Have you got enough of violent thugs who engage in political corruption? Yes, Leonardo Di Caprio and Daniel Day-Lewis are unmatched in their spellbinding performances. Let’s watch some historical dramas that examine the unrest in early America. The nine best crime drama movies listed here that are most like Gangs of New York will keep you entertained.
1. The Age of Innocence (1993)
Director- Martin Scorsese
Newland Archer, a wealthy attorney, is engaged to May Welland, a charming socialite, in 1870s New York. It seems like the ideal pairing. But when May’s gorgeous cousin Countess Ellen Olenska, who is estranged from her violent husband, comes to town, Newland starts to doubt the nature of passion and love as he fervently pursues a connection with Ellen despite the fact that she has been shunned by Archer’s peers.
2. Once Upon A Time In America (1984)
Director- Sergio Leone
A long-running, epic story about the lives of a few Jewish gangsters in New York City. The story, which is primarily told in flashbacks and flashforwards, centres on small-time hood David “Noodles” Aaronson and his lifelong crime partners Max, Cockeye, and Patsy, as well as their friends, from their early years as children in the gritty Jewish community of New York City’s Lower East Side in the 1920s to the final years of Prohibition in the early 1930s through to the late 1960s, when an elderly Noodles makes a return to the city
3. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
Director- Francis Ford Coppola
Contrasting the lives of the Corleone father and son, this gripping sequel to “The Godfather” is fascinating. traces the issues facing teenage immigrant Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) in 1917’s Hell’s Kitchen and those facing Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) in 1958. Vito is exposed to a life of crime as Michael endures numerous setbacks. The Godfather trilogy is one of the best crime drama movies like ‘Gangs of New York’.
4. There Will Be Blood (2007)
Director- Paul Thomas Anderson
Daniel Plainview is an oil prospector in the first decades of the 20th century. He goes to Little Boston, California and starts purchasing land, starting with the Sunday farm, based on information Paul Sunday sold to him. He bribes the villagers into selling by offering to erect roads, schools, and churches because he wants to buy up all the land in the region. Of course, he has no plans to do that. His sole objective is to make money. Men die as a result of his activities, the villagers lose everything, and Plainview prospers. Even his adopted son H.W. eventually feels alienated in the course of his life because he makes so few friends and so many enemies.
5. Road To Perdition (2002)
Director- Sam Mendes
Currently, it is 1931. John Rooney, the criminal lord in southern Illinois, has Mike Sullivan on his payroll. Rooney’s paternal instincts for Sullivan are larger than for his violent and dangerous son and heir, Connor Rooney, who he adopted as an orphan. Michael, the eldest son of Sullivan, who is interested in learning more about his mysterious father, unintentionally sees a mob hit that is carried out by his father and Connor. Connor sees Michael as a loose end even when he is apprehended and sworn to secrecy. This makes Sullivan an enemy of the mob and puts Sullivan at conflict with Rooney, who is forced to support his son. Sullivan then takes steps to save his family and eliminate the danger.
6. The Untouchables (1987)
Director- Brian De Palma
Elliot Ness, a young Treasury Agent, is sent to Chicago with orders to bring Al Capone to justice. However, he quickly discovers that the task would not be simple because Capone has the police on his side. Jimmy Malone, a seasoned patrolman and likely the most honourable member of the force, is introduced to Ness, though. Malone declines his request for assistance, telling him that pursuing Capone would mean entering a state of war. They bring in George Stone, a cadet at the academy, and Oscar Wallace, a Treasury agent and aspiring accountant who wants to bring charges against Capone for tax evasion. Capone tries to catch them when they gain ground, but they remain impenetrable.
7. Tombstone (1993)
Director(s)- George P. Cosmatos, Kevin Jarre
Wyatt Earp relocates to Tombstone with his brothers and their spouses in order to establish a new life and leave his past as a lawman and gunslinger behind. Doc Holliday, a close friend of Wyatt’s, will also visit Tombstone. The Clantons are among the men who make up “The Cowboys,” a gang who essentially operate as though they are above the law. In spite of Wyatt’s concerns, his brother Virgil accepts the post of Marshall because he can’t stand the violence going on around him. They and The Cowboys will eventually face off against one other.
8. Public Enemies (2009)
Director- Michael Mann
As Public Enemy No. 1 in 1933, the fourth year of the Great Depression, bank robber John Dillinger defies the authorities with his gang. J. Edgar Hoover asks Congress for funding for the agency and assigns Agent Melvin Purvis to be in charge of the Chicago region. Melvin fails to catch Dillinger using technology, so Hoover orders the employment of harsh interrogation techniques, and the agents utilise torture, threats, and extortion to accomplish their goal. While this is happening, Melvin and his men stake out Billie Frechette in an effort to apprehend Dillinger, who has fallen in love with her.
9. Lawless (2012)
Director- John Hillcoat
Up in the highlands of Franklin County, Virginia, during the Great Depression, the three Bondurant brothers operate a bootlegging business. The brothers’ profits are what corrupt Special Deputy Charles Rakes is after. Their problems are made worse by the neighbourhood rivals who are interfering with their business. The brothers are able to secure a local monopoly thanks to Forrest’s noisy disobedience and Cricket’s skill with moonshine production. We watch Jack, who was initially the shy one, change into a cocky exhibitionist in his attempts to pursue Bertha, the off-limits preacher’s daughter, when Forrest is hurt and tension with Rakes rises. Jack was first the timid one.
