Little Caesar (1931)
LeRoy's 1931 pre-Code gangster film. The film that established the rise-and-fall gangster template.
Tag: American Decay (Page 13)
1990sLast Man Standing (1996)
Walter Hill's 1996 remake of Yojimbo. Bruce Willis as the drifter who plays two Prohibition-era gangs against each other.
1970s
2000sGridiron Gang (2006)
Phil Joanou's 2006 juvenile detention football drama. Dwayne Johnson as the coach.
1990sL.A. Confidential (1997)
Curtis Hanson's 1997 neo-noir on 1950s LAPD corruption. The rare adult crime film that respects its audience.
1950sThe Searchers (1956)
Wayne as Ethan Edwards, racism poisons his own rescue mission. The film that taught New Hollywood to subvert genre.
2000sThere Will Be Blood (2007)
Paul Thomas Anderson's 2007 epic of oil, religion, and a man who hates everyone. Daniel Day-Lewis as American capitalist as Old Testament demon.
2000sThe Departed (2006)
Scorsese's 2006 Boston crime thriller. Two moles, one in the mob, one in the police.
1990sFalling Down (1993)
Schumacher's 1993 urban thriller. Michael Douglas walks across LA leaving violence behind, Robert Duvall follows.
1990sAmerican Beauty (1999)
Sam Mendes's 1999 suburban satire. Kevin Spacey as a midlife-crisis dad, Annette Bening as the wife.
1990sOffice Space (1999)
Mike Judge's 1999 cubicle satire. Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, Stephen Root as Milton.
AmbiguityDeath Wish (1974-1994)
Architect-turned-vigilante across two decades of declining quality. The series follows Paul Kersey, an architect whose wife is murdered and daughter assaulted in the original film, after which he becomes a vigilante.