Crime & gangster films focus on the illegal activities of criminals and gangsters. They can portray real-life or fictional characters and examine themes like the effects of poverty and pursuing wealth and power. Key characters typically include criminals, their accomplices, law enforcement agents, and rival gangs. These films are often considered a subgenre of film noir due to their stylistic similarities such as negative characterizations and morally ambiguous narratives.

2.  Crime & Gangster Films are based around and focus on the
illegal actions of criminals, gangsters, thieves and other
figures of the underworld of society
 They can vary from realistic & factual portrayals of real life
criminals and incidents to imaginary and over-the-top
portrayals of fictional characters, such as super-villains
 Gangster films in particular usually include morality as a
key theme, such as the effects of poverty causing crime, or
criminals pursuing the American Dream of wealth & power
 Key character types within this genre of film are the main
criminals, their accomplices, an opposing law enforcement
agency (usually the police), private detectives and rival
criminals/gangs
 Crime & Gangster films fall within the Film Noir genre of
films often, due to the stylistic features borrowed
What are Crime & Gangster Films?

3.  As Crime & Gangster films often borrow from the genre of
Film Noir and are sometimes considered to be a subgenre
of Film Noir, they share many of the same conventions
 Stereotypically negative characterisations, the protagonist
is often an anti-hero, corrupt law enforcement features
heavily, morally ambiguous qualities for main characters
 A clear morality associated with the narrative, which is
often twisted or subverted by the characters in the
narrative
 Settings are often within large, crowded cities and in the
less glamorous, poorer areas of cities where the
underworld of society can be portrayed (nightclubs, dark
alleyways)
Crime & Gangster Conventions:

4.  Non-diagetic music often accompanies scenes without
dialogue
 Success within the narrative is measured by materialism
such as expensive clothes and cars, and the increase of a
character’s power
 The antagonist is often the law, such as a federal agent or
the police, though this can be subverted in some settings
so the criminal is the antagonist
 A verisimilitude is created within the film, to accurately
represent the setting or era which the film is set (such as
long jackets and suits worn by criminals in a film set in the
1930s)
 Characters are often from a minority background, such as
an immigrant entering a country in search of wealth

5.  The Godfather
 Goodfellas
 Scarface
 The Untouchables
 Public Enemies
 Gangster Squad
 Gangs of New York
 New Jack City
 Boyz in the Hood
 Taxi Driver
 Pulp Fiction
 Chinatown
Examples of Crime & Gangster
Films