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Best American Gangster Movies of the 1990s

Are you looking for the best American gangster movies of the 1900s?

Gangster movies have been around since the early days of films and cinemas. While they may seem dated in recent times, the influence that they have had on the gangster films of today is indelible.

Many of these movies are still watched and talked about many years after their release.

There are dozens of interesting American gangs

ter films of the 1900s and making a list of the best ones can be difficult. However, we have taken time to find out the films that explore gangster stories that you would love to watch if you’ve developed that nostalgic feeling. 

Here are gangster movies of the 90s that show crime in detail, movies that we are sure you would love, even though you won't necessarily model after them.

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The Top Rated 90s American Gangster Films

 

Casino (1995)

Director of the movie: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Sharon Stone, Don Rickles, James Woods, and Kevin Pollak.

The casino is a movie that narrates the story of a Jewish American, Sam Ace Rothstein (played by Robert De Niro) who is an expert at gambling and a professional handicapper.

The Chicago Outfit asks him to handle the daily operations of the casino and hotel at the Las Vegas-based Tangiers Casino. 

The other characters in the movie are Nicky Santoro (played by Joe Pesci) who is a "made man" and a good ally of Ginger McKenna (played by Sharon Stone), and Sam. Ginger McKenna is a chip hustler from the street who later gets married to Sam and together they have a daughter. 

The movie shows the day-to-day operations of Sam at the casino, the problems and confrontations he faces at his job, and the involvement of the Mafia with the casino. It also details the gradual crumbling of his "status" and relationships, as Las Vegas experiences levels of change with time.

The casino is one of the best 90s gangster films in America, pulling a box office of over $116,000,000.

 

Goodfellas (1990)

 

Director of the movie: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Ray Liotta, Paul Sorvino, and Lorraine Bracco.

Goodfellas is a movie adaptation of Wiseguy, a book written by Nicholas Pileggi. In Goodfellas, a young man is raised in the mob so he works diligently to grow through the ranks.

He enjoys living a life of comfort, having more than enough to spend, but doesn't know the negative effects that he causes in the process.

He soon gets addicted to drugs and makes a few costly mistakes that affect his climb to the top.

The director of the movie, Goodfellas, initially gave the film the title: Wise Guy. He, however, postponed producing the movie and later together with Pileggi, retitled the movie Goodfellas. 

De Niro, Liotta, and Pesci, who were major stars in the film, often spoke with Pileggi.

Pileggi would share the leftover research materials he had from writing the book with them. The aim of this was to prepare them for their roles in the movie. 

Goodfellas is one of the best 90s mafia films, pulling a box office of over $48,000,000 at the time of its release.

Interesting Fact about Goodfellas:

There were some forms of improvisation during rehearsals because the director, Scorsese, gave the actors the freedom to be themselves.

The director then made transcripts from these rehearsal sessions and picked the lines he loved the most, making them into a revised kind of script. This was the script the cast worked on during the main production. 

 

The Godfather Part 3 (1990)

 

Director of the movie: Francis Ford Coppola

Starring: Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy Garcia, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegna

The Godfather is a character study movie that involves multi-generations. It is a compelling piece of drama that details successive family crimes. 

While it may be viewed as the worst of the infamous trilogy, the Godfather Part 3 still packs a punch and Al Pacino provides another stellar performance as Michael Corleone.

The Godfather is a trilogy series that pulled in a box office of about $136.9 Million.

 

Bugsy (1991)

Director of the movie: Barry Levinson

Starring: Warren Beatty, Harvey Keitel, Annette Bening, Elliott Gould, Ben Kingsley, and Joe Mantegna.

Benjamin Siegel (played by Warren Beatty) is a New York mobster who leaves New York City to have his taste of Hollywood's glamor.

He also tries to build up a syndicate of gambling rackets. He gets bowled by an actress, Virginia Hill (played by Annette Bening). This makes Siegel get into an affair with her, even though he has a wife and children.

Siegel is so obsessed with making a haven for gambling to the extent that he takes racketeering to the Nevada desert, helping the development of Las Vegas in the process.

It doesn't take long before he realizes he is in big trouble because of how he recklessly constructed the Flamingo Hotel.

Upon release in 1991, Bugsy pulled in a box office of about $49,000,000 and has remained one of the best 90s gangster movies.

 

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Director of the Movie: Quentin Tarantino

Starring: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Harvey Keitel, Amanda Plummer, Tim Roth, Maria de Medeiros, Eric Stoltz, Ving Rhames, Rosanna Arquette, Bruce Willis, and Christopher Walken.

Pulp fiction is a movie that details the world of dark mafia by portraying the lives of two gangsters and hitmen, Jules Winnifield (played by Samuel L Jackson) and Vincent Vega (played by John Travolta). 

A series of incidents that occurs forms an interconnection between them and two goons in Los Angeles, the actress wife of a gangster, and a boxer. This causes the lives of the two hitmen to take a sharp turn.

Pulp Fiction features everything about gangsters and the underworld, including drugs and guns. 

Upon release in 1994, Pulp Fiction pulled in a box office of over $213,000,000 and has remained one of the best American gangster movies of the 90s.

What's Your Favorite 90s Gangster Film?

best-90s-gangster-movies

There are several American gangster movies of the 90s, but this is our list of what we find eccentric, including the best 90s gangster movies. 

Casino, Goodfellas, The Godfather, and Bugsy are all resounding crime movies, pulling in high box offices at the time of their release.

These movies explore gangster stories to the most vivid extent, and we are sure you'll enjoy watching them.

Have a 90s movie genre you'd like to see included next? Hit us up at intothe1990s@gmail.com today!

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