Crime Gangster Films

Crime and Gangster Films are developed around the sinister actions of criminal or gangster, especially bank robbers, underworld figures or ruthless hoodlums ( someone who engages in crime and violence) who operate outside the law, stealing and violently murdering their way through life and problems in life.

Crime and Gangster films are often categorized as post-war film noir or detective mystery films. This is because of the similarities between these two.

Crime stories in this genre often:

·         highlight the life of a crime figure or a crimes victim/victims.

·         glorify the rise and fall of a particular crime, criminals, gang, bank robber, murderer or lawbreakers

·         Rival Gang

·         An underling or competitive colleague

·         Crime Reports

Crime plots often include questions such as how the criminal will be apprehended by the police, private eyes, lawful authorities, or mysteries such as who stole the valued object. These films rise to power with a tough cruel facade, whilst showing us an ambitious desire for success but underneath they can express gentleness and sensitivity.

Gangster/ Crime films are usually set in large over crowded cities to provide a view of the secret world of the criminal. These films are often success stories which are turned upside down in which criminal live in an inverted dream world of success and wealth. This is often from poor families.

The gangster characters often fall to crime in the pursuit of wealth, status and material possessions for examples clothes and cars.

Conventions of a Gangster film:

• ·         Dark streets with lurid neon signs

• ·         Fast Cars

• ·         Piles of Cash

• ·         Rooming Houses

• ·         Self-destructive

• ·         Immoral

• ·         Materialistic

Although they are sure of failure and inevitable death(usually violent), criminals are often portrayed as the victims of circumstance as we see the story being told from their point of view.