# Are there any crime dramas (movie or TV) since 1990 that rival The Godfather or Goodfellas?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-crime-dramas-movie-or-tv-since-1990-that-rival-the-godfather-or-goodfellas/578282
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [April 13, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-crime-dramas-movie-or-tv-since-1990-that-rival-the-godfather-or-goodfellas/578282 "2011-04-13T21:39:47Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-crime-dramas-movie-or-tv-since-1990-that-rival-the-godfather-or-goodfellas/578282/1 "2011-04-13T21:39:47Z")
In the recent thread [Are there literally people who think Goodfellas is as good as The Godfather](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=604557) I replied with [this post.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=13684451&postcount=3)
I make no claim to having seen every Crime Drama since [Goodfellas (1990)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099685/) so I’d like to get opinions of what recent movie or show in that genre could be considered legitimate competition.
Ideas?
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### Author:  [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-crime-dramas-movie-or-tv-since-1990-that-rival-the-godfather-or-goodfellas/578282/2 "2011-04-13T21:46:42Z")
Aside from the HBO television series _The Sorpanos_, I can’t think of any movie or television show that has had as big an impact on movies or popular culture. Scarface maybe.
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### Author:  [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-crime-dramas-movie-or-tv-since-1990-that-rival-the-godfather-or-goodfellas/578282/3 "2011-04-13T21:50:00Z")
_The Sopranos_ and _Boardwalk Empire_ are definite contenders.
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### Author:  [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-crime-dramas-movie-or-tv-since-1990-that-rival-the-godfather-or-goodfellas/578282/4 "2011-04-13T21:56:26Z")
Not directly mob related by certainly crime dramas - _The Wire_ and _Breaking Bad_ are both good value.
For some non-US crime try the Australian _Underbelly_ series. I found season 2 the best (the Mr Asia syndicate in the 1970s) but season 1 is also good, Season three left me cold though. All based (somewhat liberally) on true stories.
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### Author:  [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2011, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-crime-dramas-movie-or-tv-since-1990-that-rival-the-godfather-or-goodfellas/578282/5 "2011-04-13T21:57:27Z")
Does _The Wire_ count? It’s nominally a police procedural, but it spends almost as much time with the various criminal factions.
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### Author:  [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-crime-dramas-movie-or-tv-since-1990-that-rival-the-godfather-or-goodfellas/578282/6 "2011-04-13T22:00:11Z")
Not that it’s really a contender, but [Road to Perdition (2002)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0257044/) is showing up in the look-ahead on one of the premium channels this week and next. A decent movie.
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### Author:  [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-crime-dramas-movie-or-tv-since-1990-that-rival-the-godfather-or-goodfellas/578282/7 "2011-04-13T22:03:58Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#):
>
> Does _The Wire_ count? It’s nominally a police procedural, but it spends almost as much time with the various criminal factions.
It damn sure counts for me! Whether it can be legitimately compared is another issue. I’d say the focus on the criminal element is comparable, but the simultaneous focus on the other factions makes it feel like another genre – at least to me.
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### Author:  [@Tarwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarwater)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2011, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-crime-dramas-movie-or-tv-since-1990-that-rival-the-godfather-or-goodfellas/578282/8 "2011-04-13T22:08:29Z")
It’s not an American film, but [A Prophet](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1213205-prophet/) is one of the best movies of the past decade, in addition to being a very well-made crime genre film. Another crime film you might want to check out is [Gomorrah](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gomorrah/). It doesn’t rival The Godfather or Goodfellas or A Prophet, but it’s a good film nonetheless.
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### Author:  [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-crime-dramas-movie-or-tv-since-1990-that-rival-the-godfather-or-goodfellas/578282/9 "2011-04-13T22:13:22Z")
Goodfellas is probably the best of the genre.
Blow [Blow (film) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blow_%28film%29) was a very good film.
I liked Gomorrah [Gomorrah (film) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomorrah_%28film%29), an Italian film about organized crime in Naples.
John Boorman’s The General, [The General (1998 film) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_General_%281998_film%29) is an interesting film I watched recently about gangsters in Dublin.
I don’t think any of them quite measure up to Goodfellas though.
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### Author:  [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crown_Prince_of_Irony)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-crime-dramas-movie-or-tv-since-1990-that-rival-the-godfather-or-goodfellas/578282/10 "2011-04-13T22:21:33Z")
The TV show _Homicide: Life on the Street_ was superior crime-related storytelling - based on a book by David Simon, who went on to create _The Wire_.
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### Author:  [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2011, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-crime-dramas-movie-or-tv-since-1990-that-rival-the-godfather-or-goodfellas/578282/11 "2011-04-13T22:28:17Z")
> [@Odesio](#):
>
> Aside from the HBO television series _The Sorpanos_, I can’t think of any movie or television show that has had as big an impact on movies or popular culture. Scarface maybe.
_Pulp Fiction_?
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### Author:  [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2011, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-crime-dramas-movie-or-tv-since-1990-that-rival-the-godfather-or-goodfellas/578282/12 "2011-04-13T22:37:28Z")
LA Confidential (1997)
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### Author:  [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2011, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-crime-dramas-movie-or-tv-since-1990-that-rival-the-godfather-or-goodfellas/578282/13 "2011-04-13T22:39:57Z")
I would check out the first two Infernal Affairs movies (The third just…doesn’t exist). They’re incredible.
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### Author:  [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2011, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-crime-dramas-movie-or-tv-since-1990-that-rival-the-godfather-or-goodfellas/578282/14 "2011-04-13T22:42:40Z")
> [@Miller](#):
>
> _Pulp Fiction_?
And _Reservoir Dogs._
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2011, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-crime-dramas-movie-or-tv-since-1990-that-rival-the-godfather-or-goodfellas/578282/15 "2011-04-13T22:51:50Z")
It has its flaws, and plenty of people don’t like it, but _Gangs of New York_ is, IMHO, one of the best crime movies ever made, and one of Scorcese’s top three or four films. Daniel Day Lewis’s performance alone makes it a classic.
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### Author:  [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2011, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-crime-dramas-movie-or-tv-since-1990-that-rival-the-godfather-or-goodfellas/578282/16 "2011-04-13T22:53:46Z")
A couple of British films to consider, even if they don’t challenge the two title films convincingly:
> **[Sexy Beast (2000) ⭐ 7.3 | Crime, Drama, Thriller](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0203119/)**
>
> 1h 29m | R
Sexy Beast (2000)
> **[Croupier (1998) ⭐ 7.0 | Crime, Drama](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0159382/)**
>
> 1h 34m | Not Rated
Croupier (1998)
There are some other “for fun” British efforts that are definitely to be watched.
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### Author:  [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-crime-dramas-movie-or-tv-since-1990-that-rival-the-godfather-or-goodfellas/578282/17 "2011-04-13T22:55:44Z")
> [@Alessan](#):
>
> It has its flaws, and plenty of people don’t like it, but _Gangs of New York_ is, IMHO, one of the best crime movies ever made, and one of Scorcese’s top three or four films. Daniel Day Lewis’s performance alone makes it a classic.
While we’re at it, let’s not ignore [The Departed (2006)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0407887/)
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### Author:  [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2011, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-crime-dramas-movie-or-tv-since-1990-that-rival-the-godfather-or-goodfellas/578282/18 "2011-04-13T23:02:34Z")
I enjoyed [Casino (1995)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112641/).
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### Author:  [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2011, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-crime-dramas-movie-or-tv-since-1990-that-rival-the-godfather-or-goodfellas/578282/19 "2011-04-13T23:09:31Z")
**Miller’s Crossing** is a great movie
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### Author:  [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-crime-dramas-movie-or-tv-since-1990-that-rival-the-godfather-or-goodfellas/578282/20 "2011-04-13T23:10:35Z")
Both of them just slip under the wire (1990) but I prefer _Miller’s Crossing_ and _Twin Peaks_.
Obviously both are more abstract, less literal, than the films mentioned in the OP, but that suits my tastes. And Twin Peaks fizzled out after half a season…
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-crime-dramas-movie-or-tv-since-1990-that-rival-the-godfather-or-goodfellas/578282.md?page=2)