ANGEL AND DEVIL

1. GANGSTER
FILMS
OUTLINE OF WHAT MAKES A
GANGSTER FILM, A
GANSTER FILM.
WITH CASE STUDIES FROM
PAST AND PRESENT.

2. INTRODUCTION:
• What makes a gangster film, a gangster film?
– Guns?
– A crime family?
– Movie plot that has violence at every corner?
– Organized crime?
– Or just a bunch of hoodlums acting tough?

3. • It is all of these and yet none of these.
• While it is important to remember that all
these are elements that add to a gangster
film, they alone do not constitute a good
gangster film.

4. • A gangster film, when looked from an
American perspective, is the warped idea of
the “American dream.”
– To be rich and successful with the most power one
can obtain.
– It speaks to the American public, the evidence
being the huge popularity of gangster films in the
American film industry.

5. – Films from across the Atlantic, namely from Britain
have made themselves necessary to mafia movie
junkies.
– Of course not to forget that our own country has
made some notable gangster films too.

6. CATEGORIES:
1.Classic.
2.Contemporary
Western .
3.Contemporary
Eastern.

7. How do we
start
understanding
gangster
films?

8. There are seven points of interest or Parameters
that we will look into in order to understand this genre.
They are as follows:
1) The nature of the protagonist- i.e. the character and
mental state of the main protagonist and his allies, if he
has any.
2) The nature of the antagonist: the character and
mental state of the character that opposes the
protagonist.
3) Shape of the Dramatic action: how the story
unfolds and the different twists that make the
movie interesting.

9. 4) Catalytic event: An event that prompt the characters
into more and more action which finally leads to the Resolution.
5) Resolution( Climax point): It is the peak of the film
whether in action, or drama or simply a culmination of events.
It is here when it is seen which side wins.
6) Narrative style: It is the way the story is told. It is
different and distinctive for every story.
7) Narrative tone: The emotion that is conveyed through
the words or music or through the images in the film. The tone
of the film can change unlike the mood which is the ultimate
overall feeling.

10. Snatch: A Case
study.

11. Directed by: Guy Ritchie
Written by: Guy Ritchie
Actors:
Jason Statham, Brad Pitt, Vinnie
Jones, Dennis Farina, Benicio Del Toro

12. Snatch is a film set in London. The film contains two
plots: one dealing with a stolen diamond, the other a
small-time boxing promoter named Turkish.
The film features characters, including traveller Mickey
O'Neil, ex-KGB agent Boris "the Blade" Yurinov
Šerbedžija, professional thief Frankie "Four-Fingers" and
bounty hunter Bullet-Tooth Tony.

13. ANALYSIS BASED
ON PARAMETERS:

14. • Nature of Protagonist: In Snatch, there is no
such clearly defined protagonist so to speak.
Almost all the characters we consider to be
good have some ties to the mafia and
undertake not so legal businesses, with the
exception of Mikey, who is a travelling gypsy.

15. • Nature of the Antagonist: There are a number
of villains to choose from in the movie, from
the two small time crooks Sol and Vinnie, right
up to the big shark, Brick Top. Brick Top is the
main antagonist, since all actions that the
characters take eventually lead to him. He is a
stereotypical villain.

16. • Shape of Dramatic Action: The drama in this
film filter in through three main sources.
– The search for the diamond.
– The risks taken by Tommy and Turkish.
– The actions of Sol and Vinnie which entangles
them in the above two situations, with comedic
results.

17. • Catalytic Event: There seems to be only one
catalytic event that spurs everyone into their
spiral towards the climax. Brick Top.
– The two small crooks try to rob his betting
station and find a large diamond.
– The man working for Doug enters the Betting
station of Brick Top and loses the Diamond.
– Turkish has to rig a fight so that Brick Top wins.
This is to pay back what he owes.

18. • Resolution: The resolution of this whole
complex situation falls into the hands of the
most unlikely character. The Gypsies. They
suffer personal loss at the hands of Brick-Top
and promptly seek vengeance.

19. • Narrative Style: The story has a narrator,
namely Turkish who describes all the events
that happen in some detail. This implies that
there has been a happy ending, for Turkish at
least because he is able to narrate the story.

20. A Francis Ford Coppola Film

21.  VitoCorleone((PART 1and
2))
 MichaelCorleone(PART1,2

22.  PART1 : All Other Mafia
Families
 PART2 : HymanRoth
 PART3 : Don Altobello

23. PART1 : Rise of Michael Corleoneand the fall
of Vito Corleone.
PART 2: Transformation is most evident in
the character of Vito Corleone and his rise.
PART 3: Fall of Michael Corleone and thusthe
end of the Corleone Legacy.

24. PART 1 : The attackon SantinoConfusion
Attack on Vito Corleone .
PART2: Vito Corleone travels from Italy to
U.S.A.

25. PART 1 : Murder of the heads of the5 other
Mafia families.
PART 2 : The murderof Fredo.
PART 3 : Deathof Mary on the opera house

26. Part 1 and 3 have a linear narrative
structure.
Part 2 has a parallelnarrative structure.
Murders and Fights.

27. PART 1 : The toneshifts from beinga very happy
to a very intenseone.
PART2 : The toneis intense throughoutin one
part of the film but in theother part from a very
weak and distressful life Vito rises up to be a rich
and powerful man.

28. CASE-Study on
Bollywood Gangster Movie
Vaastav: The Reality

29. Introduction
 Vaastav has the Mumbai underworld as its backdrop.
This subject has been dealt with before many times in
Hindi films. But rarely is it handled properly "The
Reality" as described by the film's tagline, refers to
the harsh realities of life in the Mumbai underworld.
The film is said to be loosely based on the life of
Mumbai underworld gangster Chota Rajan.
 The film depicts a grim look at the underworld rather
than glorifying it. It shows that even though a
gangster stays above the law, how restless he is.

30. Protagonist and its Nature
• The story is about Raghu (Sanjay Dutt), who lives in a
chawl with his parents (Shivaji Satam and Reema Lagoo)
and his brother Vijay (Mohnish Behl). Raghu doesn’t pay
attention to his studies and always hangs out with his
friends. Raghu’s father tells him to settle down and do
something, either get a job or pay attention to his
studies. Raghu persuades his father to lend him money
to open up a pav bhaaji stall that he’ll run with his
buddies. His father agrees, and Raghu starts working and
making money.

31. Raghu accidentally kills one of his customers in a fight
over an unpaid bill. That customer was the brother of
a gangster, now Raghu is on the run from the police
and the gangster. Through one of his friends (Deepak
Tijori), Raghu finds refuge under Vitthal Kaanya
(Ashish Vidhyarthi); a rival gangster of the one Raghu
is running from. Kaanya turns Raghu into a gangster
and a dreaded name in the underworld.
So,the nature of the protagonist would
probably be a Gangster at mind but not at
heart and soul..as he also falls in love later.

32. Antagonist and its Nature
It is difficult to point out the antagonist in
particular in the movie..
There isVitthal Kaanya (Ashish Vidyarthi), a
rival gang lord who offers Raghunath (Raghu)
and Dedh Footiya protection and later hires
them both as hitmen.
And there is Babban Rao (Mohan Joshi), a
corrupted Home Minister who uses
Raghunath for his needs and later decieves
him.

33. Shape of Dramatic Action
• As the Plot of the Movie is Quite clear now..
• Most of the Dramatic Action takes place after
Raghu turns into a gangster and a dreaded
name in the underworld.

34. Catalytic event
• The Catalytic event in the story would be
introduction of Paresh Rawal, though in a
guest-appearance type role, manages to make
an impact. He plays a broker that settles
disputes between rival gangs.

35. Resolution
• The Resolution starts from:
• When Raghu comes to know that the police
have been ordered to kill him in an
"encounter." He realizes that there is no
escape from this harsh reality. He kills Babban
Rao as he would spoil others' lives like his, in
the future.

36. • Unable to save himself from the police, Raghu
comes back to his home and tells his mother
to save him. His mom takes him away to
safety. When Raghu asks for some liquor by
selling his pistol, his mother remembers how
Raghu had taught her how to use a gun;
• “she pulls the trigger and kills
him.”

37. Narrative Style
• The movie has a quite simple narrative style.
• Just follows a linear pattern; continues straight
forward; very easy to understand.
• Less twist and turns in the story.
• Only a few introduction to new events, i.e., the
turning of a simple boy to a Gangster, the
introduction to the broker who settles disputes
between rival groups,the corrupted minister
• The most interesting part is how the story turns
against Raghu at the end.

38. Tone
• What’s different about Vaastav and other films
in its genre .
• The tone of the movie is emotional and hard-
hitting at the same time.