Gangster movies are known for their cruel and violent moments, but these character deaths went above and beyond in brutality, in one way or another.
Gangster movies are often violent, but some creatively brutal deaths in these films stand out from the rest. With the help of filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese, the crime genre has become one of the most popular and respected genres in cinema. The appeal of stories about gangsters and criminals is constantly present, as they give audiences the opportunity to fantasize about a life that is both dangerous and luxurious, without any real consequences.
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The best gangster movies also show the downsides of a life of crime, as many main characters end up dead at the hands of rival gangs, the police, and sometimes their own family. A brutal death can be excessively violent and show the worst of humanity’s imagination and creativity. But the brutality of a death can also come from its personal nature, as characters in a gangster movie may find themselves at gunpoint with an old friend on the other end of the line.
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10 Superintendent Wong Falls Off the Roof (Infernal Affairs)
hellish affairs is a Hong Kong gangster film that was later adapted to American cinema. The dead people. While the two follow similar story beats, one of the best parts of the original is Anthony Wong’s performance as Superintendent Wong, the role that became Martin Sheen’s Captain Queenan in Martin Scorsese’s remake. Superintendent Wong is easy to root for, and was even the focus of the prequel film. Infernal Affairs II. His death is similar to Queenan’s in The dead peopleas he is thrown from a roof, surprisingly landing on top of a car right behind the protagonist during one of the film’s most intense scenes.
9 Dominic Dies Trying to Run (Once Upon a Time in America)
Once upon a time in America It is part of Sergio Leone Once upon a time trilogy, and is his only exploration into the gangster genre. Unlike many police movies, Once upon a time in America shows the full story of its characters’ lives, with a good amount of time following the wannabe gangsters as children. In a heartbreaking scene, a boy in the group, Dominic, is shot to death and dies in the arms of the main character, “Noodles.” The scene is enormously important to Noodles and the other boys, and forever changes the course of their lives.
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8 Billy Batts Homecoming (Goodfellas)
Frank Vincent made a career out of his roles in criminal projects, having been in good friends, casino, and The sopranos. In good friends, his character, Billy Batts, meets his end at the hands of Joe Pesci’s Tommy DeVito. Tommy is known for being unhinged and finds himself beating Billy Batts to death after insulting him too much. To make matters worse, Billy Batts is taken out to be buried in the trunk of a car. When they take him out of the trunk, Tommy and his company realize that he is not actually dead, so they proceed to stab and shoot him several times to finish the job. Serious excess for some jokes.
7 Fredo Corleone in the lake (The Godfather Part II)
Fredo Corleone has his redeeming qualities, but he has never been considered worthy of being the don of the Corleone family, a title that should have been his after Sonny’s death. Although he tries to win him over several times, Michael becomes the don and Fredo is left resentful. This leads Fredo to betray Michael in The Godfather Part II, forcing Michael to take action against his last brother in one of the most emotionally brutal deaths. While execution is civil, when it comes to gun deaths, the act of hiring an assassin to kill one’s brother is extremely brutal.
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6 friends of Calogero (a story from the Bronx)
As Once upon a time in America, A tale from the Bronx offers a coming-of-age story and a gangster thriller. One of the most disturbing scenes in the film is when the main character, Calogero’s friends, die in a burning car. The violence stems from racial tensions between communities in his neighborhood, in which Calogero’s Italian gang enters an African-American neighborhood with Molotov cocktails. One of the cocktails is thrown at his car, engulfing the vehicle in flames and killing everyone. Calogero avoids death by pure chance, as Sonny pulls him out of the car shortly before.
5 Mr. Orange and Mr. White (Reservoir Dogs)
Quentin Tarantino’s first feature film offers a particularly fascinating gangster plot, most of which takes place under one roof. Mr. Orange spends most of the film bleeding out from a gunshot wound. Mr. White takes pity on him and the two develop a friendship as the gangsters try to discover who ratted them out to the police and foiled his crime. In the end, realizing that he is going to die anyway, Mr. Orange feels that he has to tell Mr. White the truth and admits that he was an undercover cop the entire time. Feeling betrayed, Mr. White executes Mr. Orange, before being shot dead by the police.
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4 Billy Costigan in the elevator (The Departed)
The dead people is the perfect example of a cat and mouse crime movie that offers an exciting and very fun journey from Martin Scorsese. Leonardo DiCaprio’s Billy Costigan isn’t the most likable protagonist, but compared to Matt Damon’s Colin Sullivan, he’s a superhero. In the final climax of the film, the two have their confrontation on a rooftop, in which Billy takes Colin in handcuffs. They enter an elevator and, as it opens again on the first floor, an unexpected third party shoots Billy in the head. While it’s devastating to see Billy lose after everything he’s been through, at least Colin finally gets what’s coming to him.
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3 Angel Gets Sawed Off (Scarface)
Scarface has several violent deaths, but Angel’s death in particular looks like it could have been in a horror movie. Al Pacino’s Tony Montana is forced to witness his friend Angel being murdered when a cocaine deal goes wrong. While he is hanging by his hands with his mouth taped shut, Angel has a chainsaw taken to his limbs. Tony watches in shock as his friend is brutally murdered and blood splatters everywhere.
2 Sonny Corleone’s Tollbooth (The Godfather)
Sonny Corleone is a brutal man and clearly feels comfortable engaging in violence against those who cross him. Sonny will inherit leadership of the Corleone family, but it is clear to viewers that he is not right for the job and that he will have to die to make room for Michael as boss. Sonny is tricked into leaving the safe family compound alone, in the middle of a gang war, to protect his sister Connie from her abusive husband. In reality, it is a trap set by the Barzini crime family, when Sonny is stopped at a tollbooth and shot dead.
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1 Nicky Santoro gets hit (Casino)
casino It is not usually as appreciated as good friends within Martin Scorsese’s filmography, but he certainly has the most brutal death in the gangster film genre. While Nicky isn’t the most lovable character, Joe Pesci is pretty hard to hate and suffers a horrible death at the hands of his superior in the mob. Nicky and his brother are taken to a cornfield for what they think is a normal meeting and are attacked. Nicky is held captive and forced to watch as his brother is beaten with a metal baseball bat in a gruesome and difficult-to-watch scene. Nicky is then beaten before they are buried alive to finish the job.