From The Godfather to Get Carter, big screen tales of organized crime have produced many of cinema''s greatest films and most memorable moments. The Rough Guide to Gangster Movies gives you the lowdown on all aspects of the genre - from the ''Chicago'' of James Cagney and the Los Angeles of Michael Mann to the cinema underworlds of London, Paris and Hong Kong. This guide collects the guns, the cars, the molls and the classic plots, with directors and actors such as Edward G Robinson, Al Pacino, Chow Yun Fat, Robert DeNiro and Ray Winstone. The Rough Guide to Gangster Movies is an offer you can''t refuse.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Lloyd Hughes started reviewing films at the age of 13 when he reviewed every movie he saw for the next four years. Lloyd is now a writer, broadcaster and researcher specialising in all descriptions of cinema.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good (if imperfect) introductory reference book,
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This review is from: The Rough Guide to Gangster Movies 1 (Rough Guide Reference) (Paperback)
I like a good crime movie. I also like reading about good crime movies, so getting The Rough Guide to Gangster Movies was an easy choice. And for the most part, after reading it, I found it to be a good choice too.
Like the other Rough movie guides, this book is divided in several sections. We get a brief history of the genre, a "canon" of fifty movies that are - in the author Lloyd Hughes opinion - essentially gangster film viewing, a look at the key people and trademarks at the genre and a world tour of gangster films in other countries. For the most part, the Guide is a fun read, giving the readers some new insights into films they've seen and some ideas of new directions to explore. On the other hand, the Guide has its flaws: there are occasional typos and, more seriously, incorrect descriptions. In addition, at times, Hughes is sometimes a little too casual in his writing, using slang and abbreviations that may not be clear to many readers. Even with these issues, it still rates four stars. It may not be a perfect book, but it will give people unfamiliar with the genre a good first look at gangster/crime movies; for those more experienced with these films, it will give the readers a little bit more to chew on.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Use it as a guide, ignore the commentary,
By Skellar (PA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Rough Guide to Gangster Movies 1 (Rough Guide Reference) (Paperback)
The Gangster Rough Guide is great if you are looking for a certain gangster film, or just browsing. As for the reviews, skip them. Is there a ganster movie that Lloyd Hughes actually liked? It falls into the nitpicking category- yes, some of these films weren't exactly screen gems, but the level of negativity is simply off-putting. Worth a read, but you should decide for yourself about whether the movies are actually good.
THREE STARS
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting nostalgic read,
By Gustavo A. Mellander, Ph.D., D.H.L. "Gus A. M... (George Mason Univer., Virginia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Rough Guide to Gangster Movies 1 (Rough Guide Reference) (Paperback)
Neatly written, fact-laden and concise this guide is as the title notes a rough guide to gangster movies. The descriptions are by and large sufficient to whet your appetite and tempt you to check half a dozen of them out of your local library. (Book should have been edited more carefully, typos are off-putting.) Or if you saw the movies previously, these descriptions bring up pleasant memories and you are able to learn a bit more about them. It's not literature but it is an attractive, interesting reference to have at your finger tips.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
"Snatched from today's headlines" is how Warner Brothers advertised their gangster movies in the 1930s, and it's a fair indicator of the origins of the genre. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
tragic hero, global gangsters, gangster cinema, classic gangster movie, own biopic, heist movie, heroic bloodshed, crime cinema, gangster genre, caper movie, gangster movies, national crime syndicate, cercle rouge, bent cop, gangster flick, crime movies Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Hong Kong, The Godfather, James Cagney, Little Caesar, Reservoir Dogs, The Public Enemy, Quentin Tarantino, New York, John Woo, Humphrey Bogart, Mean Streets, Get Carter, Pulp Fiction, Bonnie And Clyde, Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, Better Tomorrow, Chow Yun-Fat, John Huston, Harvey Keitel, Francis Ford Coppola, City of God, Jules Dassin, Time In America, The Roaring Twenties Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
"Snatched from today's headlines" is how Warner Brothers advertised their gangster movies in the 1930s, and it's a fair indicator of the origins of the genre. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
tragic hero, global gangsters, gangster cinema, classic gangster movie, own biopic, heist movie, heroic bloodshed, crime cinema, gangster genre, caper movie, gangster movies, national crime syndicate, cercle rouge, bent cop, gangster flick, crime movies Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Hong Kong, The Godfather, James Cagney, Little Caesar, Reservoir Dogs, The Public Enemy, Quentin Tarantino, New York, John Woo, Humphrey Bogart, Mean Streets, Get Carter, Pulp Fiction, Bonnie And Clyde, Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, Better Tomorrow, Chow Yun-Fat, John Huston, Harvey Keitel, Francis Ford Coppola, City of God, Jules Dassin, Time In America, The Roaring Twenties Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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