The Ultimate Gangster Collection Classic features four films all making their Blu-ray debut The Public Enemy, Little Caesar, The Petrified Forest and White Heat.
The Contemporary Collection, all in Blu-ray, features Goodfellas, The Departed, Mean Streets and Heat.
You sure could make dad happy with this set, with Fathers Day next month, if dad is any kind of a gangster fan.
This is one of my favorite gengres and it really doesnt get any better than this.
The classic set is no less than amazing. It is like a college primer on gangsterology starting with the films that pretty much started it all, Little Caesar (1931) starring Edward G. Robinson and The Public Enemy (1931) with James Cagney.
Is this the end of Rico? Hardly. Robinson kick-started the whole gangster thing with his portrayal of Chicago gangster Caesar Enrico Bandello, and this film plays as well now as it did more than 80 years ago.
The Public Enemy was Cagneys breakout role and yes, it is the one with grapefruit smashed into Mae Clarks face.
They dont make them like this anymore. Heck, they had to stop making them becaus of the infamous production code, and several scenes (deleted in later releases because of that code) are restored here as well.
The Petrified Forest (1936) is far less typical of the gangster film with Humphrey Bogart (bad guy Duke Mantee) hiding out in a diner in Arizona with the likes of Bette Davis and Leslie Howard. It is more psychological than gangster with great acting, and it launched Bogarts career.
The classic collection closes out with the first really modern gangster film White Heat (1949) with Cagney again.
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Hail, hail, the gangs are all here . New gangster Blu-ray collections feature contemporary, classic greats