Despite their fearsome antiheroes, gangster/mafia movies are one of the most popular genres of film. However, there are countless of them. Where should you start? Here are 20 great examples.

This is also not surprising, as they allow their spectators to look into a foreign world that they usually do not have access to. A forbidden world, which is different from the norm and law and obeys its own rules that are powered by power and money, as well as being filled with loyalty and betrayal.

Crowe plays the police detective Richie Roberts, who clings to his heels. The movie is based on a true story.

John Singleton's debut established an entire artistic underground movement that focused on the riots in Los Angeles. The film itself is a warning against crime, but also tackles the effects of gentrification in large cities and the way institutions promote crime to suppress certain social classes.

Kitano versucht, seinen eigenen Weg zu gehen und sie aus dem Spiel zu drängen, doch die Mafia ist stärker.

Jason Statham and Benicio Del Toro are among the high-profile cast members. However, Brad Pitt steals the show as a nuschelnder prize boxer, Mickey O?Neill.

Millers Crossing is a gangster film by the Coen brothers, set in the time of Prohibition. In front of a tense war between Irish and Italian gangster gangs, "Miller's Crossing" asks if criminals rob their victims of any humanity.

Johnny Depp plays the FBI Agent Joseph Pistone, who must become a new person to infiltrate the Mafia as Donnie Brasco. The film even based on a true story.

One of many gangster movies directed by filmmaker Martin Scorsese, in which Robert De Niro portrays a casino owner in Las Vegas who runs a Mafia-owned casino. Other cast members include Joe Pesci, Sharon Stone, and James Woods.

Martin Scorsese's third film is also one of his most influential. The idea of filming about his friends and their lives appealed to him, and the film plays accordingly in Little Italy, in the city of New York where he was born and raised. The focus of the film is on Scorsese's experiences in this neighborhood, which are dominated by Mafia, police corruption and crime.

Scott portrays the famous Prohibition agent Elliot Ness, who hunts down the legendary alcohol smuggler and gangster Al Capone, played again by De Niro. An action-packed gangster movie with a nerve-wracking finale.

In the film by director David Cronenberg, a British nurse comes into contact with the Russian mafia after she finds a notebook belonging to a pregnant young girl. In "Eastern Promises," which deals with Russian organized crime, "Lord of The Rings" star Viggo Mortensen plays one of his best roles.

While this mole rapidly and undetected climbs up the career ladder, the police insert one of their undercover policemen into the criminal organization of the gangster. It begins a murderous, brutish and exciting cat and mouse game in which alongside Nicholson also an incredibly high-profile star cast consisting of Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Vera Farmiga and Alec Baldwin is also visible.

Besides, Tony Leung, the excellent Chinese actor, plays a cop who has gone underground with the Triads. Andy Lau plays a gangster in prison who is trying to use his intelligence to get out and take over the Triad organization. This is causing tension and identity crises on both sides.

The Abgesang to American Gangster Film shows an aging veteran (played by Robert De Niro), who recollects his long criminal career and both experiences of the invasion of the Pork Island as well as the disappearance of famous US labor union leader, Jimmy Hoffer (Al Pacino).

Matteo Garrones adapted Robert Saviano's bestselling book and created a film that shows the gangster life in a very different light and which depicts the activities of the Naples Mafia, also known as Camorra in detail. The result is a dark, intense, disturbing and gripping portrait of organized crime that permeates all spheres of society.

The original version of the film was rewritten and re-shot after it was decided to exclude Welles from the project. Nevertheless, it is one of the most intense gangster films about drug trafficking on the border between the United States and Mexico.

The "French Connection" is at once a thrilling police procedural and an international gangster drama, and it is a masterwork of both genres. In this film, Gene Hackman portrays New York City Police Detective James "Popeye" Doyle, who investigates a drug trafficking ring in the city that never sleeps. A business with French connections.

As if that weren't enough, "It was once in America" has been flagged because of its explicit content. It wasn't until 2012 that the film could be made publicly available in a restored version, which is approximately 255 minutes long.

Robert De Niro delivers one of his best performance portraying an opiumsüchtiger and guilt-ridden gangster who is trying to find the truth about a botched robbery where his friends died. The gangster film crossed some boundaries when it was released, telling an epic and exciting story that also tackles topics like political corruption and violence during prohibition.

He allows an incredibly furious and almost insane Al Pacino to be left alone. At its original release, the film was not a success. However, when the film was released on VHS cassette, this changed. Additionally, "Scarface" became a cult hit in the rapper and gamer community.

After that, a tour of force through the Italo-American underworld of Brooklyn is filled with sex, drugs, and many other sinful habits. But while this might sound entertaining, Scorsese glorifies this world and shows the same dark sides and the suffering that comes with it on the criminal path with equal vigor.

Regardless of this, the first two films are among the greatest classic films. The film adaptation of Mario Puzos' novel was popular with audiences and raised gangster movies to the level of prestige films.

The man received six Oscars, including for the best film, best director, the best screenplay, the best music, the best art direction and set decoration. The statue for the best supporting role went to meanwhile Robert De Niro.