In the decades leading to the turn of the millennium, gangster and mob movies were among the biggest and most popular releases, with many of them making a long-lasting impression. Even today, newer cinemagoers know of the legacy of actors like Robert De Niro and Al Pacino as well as associating the likes of Marlon Brando, Ray Liotta, and Jose Pesci with their famous gangster characters. Directors like Francis Ford Coppola, Brian De Palma, and Martin Scorsese took the genre to new heights, but then, the gangster theme began to fade. A change in culture and advancements in technology are often seen as the fuels behind the once-popular genre being put to one side, with both of these factors having a major impact on one of the most popular themes and venues associated with gangers: casinos. Casinos – their makeup or aura – are nothing like they once were, which takes away a valuable tool that new audiences can associate with when telling stories of gangsters.
Why did gangster films fade away?
One of the main reasons why genres fade in movies is because of changes in audience tastes. Once a theme becomes popular, the market often becomes saturated with writers and directors trying the catch onto the popularity. Then, there’s also the fact that times change rapidly, with the relevance of some themes fading, particularly when it comes to gangsters. It’s not a coincidence that the fading of major, classic gangster movies has come alongside a rapid increase in the adoption of the internet, with an increase in technology and knowledge almost besmirching the aura and enigma of what was the gangster world.
From people being able to find facts at the click of a button instead of relying on rumors and hearsay to an increase in the technology and information shared by law enforcement, the tales of gangsters ruling the world began to fade from the streets and the minds of movie makers. But it’s not just the fact that people know more these days, it’s also that the common locations and themes within gangster movies are far less applicable in the modern-day.
Why gangster movies traditionally featured casinos and gambling
Casinos and gambling were incredibly popular locations and themes in the classic gangster film. Both presented themselves as thrilling experiences which mirrored the thrilling lives of gangsters who did whatever they wanted but in an intelligent way to avoid getting arrested. Gambling invokes both skill and luck, which is exactly what the very best gangsters in movies required, and so, the activity became popular among directors and writers as it provided a layer of relatable subtext that enhanced the characters’ claims persona as a gangster.
Movies like Casino and The Godfather utilized the casino and gambling to do this, adding additional elements of thrill and suspense while also showing the intelligence of the characters at hand. These ideas were also brought into real life by the widespread rumors and tales, which have since been ratified, that the mob ran the Las Vegas Strip through the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, using casinos as fronts for organized crime. Gangsters and gambling, at the highest end, were inexplicably intertwined in entertainment and real life for a time.
It’s all very different these days. Increased tools for the police, mass crackdowns, and the availability of information to all via the internet has quashed hearsay and removed the stigma surrounding gambling activities. In fact, land-based casinos have been able to shrug their former affiliations while others have been forged with a squeaky-clean new look online. The online casinos have made a huge effort to be appealing to players by being open and friendly, offering hundreds of games, safe ways to deposit and withdraw money, and even giving away gifts to newcomers, with the Gambling Metropolis casino bonuses showing that the industry is much more pro-player than it was once rumored to be.
Can the classic gangster theme make a comeback?
The appeal behind the gangster theme wasn’t only due to the stories being plausibly real (with continual rumors adding to the legend and draw). Featuring gambling and casinos in crime films enhances the audience’s connection to tense moments as they understand the high-stakes associated with gambling. But with casinos moving online and their land-based counterparts no-longer being associated with organized crime, the intrigue of gangsters has been somewhat removed, causing the movie genre to fade.
However, as much of the stigma has been removed from popular locations like casinos as well as the theme itself, other smarter crime moves have become popular. The likes of the Oceans films, Focus, Law Abiding Citizen, Killing Them Softly, and Swordfish come to mind as crime films as they’re more relevant to the everyday experiences of newer audiences. There has also been a rise in the more comedic crime movies – particularly in British cinema with movies like Layer Cake, RocknRolla, Snatch, and Legend – almost mocking the seriousness of recognized gangster movie tropes.
On November 1, however, The Irishman might just have a shot at spurring on a comeback for the genre. Directed by Martin Scorsese, the film stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino – their first team-up in a Scorsese film – and Joe Pesci; it’s Scorsese’s most expensive and longest movie so far due to the de-aging technology used throughout. There are, however, some signs that this will be more akin to a swansong for gangster movies as opposed to a revival, and not just because of the reunion-esque cast. The film is to be distributed by Netflix, and while it will have a small theatrical run, the fact that it’s not being backed by a top movie studio for a full cinematic release may indicate that there is little faith in a film that revisits the golden age of the gangster genre.
While streaming releases may be the way some things are going, cinema still rules, and Netflix has hardly shrouded itself in prestige with its Netflix Originals line – despite the amount of hype that erupts when someone finds a moderately entertaining production. The golden age of classic gangster movies faded with the rise of the internet and technology, and while The Irishman may be a great film, it’s unlikely to kick start the former cinematic fad.