TOP 10 TV & MOVIE GANGSTERS ~ WRITTEN BY: CRAIG SHELTON ~ 6-26-2013

TOP 10 TV & MOVIE GANGSTERS
WRITTEN BY: CRAIG SHELTON
6-26-2013

After the recent death of James Gandolfini, the actor who most famously portrayed Tony Soprano on the HBO series "The Sopranos" I began to think about television and movie gangster productions. So let the debate begin.

#1. TONY MONTANA ~ "SCARFACE"

#2. TONY SOPRANO ~ "THE SOPRANOS"

#3. SANTANA ~ "AMERICAN ME"

#4. FRANK LUCAS ~ "AMERICAN GANGSTER"

#5. NICKY BARNES ~ "MR. UNTOUCHABLE"

#6. JIMMY CONWAY ~ "GOODFELLAS"

#7. MARLOW ~ "THE WIRE"

#8. JULES WINNFIELD ~ "PULP FICTION"

#9. FRANK WHITE ~ "KING OF NEW YORK"

#10. DOE BOY ~ "BOYZ IN THE HOOD"

Sorry to you Sopranos and The Wire fans, but NO Omar, and NO

Vito. Look folks, its one thing to get gang raped in the penitentiary like the Edward James Olmos character Santana did in AMERICAN ME, but it's an entirely different thing to go out and seek back end BADDA BING! 

That ain't gangsta baby! #GangstaCardRescinded 

I know there are some that will dispute the Nicky Barnes ranking, arguing a documentary should not be included, to which I disagree obviously. Films like American Gangsta, Goodfellas, and American Me, all are based on true stories. In fact, the Nicky Barnes character was prominently featured in the American Gangster film with Cuba Gooding Jr. being cast as Nicky Barnes. For those who have yet to view "Mr. Untouchable" the Nicky Barnes story, I provided a link below:

Charter HMW member and contributer Mike Ganis aka Mike In D.A. read my rankings and responded with the following comments:

Craig,

Some gangsters you might have overlooked and who deserve some consideration for the Top 10:

Michael Corleone belongs on the list from the Godfather

Trilogy. He belongs not because he is as bad as the others, but because he is cold-hearted. He doesn't have violent outbursts like Joe Pesci or is not a wacko like Mr. Blonde in "Reservoir Dogs", but because he's calculating and ruthless. He's like you. He won't kill you after you insulted him. He would wait for the right moment. 

Mike

Here are others Mike suggested I consider:

Tommy De Vito (Pesci) -Goodfellas

Keyser Soze from "The Usual Suspects"

DeNiro and Pesci in "Casino"

Ving Rhames (Marcellus Wallace) in "Pulp Fiction"

DeNiro (Capone) in "The Untouchables".

Michael Madson (Vic Vega aka "Mr. Blonde") in "Reservoir Dogs"

Bill "The Butcher" Cutting (Daniel Day Lewis) in "Gangs of New York"

You decide and leave me your thought here on the blog, or Facebook/Twitter.

TWITTER: @CraigSheltonHMW 

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