AFI's 10 Top 10 Part VIII: Gangster

The eighth of AFI's 10 top 10 lists is ranking films in the gangster genre. Here's the list:

1. The Godfather
2. Goodfellas
3. The Godfather, Part II
4. White Heat
5. Bonnie and Clyde
6. Scarface: The Shame of a Nation
7. Pulp Fiction
8. The Public Enemy
9. Little Caesar
10. Scarface

At first glance, I'm tempted to object to two Godfather movies taking up space on the list, but both films are at the top of the genre in terms of quality, so I guess they both belong. Pulp Fiction is the other inclusion I'm not crazy about. Is it really a gangster movie? Sure, organized crime is an element, but it just doesn't feel like a gangster movie. Maybe I'm just being cranky because I don't particularly like the movie. I seem to be the only one, however, as everyone else wants to sing its praises. That can kind of grate on my nerves a bit and causes me to overreact to things like it showing up on a top 10 list.

There are three glaring omissions on this list. First, there's The Untouchables. Sure you can argue it's not, strictly speaking, a gangster movie as the cops are clearly the heroes, but c'mon it's about the takedown of the biggest gangster of all, Al Capone. Besides, if they can put Pulp Fiction on, I can put The Untouchables, dammit! (Sorry, still cranky) Second is Miller's Crossing, which is most definitely a gangster movie, and a Cohen brothers film to boot. It's a great movie, and besides, the Irish mob is woefully underrepresented on this list. And what about Road to Perdition, sure it's more about a father/son relationship than the actual crime, but it takes place in the world of organized crime so I think it fits.