The Timelessness of Gangster Movies and their Impact on Male Viewership

Gangster movies had been a classic for many movie views. These themed movies had been epic for many male viewers that they have idolized different actors due to these movies. Moreover, in the course of time, there had been developments in gangster films starting from the movie Musketeers of Pig Alley. Hence, this paper shall provide different movies from various decades which have the same gangster theme. The movies shall be Public Enemy, Big Combo and Good Fellas. Hence, these movies shall be compared and contrasted.

In the first movie Public Enemy which is a movie made in 1931 presents the growth of a child unto the life he has chosen. Provided that the child (Tom Powers) was a person who had grown into an unhappy family he had opted to rebel against his father. Furthermore, the movie presents that Tom Powers’ interests in being a gangster did not come from watching movies but his upbringing as a little child. Furthermore, his growth started from stealing different materials from a department store to killing different people who were hindrance with their operations.

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From being a bootlegger, Tom became a high-end gangster. Tom offered help to his family as a sign of looking back to his own origin. Furthermore, a conflicting perspective was at hand as Tom’s brother dislikes the business. Moreover, there is a great realization that activities of Tom and his brother were simply the same. However, Tom was being much profitable compared to his brother. But then, due to the greedy and non contentment of Tom he’s life came to an end (Wellman n.

p. ). In the second movie, The Big Combo is a film that presents the same genre.

However, the Big Combo Focuses on the life of Lt. Leonard Diamond as well as the Gangster named Mr. Brown. Furthermore, this movie is from the perspective of the good and evil. Hence, the good is Lt. Diamond because he is a cop. On the other hand, Mr. Brown is the bad person for he is the gangster. Moreover, the story presents a direct battle of the authorities against the gangsters in the community. In short, it is a battle of the good versus the evil (Lewis n. p. ). In the third movie Good Fellas, is the latest movie among the three films.

The Good Fellas presents a much modern way of gangster life. Thus, the life of a gangster is simply revolving around, violence, women and drugs. Furthermore, Goodfellas presents that the life of a gangster is not perfect as it seems to be. Hence, in the end of the story, Henry (the mastermind of the gang) was caught and was finally sent to prison. In addition to this, not all gangsters die young and live opulently. There are moments to which gangsters does not have money to provide his family and he continues business in order to respond to the responsibilities as father and a husband.

Hence, Good Fellas showed the downside of being a gangster and being able to get things straight and well organized. The movie’s ending is not a typical gangster movie which presents the success and lavishness of gangsters. GoodFellas actually opposes the typical gangster image in the ending of this film. It has shown that people could change while there are people who are able to stay within an industry in what ever situation they are in (Scorsese n. p. ). ? Analysis of the Three Films in Comparison to the Musketeers of Pig Alley The movie Musketeers of Pig Alley is known to be the first gangster film ever made during its time.

The Musketeers of Pig Alley depicted the reality of gangster life. To the interests of other viewers, some of the actors which have been invited to act in the movie are real gangsters (Griffith n. p. ). Hence, the real desire of this movie is to present the reality of life in a gangster world. Similar to other movies which had been launched in the past, the Musketeers of the Pig Alley also revolves around drugs, money, violence, and the likes. Hence, due to the seniority of this film, it is most likely that other film which had followed by other films which has the same theme.

Furthermore, the film at hand the Musketeers of the Pig Alley also presented a typical view point of a gangster which presents a sidekick. The purpose of the sidekick is to handle different branches of the businesses such a security, protection as well as presenting new ideas for the protagonist. Moreover, most gangsters in the film get what they want. Without any qualms or hindrance gangster are able to get why they want to whatever way that they desire. Similar to the movie Good Fellas, The Big Combo and Public Enemy, most of the protagonists were able to attain the women that they want because of their money, power and violence.

Therefore, most men have the power over their women but then again, there are women who choose to challenge the male dominance. In the movie Good Fellas, the wife of Henry is able to put a gun to his face however she is not able to kill him for she loves him. On the other hand, women are also capable of rejecting males if they love another man. Therefore, there are also limitations in terms of attaining women. Given that men do not have the control over the emotions of most women, gangsters are not really capable of attaining the affection of the women they want (Griffith n. p. ).

Accordingly, gangsters are noticeably interested in colorful parties. Most gangsters entertain themselves not only through killing people but also through spending their money. Therefore, gangster life is associated with parties every night possible. However, most parties end with violence for there are people who wanted to kill the mastermind of the gang. Also, instances where in the Big Boss wanted to kill one of his people due to negligence or insubordination. Moreover, most parties would not be enjoyable for most gangsters if they are unable to see or experience violence throughout the day(Griffith).

Conclusion In the films which had been presented, it is important to note that there is already a stereotype which is had been engraved in the minds of the viewers due to the continuous use of certain situations and actions in the film. Hence, most gangsters value certain things in life which are money, women, drugs and violence. However at some point, there are gangsters who have the heart to look back at their past life and help their families just like in the movie Public Enemy. In addition to this, aspects related to law enforcement seem to be weak.

Most likely, the police are much weaker than the gangsters. Gangsters have the capability to be smarter than the law enforcements thus, making them very hard to catch. In addition to this, women play a big role in the life of a gangster. Provided that the gangsters have authoritative characteristics, they often get the woman that they want without any hindrance. However, through time, women have learned how to fight back. Therefore, women are now acknowledged as a important aspect of gangster movies most especially in the current film industry. Work Cited Page

GoodFellas. Dir. Martin Scorsese. Perf. Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino. Warner Bros, 1990. Public Enemy. Dir. William Wellman. Perf. James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Edward Woods, Joan Blondell and Mae Clarke, Warner Bros. , 1931. The Big Combo. Dir. Joseph Lewis. Perf. Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, Brian Donlevy, Jean Wallace. Allied Artists, 1955. The Musketeers of Pig Alley. Dir. D. W. Griffith. Perf. Lilian Gish, Elmer Booth, Walter Christie Miller, Harry Carey, Alfred Paget, Marion Sunshine, General Film Company, 1912.