The 8 Best Robert De Niro Gangster Movies, Ranked
The article ranks eight films featuring Robert De Niro in gangster roles, arguing that his frequent work in the genre has helped make him one of its defining actors. It focuses on films about the mob and organised crime, excluding crime films such as *Heat*, which centres on bank robbers.
Among the entries discussed are De Niro’s directorial debut *A Bronx Tale*, in which a boy is caught between his father and a mob-connected mentor; Martin Scorsese’s bleak *Casino*; and *Mean Streets*, an early collaboration about aspiring gangsters. The article also praises *The Untouchables* as entertaining historical fiction, with De Niro playing Al Capone, while cautioning that it is not historically accurate.
In short
- De Niro’s gangster roles span decades of crime cinema.
- The ranking includes several collaborations with Martin Scorsese.
- *A Bronx Tale* also marked De Niro’s directing debut.
Explained simply
Gangster films tell stories about people involved in organised crime and the communities around them. Robert De Niro has played mobsters and people drawn into that world across several films, often working with director Martin Scorsese.
The films mentioned range from Mean Streets, an early story about men aspiring to become gangsters, to Casino, which depicts the mob’s influence in Las Vegas. In A Bronx Tale, a boy is torn between his father and a mob-connected mentor; in The Untouchables, De Niro plays real-life crime boss Al Capone in a fictionalised account.
These films mix invented characters and events with, at times, real historical figures. Knowing that distinction helps put their portrayals of organised crime and figures such as Capone in context.