1.
ME & MY MOVIES
ALYX ENTWISTLE

2.
GENRE: GANGSTER

3.
GOODFELLAS
Director: MARTIN SCORCESE
Year: 1990
‘As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster’ are the
words provided by the narrator and main character of the film, Henry Hill. The
film follows him through his life, beginning with him quitting school at 16 to
work under the Lucchese crime family, right up to a middle aged Henry settled
out of gangster life after enrolling in the Witness Protection Program.

4.
TRUE ROMANCE
Director: TONY SCOTT
Year: 1993
After what appears to be by chance, a comic book shop worker Clarence
meets and falls in love with a call girl named Alabama. They marry a day later.
Clarence goes over to see her boss to collect her stuff. They begin to fight
and Clarence kills him, taking a bag that he thinks is Alabama’s. It turns out it
contains a large amount of cocaine, giving them a chance to make a lot of
money – but the gangster’s that own it aren’t willing to let it go without a fight.

5.
THE GODFATHER
Director: FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA
Year: 1972
Vito Corleone is the aging don (head) of the Corleone Mafia Family. His
youngest son Michael has returned from WWII but he just wants to live a
normal life. Drug dealer Virgil Sollozzo is looking for Mafia Families to offer
him protection in exchange for a profit of the drug money. He approaches Don
Corleone about it, but he is morally against the use of drugs, and turns down
the offer. This does not please Sollozzo, who has the Don shot down by some
of his hit men. The Don barely survives, which leads Michael to begin a
violent mob war against Sollozzo which tears the Corleone family apart.

6.
Gangster Movies are my favourite kind of movies for a
number of reasons.
As well as the violence, which most lads my age enjoy, the
storylines are usually very good, especially in the 3 examples
I have chosen. Whether they provide a twist or just tell a
linear narrative, they always keep you engaged and
interested in what’s going on.
The acting is usually superb too. The cast of these types of
movies are predominantly Italian-American, which provide an
opportunity for a talented young actor to find a way into the
movie business. Some go on to have very successful and
prolonged film careers, such as Joe Pesci, Ray Liotta and
more as well as the legendary actors Robert De Niro and Al
Pacino, who both made their breakthroughs by starring in
crime orientated films.
Another thing I really like about Gangster Movies are the
sheer suspense that is apparent when watching. Sometimes
there are certain scenes where there is a lot of talking going
on. During these scenes the tension builds and builds,
coming to a head with a final verbal blow or even with a
death. You never know when a person is going to be killed in
these kinds of scenes because the suspense is so huge.

7.
Star theory sometimes plays a huge part in a films success.
Star theory basically means the power a famous actor or director can
have in influencing a person’s choice to spend their money to watch a
film.
A film could have the best script in the world, but there is a possibility
that it will fail at the Box Office because they don’t have the draw or the
appeal of a high-profile actor or director.
If you see a trailer of a film that has the name of someone you are a big
fan of attached to it then it becomes more likely to succeed at the Box
Office.
Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are actors who would bring in a big
audience to a crime orientated film. This is because they have made a
career of starring in films of this genre as well as taking that success into
more mainstream films, such as family comedies.
An example of star theory in crime movies is the film ‘Righteous Kill’,
starring both De Niro and Pacino. Prior to it’s release, it gained a
massive buzz around it as it starred these two heavy weights in the
same film. The critical response however was poor, so this proves that
sometimes having great actors doesn’t necessarily come hand in hand
with having a great movie.

8.
As well as star theory, there are many reasons as to why I may choose
to watch a film.
I must admit though that I too was excited for Righteous Kill and was
also disappointed with the outcome. Nevertheless, it was still
fascinating to see De Niro and Pacino share sufficient screen time,
something which only happened for two scenes in Heat and did not
happen at all in The Godfather Part II.
I do get attracted to films sometimes by reading a critics view
beforehand. People might disagree with this and say its better to watch
it and gather your own opinion yourself, but I don’t really want to spend
a lot of money these days on a film that has been panned by every
working film critic. It seems I dodged a bullet by not watching Movie 49,
a film I liked the look of by watching the trailer but by researching I find
it to be described by some as ‘the worst movie ever’.
It apparent that I am a big fan of gangster and crime films, so whenever
a new one is released or I come across an old one which I haven't
seen, I’ll always watch it. Gangster Squad has been released quite
recently and although it has a stellar cast, that wasn’t the reason I
watched it. It made the film better though by having a top drawer list of
actors who made the film more believable with their fine performances.

9.
There are many ways I use to find out about a film’s release.
Trailers are a big way of finding out about a film’s release, and
there are a few different methods of how to see one.
One way is by seeing a trailer being played at a cinema before your
film begins. The trailers are usually screened a few months before
the film’s release, sometimes even a year before if the film is
expected to be a huge blockbuster. Another way is by seeing a
shorter trailer played during the advert breaks on the TV. These are
shown quite close to the release date, the furthest being a month
before. Another way is by actually going onto a film website and
checking out any new trailers that they might have their hands on,
usually shown a long time before the movies release date.
You can also find out about release dates by reading the
newspaper, magazines and the internet.
The internet is becoming more and more prominent in the movie
business nowadays. Film studios find they can get any information
widespread at a quicker pace by using social networks like Twitter
and Facebook.