Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Part II is presented as a landmark of the crime genre, combining an intense character study with a carefully built atmosphere and an uncompromising examination of unchecked greed. Its exploration of power and corruption provides the standard against which this selection of films is measured.
Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) follows Jordan Belfort, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, after he loses his job following the 1987 Black Monday crash. Belfort turns to penny-stock trading and builds a fortune by defrauding investors, using the proceeds to support an extravagant lifestyle and destructive habits. His success ultimately contributes to his downfall.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood (2007), loosely inspired by Upton Sinclair’s Oil!, centers on Daniel Plainview, a ruthless prospector who becomes wealthy during California’s early-20th-century oil boom. As his fortune and property expand, so do his unethical methods. Driven by paranoia and ego, Plainview becomes increasingly isolated before a violent final act eliminates any prospect of redemption.
Nightcrawler (2014), Dan Gilroy’s directorial debut, offers a disturbing portrait of Lou Bloom, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. After discovering that television stations pay for graphic footage of crashes, shootings and other violent events, Bloom enters freelance crime journalism. His growing success erodes what remains of his morality while the film examines an industry that profits from tragedy.
Brian De Palma’s Scarface (1983), written by Oliver Stone, depicts Tony Montana’s ascent from Cuban refugee to powerful drug dealer in 1980s Miami. Al Pacino’s performance anchors a story about ambition without conscience, paranoia and excess. The film’s view of the darker side of the American Dream has helped make it one of the era’s most recognizable gangster films.
Casino (1995) is another Scorsese crime drama, with Robert De Niro playing Sam “Ace” Rothstein. A sports handicapper sent from Chicago to Las Vegas to secretly manage a mob-backed casino, Rothstein watches the operation prosper before his growing status and the instability of his associates push the story toward violent ruin.
Oliver Stone’s Wall Street (1987) focuses on corporate greed through the rise of Gordon Gekko, played by Michael Douglas in an Academy Award-winning performance. Young stockbroker Bud Fox wants to escape his working-class background and becomes involved with the wealthy corporate raider. As Fox’s ambitions expand, his principles are tested before he is offered a chance to make amends.
David Fincher’s The Social Network (2010), scripted by Aaron Sorkin, dramatizes the rise of Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg. Beginning with Zuckerberg as a Harvard student who feels rejected by his peers, the film traces the creation of an early version of the platform and the conflicts that follow. Betrayal, hubris and moral ambiguity define the story as it portrays a major shift in technology and social media.
Goodfellas (1990), adapted from Nicholas Pileggi’s book Wiseguy, follows Henry Hill from his childhood in Brooklyn to his entry into the Mafia. Seduced by the criminal underworld and its rewards, Hill builds the life he imagined before his own hubris brings it down. Ray Liotta leads the cast, joined by Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, who won an Oscar for his performance.
Sources: Comic Book Resources.