Highbrow Magazine - the godfather https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/godfather en More of the Best Movies We Have Ever Seen https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/24087-more-best-movies-we-have-ever-seen <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/film-tv" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Film &amp; TV</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 09/15/2023 - 10:03</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1morebestmovies.jpg?itok=S920oVfo"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1morebestmovies.jpg?itok=S920oVfo" width="480" height="357" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">I was raised in a family of filmgoers. Most of my parents’ dates during their courtship included a visit to the cinema, and this love of films was also ingrained in me at an early age.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">But how do you go about choosing the best 12 movies you have ever seen? This is a tough call, and most <em>Highbrow Magazine film</em> critics have hailed this as an impossible task – considering the thousands of movies we have all seen.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">So many of my other favorites should have also been included here<em>: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Diner, The Natural, Night on Earth, Limelight</em>, <em>The Goodbye Girl</em>, <em>Short Cuts</em>, and so on. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">But duty calls, and following on the heels of our <a href="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/24062-best-movies-we-have-ever-seen" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">millennial and Gen-Z critics</a>, <em>Highbrow Magazine</em> Chief Film Critic Forrest Hartman and I now take turns waxing poetic about our own 12 favorites.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Whether they have made you laugh, cry, think, or instilled love or anger within you, movies are capable of provoking a wide range of our rawest emotions – probably more than any other medium. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">And this list is dedicated to the movies that have stayed with us and bore themselves into our brains and hearts – and the definitive “must-sees” for all avid film fans.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>--From Tara Taghizadeh, Founding Editor and Publisher:</strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>1. The Graduate</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">If you have never seen <em>The Graduate</em>, you can’t really call yourself a film buff. This astounding 1967 movie, directed by the late, great Mike Nichols, co-written by Buck Henry, and starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft, took the world by storm when it was first released.  </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">The bizarre love triangle – boy has affair with married woman, then falls in love with her daughter – is riveting, and under Nichols’s direction, the blend of comedy and drama are interwoven perfectly. This is as great as a film can get. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2morebestmovies.jpg" style="height:670px; width:474px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>2. The Lives of Others</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">A brilliant script and even better direction by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, and remarkable acting turns by all the cast are the reasons why this German film, <em>The Lives of Others,</em> won the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 2007. A cat-and-mouse tale set in Communist East Berlin, the film revolves around a playwright who is placed under surveillance by the <em>Stasi </em>(secret police) and how one compassionate Stasi officer changes his fate. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Having lived in West Berlin – when the city was still divided between East and West – this film is dear to my heart. But it’s truly one of the best suspense movies – and best ending of any movie -- I have ever seen. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>3. Children of Heaven</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">It’s confusing to me why Jafar Panahi is revered as the best Iranian filmmaker, when – in my humble opinion – there are others whose works are far superior. One such filmmaker is Majid Majidi, whose quiet, beautiful, and simple films will astound you. <em>Children of Heaven</em> was nominated for an Oscar in 1998, and should have won for Best Foreign Film. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">This is the story of an impoverished Iranian family whose son and daughter must share a pair of shoes because they cannot afford a new pair. Yes, the storyline is simple, but watch this film and see how the characters blossom and how poignant, touching, and unforgettable their story is. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3morebestmovies.jpg" style="height:450px; width:670px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>4. The 400 Blows</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Of course, Francois Truffaut will make an appearance on many a Best Movies lists, and mine is no different<em>. The 400 Blows</em> put Truffaut on the map, and is regarded by critics as one of the definitive films of the New Wave.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Revolving around a story of misspent youth and its unfortunate consequences, there are star turns by the young Jean-Pierre Leaud who delivers a touching turn as the misunderstood youth Antoine – in addition to other superb cast members who have made this film one of the best in French cinema. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>5. The Godfather</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">All right, so I know most film critics prefer <em>The Godfather Part II</em>, but for me, it’s the original that is the best. So, what can I really add here? Everyone under the sun has watched <em>The Godfather </em>and knows the plot, and the reasons are clear: superb acting by Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, and the supporting cast; a great script based on the brilliant book by Mario Puzo; and stunning cinematography by Gordon Willis – all under the genius direction of Francis Ford Coppola. It’s a masterpiece. Enough said.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/4morebestmovies.jpg" style="height:573px; width:409px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>6. Cinema Paradiso</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Italian filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore’s sweeping film from 1988 about a mischievous, intelligent boy who strikes up a friendship with the grumpy but bighearted town film projectionist – who works at the only movie theatre in town -- is a superb blend of drama and comedy. Set in Sicily, Tornatore captures the essence of the many quirky small-town locals, and shows us the touching – and often humorous – relationship between the young budding filmmaker and his mentor. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><em>Cinema Paradiso</em> is a salute to the art of cinema and love stories of various forms: from familial love, to romantic love, to the love and respect of an influential mentor. Actors Philippe Noiret and the young Salvatore Cascio carry the film, and are the main reason to watch this remarkable Oscar-winning Italian gem.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>7. Hannah and Her Sisters</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Woody Allen was once considered one of the most influential and important American filmmakers, and <em>Hannah and Her Sisters</em> from 1986 is his finest. There is something unique about Allen’s films – a certain <em>zing</em> about the script, direction, and acting that have made numerous of his films masterpieces. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">The film is about the trials and tribulations of a well-off New York City family – and in typical Allen fashion, the characters are standouts: from the harebrained sister Holly, deftly portrayed by Dianne Wiest (who won an Oscar for the role); to the reliable, kindhearted Hannah (played by Allen’s former longtime girlfriend Mia Farrow -- in happier times); to the emotionally conflicted Michael Caine, who plays Hannah’s philandering husband, and who also landed an Oscar.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">This is Woody Allen at his best – the Woody Allen of yesteryear, who would deliver hit movie after hit movie. Allen also won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for <em>Hannah and Her Sisters</em>. See this film.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/bestmovieswings.jpg" style="height:670px; width:539px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>8. Wings of Desire</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Another riveting and truly astonishing film set in Berlin – before the fall of the Wall. 1987’s <em>Wings of Desire</em> is German director Wim Wenders’ love letter to the human race. A tale of life and mortality and the quest for love, it's shot in black-and-white for the most part, and shows us the existence of guardian angels who watch over us. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">The German language has a reputation for being harsh, but here, its sheer poetry and beauty shine through. Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, and Peter Falk deliver star turns. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">I have never seen any film quite like <em>Wings of Desire</em> – it’s a film that has affected me deeply.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>9. Gone With the Wind</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">1939 was a banner year for Hollywood, and <em>Gone With the Wind</em> was its jewel. A remarkable film – based on the equally remarkable book by Margaret Mitchell, shows an anti-heroine (Scarlett O’Hara) as the heroine who saves the day. There are many stories about all the troubles the movie faced before its completion, but the end result is one of the best American films ever made. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">With Vivian Leigh, Clark Gable, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Haviland, and Hattie McDaniel – the first African American to win an Oscar for her role as Mammy – the cast – particularly Gable and Leigh – is superb. The former glory days of the South and the Civil War come to life under Victor Fleming’s fine direction.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/5morebestmovies.jpg" style="height:341px; width:615px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>10. <em>Kramer vs. Kramer</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">This is Dustin Hoffman’s tour-de-force performance as a recently separated father who must learn how to look after his son – the astonishingly talented Justin Henry -- when his wife suddenly leaves him. Hoffman is one of my all-time favorite actors, and he shows impressive range in his work. Hoffman and Meryl Streep (as the vanishing wife and mother) won Oscars for their roles – and Henry, who was also nominated, deserved to win. This is a gripping family drama – replete with a tense courthouse scene – that deftly shows the plague of divorce that overwhelms our society. The film won the Best Film Oscar in 1980, and rightly so. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>11. The Royal Tenenbaums</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Wes Anderson is the Tom Waits of the film world: He is a genius who is light-years ahead of everyone else – and as result, he is largely misunderstood and underappreciated. But my Best Movies list would not be complete without mentioning this American treasure. <em>The Royal Tenenbaums</em> from 2001 is Anderson’s best film: the script sings; the characters are quirky and dynamic; and the plot is superb. With an all-star cast – from the great Gene Hackman as the head of the family, to Anjelica Huston as his ex-wife who is now betrothed to Danny Glover; to great turns by brothers Luke and Owen Wilson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, and Bill Murray, this movie is as sumptuous and engrossing as discovering a great book that you must finish reading in one sitting. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>12. The Wife</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">How many times has Glenn Close been nominated for an Oscar – and never won? It’s a crime that she didn’t win for her role in 2017’s <em>The Wife</em>. Also starring Jonathan Pryce, Max Irons, and Christian Slater, the story slowly unfolds as we learn that the great author Joe Castleman (played with great aplomb by Pryce), who has just won the Nobel Prize for Literature, isn’t really all he’s cracked up to be. He and his wife (in what should have been an Oscar-winning role for Close) have pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes. This is a brilliant dramatic film, with great performances from all the cast. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/6morebestmovies.jpg" style="height:438px; width:670px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>Bonus Pick: The Ladykillers (1955)</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Do <em>not </em>watch the 2004 Coen brothers’ remake of this film – which is an unfortunate disservice to the its great comedic legacy. Instead, find the 1955 original directed by Alexander Mackendrick and produced by the famous Ealing Studios – starring some of Britain’s most notable talents: Alec Guinness, the young Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, and Katie Johnson as the immortal Mrs. Wilberforce – better known as “Mrs. Lopsided.”</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Guinness is the brains behind a gang of criminals – masquerading as musicians – who are plotting a robbery while renting rooms from Mrs. Lopsided. Their dreams of wealth quickly fall to pieces as the incorrigible Mrs. Lopsided catches on to their scheme and demands they return the money. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">This is one of the most hilarious comedies I have ever seen: the cast, especially Guinness and Johnson are superb; the plot is fascinating; and the Oscar-nominated script, written by the immensely talented William Rose who would later win an Oscar for writing <em>Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner </em>– another all-time favorite film – is brilliant. If you want to spend an evening just laughing aloud, watch <em>The Ladykillers.</em> </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/casablanca.jpg" style="height:534px; width:670px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>From Forrest Hartman – Chief Film Critic: </strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">When <em>Highbrow Magazine</em> founding editor and publisher Tara Taghizadeh asked each of her publication’s film critics to name the 12 best movies we have seen, I think we took a collective gulp. How can someone who loves cinema possibly narrow the field to a dozen? How about 100 … or 500 … or maybe 1,000? But numbers like those would require a book, not an article, so we dug in.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Here, I submit my picks for the 12 best movies that cinema has to offer. Note that I would probably change this list next year, perhaps even next month, depending on my mood. Note also that my list contains not only movies I love but movies that, for the most part, changed the cinema that came after. The films I selected are not only great, I believe they have been influential. Drum roll please …</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>1. Casablanca</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">There are many ways to deconstruct a movie, but I typically start with storytelling. With few exceptions, a narrative film is doomed unless it begins with an excellent script, and <em>Casablanca</em> combines a great dramatic arc with memorable dialogue. In fact, a number of lines have become cliché because they’ve been repeated so frequently over the decades. “Here’s looking at you kid,” “We’ll always have Paris,” “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” “Round up the usual suspects,” and “Play it, Sam” (often misquoted) are all from the film. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Much credit goes to writers Philip Epstein, Julius Epstein, and Howard Koch. With Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains leading the cast and director Michael Curtiz at the helm, it’s no wonder <em>Casablanca</em> is still a treat 80 years after the initial release.  </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/7morebestmovies.jpg" style="height:323px; width:574px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>2.  Star Wars</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">With more than 100 years of film to draw from, narrowing the field to a dozen is hard work, so I picked movies that have been both personally meaningful and impactful to cinema. There is a strong argument that <em>The Empire Strikes Back</em> is actually the best-made movie in the <em>Star Wars</em> franchise, but we wouldn’t have had <em>Empire</em> if writer-director George Lucas hadn’t set the world on fire in 1977. When <em>Star Wars</em> hit theaters, there was nothing like it. Lucas took the camp and melodrama of an action-based cowboy film and injected it with groundbreaking special effects, creating a fanciful galaxy of memorable characters that are entertaining people to this day. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>3. Pulp Fiction</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">In 1994, <em>Pulp Fiction’s</em> nonlinear storytelling, gritty plotting, and cutting dialogue was a breath of fresh air. That’s less true now, but only because countless filmmakers have embraced and copied what can only be called the Quentin Tarantino style. Tarantino continues to make relevant, must-see movies (cue 2019’s <em>Once Upon a Time in Hollywood</em>), but in the ‘90s, he was an upstart who dazzled film lovers with his rapid rise from video-store clerk to industry power-player, and no film demonstrates why he grabbed our attention better than <em>Pulp Fiction</em>. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>4. Sunset Boulevard</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">For those of us who love movies, it’s hard to beat a picture about the pictures, and the grandaddy of the genre is <em>Sunset Boulevard</em>. This 1950 noir tells the story of a handsome, young screenwriter (William Holden) being “kept” by an aging movie actress (Gloria Swanson) who failed to make the transition from silents to talkies. Director Billy Wilder spun his magic, making the film deliciously tragic, as every good noir should be.  </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/8morebestmovies.jpg" style="height:513px; width:670px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>5. Citizen Kane</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">As a writer and journalism professor, I couldn’t deliver this list without including a film about media. Honestly, <em>Spotlight </em>– about <em>Boston Globe</em> reporters investigating the Catholic Church abuse scandal – is my favorite journalism picture, but it wasn’t nearly as influential as <em>Citizen Kane</em>. With <em>Kane</em>, then-wunderkind Orson Welles made a movie that was such a successful takedown of mogul William Randolph Hearst that many film lovers probably picture protagonist/antagonist Charles Foster Kane whenever Hearst’s name is uttered. That’s not entirely fair, but <em>Citizen Kane</em> is great nonetheless. The script is wonderful, the production value is incredible for the era, and Welles has been widely praised for ushering in groundbreaking cinematic techniques with the film.   </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>6. Titanic</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"> Writer-director James Cameron’s historical romance, set aboard the doomed ocean liner <em>Titanic</em>, broke box-office records upon its release. It also made the already famous Cameron the king of the motion-picture world for a time. <em>Titanic</em> is more than your average love story. It stars the always incredible Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, and it might just bring a tear (or several) to your eyes. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Sure, there’s been some blowback over the years, and critics are correct that there was no need for Cameron to create additional action sequences to make the story of a sinking ocean liner more exciting. Despite the excess, DiCaprio and Winslet form an emotional connection with audiences. The movie hit hard when I first watched it, and it’s difficult not to get sucked in if you happen across it while flipping through TV channels. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>7. Toy Story</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"> Is this really the best Pixar film? That’s a bit like asking if chocolate cake is the best dessert. The animation studio has cranked out one classic after another for decades. I chose this sweet tale of toys that spring to life when their human owners aren’t watching because its release redefined animated cinema. Writer-director John Lasseter and co-writers Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter not only made a movie that has spawned multiple sequels and stood the test of time, they forced other animation studios to up their games. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/9morebestmovies.jpg" style="height:675px; width:440px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>8. The Birds</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Director Alfred Hitchcock could easily be represented more than once on a list like this. Why have I chosen <em>The Birds</em>? Maybe it’s because the movie was largely filmed in Bodega Bay, which isn’t all that far from my Northern California home. Or maybe it’s because it took a true master of suspense to make a creature typically regarded as harmless seem like an existential threat. Hitchcock, with adept help from stars Rod Taylor and Tippi Hedron, achieves this feat with seeming ease. This is horror at its best. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>9. This is Spinal Tap</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">When Christopher Guest, Rob Reiner, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer set out to make a mockumentary about the fictional rock band Spinal Tap, I doubt they knew they’d end up with one of the most memorable music pictures in cinema history. It’s difficult, after all, to assess one’s own work during the moment of creation. But <em>Spinal Tap</em> is a classic. The film boasts a wonderfully oddball assortment of characters, original music (and performances) that are laugh-out-loud funny and a healthy helping of insider jokes that will ring painfully true to anyone who has played in a band. For people who love music and love movies, it’s hard to think of a more perfect picture. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>10. Brazil</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Director Terry Gilliam’s dark comedy about a dystopian future plagued by bureaucracy and government ineptitude is as biting and meaningful today as ever. Jonathan Pryce is outstanding as Sam Lowry, a government employee who gets swept up in unexpected intrigue, and supporting players include Robert DeNiro, Kim Greist, and Ian Holm. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/10morebestmovies.jpg" style="height:284px; width:670px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>11. Apocalypse Now</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Francis Ford Coppola’s sprawling Vietnam War saga is known as much for production-related drama as the end product, but that doesn’t diminish its artistic importance. Coppola somehow succeeded in depicting the horrors of 20<sup>th</sup>-century warfare while taking viewers on a surreal journey loosely based on Joseph Contrad’s novella, <em>The Heart of Darkness</em>. Simply put, this is a stunning war movie. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>12. Batman Begins </em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Superhero films are so commonplace now that the genre has become tired, but that wasn’t the case when director Christopher Nolan decided to reinvent Batman in 2005. Nolan’s cinematic take on the Caped Crusader is easily the best, as he makes him simultaneously heroic, menacing, and surprisingly believable. Nolan’s sequels, <em>The Dark Knight</em> and <em>The Dark Knight Rises</em> are equally impressive, but this is the film that built the foundation. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/11morebestmovies.jpg" style="height:380px; width:670px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>Bonus Pick: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy</em></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">I couldn’t bring myself to pick any one of Peter Jackson’s <em>Lord of the Rings</em> movies as a best of all time. Despite the exceedingly long runs of each entry, <em>The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers,</em> and <em>The Return of the King</em> aren’t really meant as standalones, but when viewed collectively, they are the greatest cinematic achievement of the early 2000s. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Jackson assembled a top-notch cast filled with surprisingly bold choices, and he demonstrated the ability to deliver both intimate dramatic moments and breathtaking action … all while working with state-of-the art special effects. Arguably, Jackson’s adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary works set the stage for blockbuster, multipart stories like the one Marvel delivered with its <em>Avengers</em> saga, and he did it while somehow keeping both average moviegoers and Tolkien purists satisfied. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>For Highbrow Magazine</strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/best-movies" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">best movies</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/top-films" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">top films</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/graduate" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the graduate</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/casablanca" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Casablanca</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/star-wars" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Star Wars</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/lord-rings" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lord of the Rings</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/ladykillers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the ladykillers</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/royal-tenenbaums" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">The Royal Tenenbaums</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/lives-others" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the lives of others</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/apocalypse-now" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Apocalypse Now</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/godfather" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the godfather</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/francois-truffaut" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">francois truffaut</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/george-lucas" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">George Lucas</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/ealing-comedies" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">ealing comedies</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/mike-nichols" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">mike nichols</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hollywood" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Hollywood</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Forrest Hartman and Tara Taghizadeh</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">In Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 15 Sep 2023 14:03:36 +0000 tara 12139 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/24087-more-best-movies-we-have-ever-seen#comments Why Italian Cinema Is Starting to Glamorize the Mafia https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/10850-why-italian-cinema-starting-glamorize-mafia <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/film-tv" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Film &amp; TV</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 09/11/2020 - 16:04</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1traitorfilm.jpg?itok=pjvw8cL4"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1traitorfilm.jpg?itok=pjvw8cL4" width="480" height="270" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p> </p> <p>For almost a century, American filmmakers have glamorized the Mafia, depicting their ranks as so charismatic and quick-witted that you might want to invite them over for dinner.</p> <p> </p> <p>Audiences saw this most recently in <em>The Irishman</em>, which reunites a star cast of the usual suspects – Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci – but also in <em>The Sopranos</em> and <em>Boardwalk Empire</em>.</p> <p> </p> <p>The Mafia’s glamorized sheen in America’s collective conscience might be due to the fact that the Mafia never attained much power in the U.S. Compared with Italy, fewer lives have been lost and fewer businesses destroyed by the organized crime syndicate. Today, many see the Mafia as a relic of the past.</p> <p> </p> <p>Not so in Italy, where mafias remain as powerful and dangerous as ever. Their menace has been reflected in Italian films and television series, which have long cast mobsters in a negative light.</p> <p> </p> <p>But as someone who studies media depictions of the Mafia, I’ve noticed a shift: Italian films and TV shows have started to glorify criminality, crafting and portraying mafiosos as alluring antiheroes.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/godfatherfilm.jpg" style="height:451px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>In Italy, a break from tradition</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>It’s long been common practice in Hollywood to cast conventionally attractive actors as sympathetic criminal antiheroes. Humphrey Bogart in <em>King of the Underworld</em>,  Al Pacino in <em>The Godfather</em> trilogy and Denzel Washington in <em>American Gangster</em> are just a few examples.</p> <p> </p> <p>However, this practice is a relatively new phenomenon in Italy.</p> <p> </p> <p>In Italian films from the 1960s and 1970s, Italian gangsters were depicted as shady and charmless.</p> <p> </p> <p>In the popular Italian Mafia biopics of the 1990s and 2000s, which included titles like <em>One Hundred Steps</em> and <em>Placido Rizzotto</em>, they appeared as vicious, repulsive villains.</p> <p> </p> <p>But that started to change in the 21st century. In 2005, director Michele Placido released <em>Romanzo Criminale</em>, a film about the Roman Mafia that featured a cast of young, attractive mobsters.</p> <p> </p> <p>More recently, good-looking, sympathetic criminals abound in the TV series <em>Gomorrah</em>, while slick, teenaged gangsters populate Claudio Giovannesi’s 2019 film <em>Piranhas</em>.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2traitorfilm.jpg" style="height:333px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>A controversial portrayal</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Marco Bellocchio’s most recent film, <em>The Traitor</em>, epitomizes this trend. Released in the U.S. on Jan. 31, it was also Italy’s submission for Best International Feature Film in the Academy Awards.</p> <p> </p> <p>At its center is an ex-mobster named Tommaso Buscetta, played by the attractive Pierfrancesco Favino, sometimes known as “the Italian George Clooney.”</p> <p> </p> <p>The film tells the true story of Buscetta, who shared vital information about the inner workings of the Mafia with Italian authorities in the early 1980s. His revelations sparked the “maxi trials,” which ended in 1987 and led to 342 convictions.</p> <p> </p> <p>Buscetta, however, is viewed with suspicion by many Italians. To this day, his motivations for turning over evidence to the state are cloaked in mystery. In Italy, he’s hardly viewed as an ambassador for the anti-Mafia cause. Nonetheless, <em>The Traitor</em> turns him into an alluring anti-hero.</p> <p> </p> <p>For these reasons, some Italians weren’t happy about this portrayal. It also didn’t help that the film was released on the anniversary of a Mafia rampage that killed an anti-Mafia prosecutor, his wife, and their bodyguard.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/thesopranos.jpg" style="height:400px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Follow the money</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>These films and series are popular inside and outside of Italy; Gomorrah, for example, is distributed in over 190 countries.</p> <p> </p> <p>Within Italy, however, protests against these films and series are commonplace. Many Italians are uncomfortable with the way they depict organized crime with characters who are charming and easy to like. Some of the loudest objections come from people who have lost loved ones to the Mafia.</p> <p> </p> <p>For example, the mayor of Naples claimed that <em>Gomorrah</em> corrodes “the brains, minds and hearts of hundreds of young people,” while one judge accused the series’ creators of “excessively humanizing crime.”</p> <p> </p> <p>However, the success of American TV series like <em>The Sopranos</em> conveyed an important lesson to Italian writers and producers: You don’t have to be a good guy to captivate audiences outside of Italy. So for the last 15 years, Italian film and television producers have become famous by presenting organized crime in ways that are an anathema for many Italians but find eager viewers around the world.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3traitorfilm.jpg" style="height:597px; width:434px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><strong><em>Dana Renga is an associate professor of Italian Studies and Film at the Ohio State University.</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>This article was originally published <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-italian-cinema-is-starting-to-glamorize-the-mafia-121481" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">in the Conversation</a>. It’s republished here with permission under a Creative Commons license. Visit the Conversation <a href="https://theconversation.com/us" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">here</a>.</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Highbrow Magazine</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/italian-films" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">italian films</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/mafia-films" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">mafia films</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/traitor" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the traitor</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/gomorrah" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">gomorrah</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/italian-tv-shows" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">italian TV shows</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/crime-films" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">crime films</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/godfather" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the godfather</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/sopranos" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the sopranos</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/mob" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the mob</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/italian-mafia" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">italian mafia</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/italian-film-stars" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">italian film stars</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tratior" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the tratior</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/gangster-films" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">gangster films</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Dana Renga</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 11 Sep 2020 20:04:05 +0000 tara 9825 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/10850-why-italian-cinema-starting-glamorize-mafia#comments Welcome to the World of Crime and Punishment https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/10303-welcome-world-crime-and-punishment <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/film-tv" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Film &amp; TV</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 12/13/2019 - 22:20</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1mobsters.jpg?itok=BhKeoU1I"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1mobsters.jpg?itok=BhKeoU1I" width="480" height="171" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>Stories of crime and punishment have often sold well to the American public. Between <em>Dragnet</em>, <em>Law &amp; Order,</em> and much of Martin Scorsese's oeuvre, it looks like an easy judgment to make — before considering <em>The Godfather,</em> <em>Heat</em>, and many other now classic movies. Tracing the genealogy of this reality does little to undercut its effects.</p> <p> </p> <p>While the serial murderer is often the focus of crime documentaries, podcasts, and books, a different kind of criminal exerts an equal, if not stronger, pull on the eyes and minds of the public. Although the call of this criminal may be <em>sotto voce</em>, particularly compared to the headlines resulting from the lurid nature of the serial killer's deeds, the danger is just as real. Since the time Herbert Asbury used his pen to become the dean of true crime writers with <em>Gangs of New York</em>, the danger of the gangster has been readily apparent to even the casual reader. Be whether Bill “the butcher” Poole or Monk Eastman, the gangster has long captivated a crime craving audience.</p> <p> </p> <p>Whether it’s the popularity of true crime in Weimar Germany, as mentioned by Marcus Parks of <em>Last Podcast on the Left </em>in one of the episodes on Peter Kürten, or more <a href="http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20181205-how-we-got-hooked-on-grisly-true-crime">in-depth ruminations</a>, much has been made of the seemingly sudden surge in true crime's popularity. Be it to attempt to see once denied justice granted or in a form of wish fulfillment from masses long eager to play detective, or even, as for <a href="https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2019/09/26/jimmy-hoffa-and-the-irishman-a-true-crime-story/">Jack Goldsmith</a> in his response to <em>The Irishman</em>, an attempt to clear a name, crime provides the viewer with some of the most salient of emotional ethical and emotional dilemmas. </p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2mobsters.jpg" style="height:337px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Betrayal is perhaps a key feature in the emotional landscape of true crime for the gangster. What it means to be “in” and what the gangster must do to be “in” are two inextricable questions of existential import to the members of criminal enterprises. This specific theme is on display in the cinematic telling of FBI agent Joseph Pistone's undercover infiltration of New York City's Bonanno crime family in  <em>Donnie Brasco</em>. Although at first Pistone, played by Johnny Depp, is just some guy sitting in a diner, he quickly becomes a trusted accomplice of Benjamin “Lefty” Ruggiero, played by Al Pacino. As he is pushed deeper and deeper into the amoral famililism of the Bonannos, Pistone becomes more and more his undercover Donnie Brasco, to the point which he insists on being called Donnie by his handlers at the FBI — he also loses touch with his own family. Each scene is juxtaposed: Brasco goes deeper into the crime family, Brasco strays further from his own.</p> <p> </p> <p>The truth of the story may be different than portrayed on screen, but as the viewer may notice, despite Lefty's dissimulating, Pistone starts to develop a fellow-feeling for him — to the point where he disobeys the orders of his boss, orders to stay in Florida, to visit Lefty in New York while Lefty's son is hospitalized due to overdosing. In the movie's final scene, Pistone is given a medal and a $500 bonus in a ceremony that is astoundingly brusque; as his wife informs him “it's over,” he stares off into the distance.</p> <p> </p> <p>Although of an earlier vintage, the scene is reminiscent of one of the final scenes in Scorsese's <em>Wolf of Wall Street</em>, in which the FBI agent sits alone on a sad subway ride home. A shallow read of this type of scene describes it as a glorification of the life of the criminal: as if to say you'll find real family there, not in the hollow accolades and awards that come alongside a life of privation.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3mobsters.jpg" style="height:600px; width:402px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Of course, a more fictional portrayal of an undercover operation, <em>The Departed</em>, makes no effort to be ambivalent on the nature of membership in a criminal organization. Leonardo DiCaprio's portrayal is similar in that the undercover agent's relations become frayed, but rather than with his family, they become strained with his commanding officers: He wants out and they want him to stay in, despite the real risks he faces — “this ain't reality TV” is the correct assessment, as Frank Costello, played by Jack Nicholson, is highly dangerous. The argument over where and who is the “rat” mimics the animosity between the various Boston law enforcement agencies, which were rife with individuals who leaked investigative progress to gangsters, but is a reversal of expectations from mob movies: It's the gangsters, after all, who are supposed to be concerned.</p> <p> </p> <p>The discussion of who is and isn't a “rat” misses out on a key factor of the amoral familism of gang life: its peril. This is underlined in <em>Donnie Brasco</em> by Sonny Black's crew breaking into Sonny Red's house to kill Sonny Red and his crew after Sonny Red has “sent for” Sonny Black and his crew (with the intention of killing them). Hence, the assertion that it’s facile to see the life of the criminal glorified in the movie: Just minutes before the final scenes, we see the fear of the gangsters and their mutual distrust at its ugly maximum; the operation end happens climactically on screen as Pistone is about to participate in killing another gangster — to “make his bones” — but just after a conversation in which Lefty almost catches on to Pistone being undercover.</p> <p> </p> <p>In the real world, homicide is a real possibility. There is no human resources department in the crime world to handle insubordination or deviation from company policy, real or perceived. At the same time, the distrust plays out in more subtle ways. According to Anthony DeStefano's <em>Gotti's Boys</em>, a condition to John Gotti bankrolling the defense of his co-defendants, including Sammy “the Bull” Gravano, was severely limited access to the tapes on which federal prosecutors built the case against them. This sort of maneuvering gives a bit more context to Gravano's decision to cooperate with federal prosecutors than DeStefano's jacket copy referring to him as “Sammy 'the Rat' Gravano.” Throw atop Whitey Bulger's strategic use of his informant status to take competitors off the streets and game theory appears to have benefits <em>omérta</em> could never provide.</p> <p> </p> <p>The gangster and his mythical code of silence may not have the same panache as the serial killer. But the fascination with the gangster, and the willful ignorance of the code of silence's myth, perhaps generates a stronger indictment of the now desiccated state of once strong familial and social bonds that used to thrive in healthy communities.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/4mobsters.jpg" style="height:403px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>Adam Gravano is a contributing writer at</em> Highbrow Magazine.</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>For Highbrow Magazine</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/mobsters" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">mobsters</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/cosa-nostra" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">cosa nostra</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/mob" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the mob</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/mob-movies" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">mob movies</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/godfather" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the godfather</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/martin-scorcese" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Martin Scorcese</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/departed" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the departed</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/donnie-brasco" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">donnie brasco</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/johnny-depp" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Johnny Depp</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/irishman" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the irishman</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/mafia-3" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the mafia</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/wolf-wall-street-john-gotti" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">wolf of wall street. john gotti</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Adam Gravano</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Google Images; Wikipedia Commons (Creative Commons)</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Sat, 14 Dec 2019 03:20:12 +0000 tara 9224 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/10303-welcome-world-crime-and-punishment#comments