American Gangster – Frank Lucas is an archetype and this film shows us why. The original black gangster, Denzel Washington plays the dapper drug kingpin who inspired a generation of street hustlers. Coming up from Harlem, Washington’s Lucas shows the new breed how real gangsters do it – without bling, keeping things low-key and strictly business. You need a better reason to see this film? It inspired Jay-Z to write an entire album about how his own life paralleled the film.

Director: Ridley Scott
Released: 2 November 2007
Cast: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Josh Brolin

The Departed – Jack Nicholson gives a film rife with both great and terrible actors some serious star power. The Departed is a slick movie for the criminal thinker and mob flick junkie – quite simply a ceremonious work – to be enjoyed by all denominations of distinguished gentleman.

Director: Martin Scorsese
Released: 6 October 2006
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg

Donnie Brasco – Al Pacino played hapless mafioso Benjamin ‘Lefty’ Rugiero – a mobster who inadvertently finds himself teaching an undercover FBI agent (The titular Brasco played by Johnny Depp) the ropes and guiding his rise through the ranks of La Costra Nostra.

Director: Mike Newell
Released: 28 February 1997
Cast: Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen, Anne Heche

Gangs of New York – Like so many of the thespian heartthrobs that litter these reviews, Leonardo DiCaprio personifies poise. Gangs of New York will add some bloodstained historical context to that next business trip to the Big Apple. In this epic set in embryonic America, DiCaprio slashes throats and dry humps harlots fervently, as gang rule dominates the streets.

Director: Martin Scorsese
Released: 20 December 2002
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, John C. Reilly, Liam Neeson

The Godfather trilogy – Marlon Brando and Al Pacino headed the cast in this seminal Francis Ford Coppola series. The classic story by Mario Puzo taught ‘made-men’ how to act and the distinguished how to dress but some will argue that the sequel supersedes the original. These people have a point. Michael Corelone returns, with an expanded breadth of control. His suits this time around are of finer fabric, his cigars exclusive to the distinguished. But let’s not talk about the third film.

Director:Francis Ford Coppola
Released: 24 March 1972 – 20 December 1974 – 25 December 1990
Cast: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard S. Castellano, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy Garcia, Bridget Fonda, Sofia Coppola

Goodfellas – Pesci, De Niro, and Ray Liotta get small intestines on their thousand dollar loafers and pasta sauce on their Italian suits in this Mob masterpiece premised on the real-life of Henry Hill. Joe Pesci puts in the performance of a lifetime as his friend, Tommy DeVito, and securing his role in the Mob movie Hall of Fame.

Director: Martin Scorsese
Released: 19 September 1990
Cast: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci

Heat – Two Italian dons. One big screen. Conflicting interests. Heat provoked a litany of lesser films to follow. There were flashy suits, undulating flames expanding from controlled explosions, and lots of good swearing. You need only read the tagline “A Los Angeles crime saga” to comprehend the elegance of this flick.

Director: Michael Mann
Released: 15 December 1995
Cast: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Ashley Judd

Hustle and Flow – Hip Hop. Pimping. Squalor. Drug dealing. With this mosaic of human suffering, MTV finally managed to do something right. Although the characters are contrasted against the worse-for-wears milieu of Memphis, this urban gem manages to attract the urbane. Three 6 Mafia garnered an Oscar for their musical outputs on the soundtrack.

Director: Craig Brewer
Released: 22 July 2005
Cast: Terrence Howard, Anthony Anderson, Taryn Manning

Scarface – Deified by the microcosm that is Hip-Hop culture, Scarface has become a transcendent film. Tony Montana is to rappers is what Moses is to Judaism. Contrasted against the white sands of Miami Beach, highlighted by disco balls and peppered with cocaine – Scarface is the blossoming gentleman’s dream.

Director: Brian De Palma
Released: 9 December 1983
Cast: Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer

Tsotsi – The story of a hoodlum living in Soweto, South Africa’s largest informal settlement. Based on the book by Athol Fugard and written and directed by Gavin Hood, it’s a tale of redemption that won the 2005 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Presley Chweneyagae is captivating in the title role and led the cast to several audience awards.

Director: Gavin Hood
Released: 23 December 2005
Cast: Presley Chweneyagae, Terry Pheto, Kenneth Nkosi, Mothusi Magano, Zenzo Ngqobe, Zola