{"id":2920495,"date":"2020-06-10T07:54:33","date_gmt":"2020-06-10T14:54:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dostoevsky-bts.com\/blog\/?p=2920495"},"modified":"2020-06-10T07:54:33","modified_gmt":"2020-06-10T14:54:33","slug":"mob-films-genre-prevalent-decades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dostoevsky-bts.com\/blog\/mob-films-genre-prevalent-decades\/","title":{"rendered":"Mob Films: A Genre Prevalent for Decades"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last month, Capone <\/em>garnered mixed reviews upon its VOD release. Many viewers felt disappointed with the outcome. Despite these opinions, there is no doubt that mob films are still as prevalent as they always have. Organized crime infatuates filmmakers, like Martin Scorsese, and they stick to creating mob films. While this genre is common in the industry, writers and filmmakers tell their stories in different ways.<\/p>\n

Based on Reality<\/h2>\n

Even though films adhere to the suspension of disbelief, many mob films are based on reality because mobs exist in the world. An influential real-life mob was the Winter Hill Gang led by Whitey Bulger. This story is somewhat personal to myself since my grandmother grew up in Somerville, Massachusetts and taught members\u2019 children in elementary school. The gang was most influential in the mid-1960s and lasted through the 1990s.<\/p>\n

Such a prominent presence warrants a fascination by many. In 2015, Black Mass <\/em>was released, and it was based on Whitey Bulger in the mid-1970s. While the screenplay was adapted from Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob <\/em>by Dick Lehr and Gerald O\u2019Neill, both works retell the interesting phase of Bulger\u2019s career where he feuded with Angiulo Brothers, and Bulger\u2019s old friend John Connolly convinces him to be an FBI informant.<\/p>\n

The mob film peers into Bulger\u2019s life during a time where he manipulated his power as an informant, and it offers a glimpse into the reality of organized crime and the FBI. For some, mob films based on reality can be the most entertaining. An audience\u2019s perspective automatically changes when they realize what they are watching is a true story.<\/p>\n

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Based on Other Films<\/h2>\n

Most films are either book adaptations or remakes. Hollywood often remakes foreign films. In 2002, Media Asia Films released\u00a0Internal Affairs<\/em>, or\u00a0Mou gaan dou<\/em>. Martin Scorsese later directed a remake of that film: The Departed<\/em>. While some may think the original exceeds Scorsese\u2019s version, The Departed <\/em>won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and remains a classic today.<\/p>\n

The Departed <\/em>follows Billy Costigan, a Police Academy student turned mole, while he traverses the Boston mob. His goal is originally to take down the leader Frank Costello. As time goes on though, Costigan realizes that Costello has a rat in the police force. Drama ensues as both rats try to sniff each other out before the other.<\/p>\n

All mob films naturally involve the law, but The Departed\u00a0<\/em>and its predecessor Internal Affairs <\/em>bring stories that have constant urgency and tension since two characters have the same, yet conflicting, goal. Many other mob films play with the \u201crat\u201d model, including personal favorites of mine the Indonesian The Raid <\/em>series by Welsh filmmaker Gareth Evans. Consider looking into mob films from other parts of the world, like Hong Kong and Japan, for more beautifully crafted mob movies, whether they\u00a0are adaptations or not.<\/p>\n