Between hanging on for dear life, and trying to stab one of the tires, it's a valiant effort - kind of.
