De Niro’s storied career, he’s appeared in a wide variety of genres. He’s been in great comedies like Meet the Parents, great war movies like The Deer Hunter, and great action movies like Midnight Run.
But the genre that De Niro is most associated with is crime. He’s been in crime movies that have nothing to do with the mafia, like Jackie Brown and American Hustle. But since he’s an Italian-American A-lister and a frequent collaborator of Martin Scorsese, he’s often cast as mobsters, resulting in both timeless gems like The Godfather Part II and bitter disappointments like Analyze That.
13 The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight
Comedic Crime Chaos
The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight
- Release Date
- December 22, 1971
- Runtime
- 96 minutes
- Director
- James Goldstone
Cast
Jerry OrbachKid Sally
Leigh Taylor-YoungAngela
WHERE TO WATCH
The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight is a 1971 crime comedy following a Brooklyn mobster and his incompetent gang as they bumble through their attempts to eliminate their rivals.
- Writers
- Waldo Salt
De Niro scored one of his earliest lead roles in the gangster comedy The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight. The movie attempts to tell the life story of mobster Joe Gallo as an absurdist comedy, but James Goldstone’s direction is too heavy-handed for the humor to land. The performances are too broad and the gags are overplayed.
12 Analyze That
Therapy and Turf Wars
Analyze That
- Release Date
- December 6, 2002
- Runtime
- 96 minutes
- Director
- Harold Ramis
Cast
Billy Crystal
-
Joe Viterelli
WHERE TO WATCH
Sequels to classic comedies rarely live up to their predecessors, because a joke is never as funny the second time, and that’s the case with Analyze That. Analyze That continues mob boss Paul Vitti’s psychiatric treatment by Dr. Ben Sobel, but there wasn’t much comedic mileage left in that one-joke premise. De Niro’s chemistry with Billy Crystal is just as great the second time around, but there are far fewer laughs.
11 Mad Dog And Glory
Romantic Mob Entanglements
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Mad Dog and Glory
- Release Date
- March 5, 1993
- Runtime
- 96 minutes
- Director
- John McNaughton
Cast
-
Wayne "Mad Dog" Dobie
Glory
Frank Milo
David CarusoMike
WHERE TO WATCH
Mad Dog and Glory is a 1993 film that follows Wayne Dobie, a reserved police officer nicknamed "Mad Dog," who rescues crime boss Frank Milo. In gratitude, Milo offers him a week with Glory, a waitress. Despite initial discomfort, Wayne and Glory develop feelings for each other, leading to complications.
De Niro’s unlikely team-up with Bill Murray in Mad Dog and Glory is marked by casting against type. De Niro plays the timid Chicago detective who’s never drawn his gun, while Murray plays the notorious local gangster.
Robert De Niro's New Mafia Movie Has Critics & Audiences Divided On Rotten Tomatoes
Robert De Niro's new Mafia movie is dividing critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes following its theatrical release this past weekend.
When the detective unwittingly saves the gangster’s life, the gangster offers the detective the “personal services” of his moll, played by Uma Thurman, as an unconventional thank-you gift. Mad Dog and Glory works surprisingly well as an oddball romcom, even if the casting isn’t always convincing.
10 The Alto Knights
Period Crime Drama
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The Alto Knights
- Release Date
- April 21, 2025
- Runtime
- 120 Minutes
- Director
- Barry Levinson
- Writers
- Nicholas Pileggi
- Producers
- Irwin Winkler, Jason Sosnoff, Charles Winkler, David Winkler, Mike Drake, Barry Levinson
Cast
-
Vito Genovese / Frank Costello
Debra MessingBobbie Costello
The Alto Knights depicts the rivalry between two infamous New York crime bosses, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese. Formerly close allies, their friendship unravels due to jealousy and betrayal, igniting a violent power struggle. Their conflict not only alters the dynamics of the Mafia but also leaves a lasting impact on American history at large.
De Niro’s latest gangster vehicle, The Alto Knights, casts him in two roles as rival mob bosses Frank Costello and Vito Genovese. Although there’s no dramatic reason for De Niro to play both parts, he nails these two characters — especially Vito, who De Niro plays as a hot-tempered Junior Soprano-esque curmudgeon.
Still, as far as Scorsese imitators go, it’s a very entertaining little gangster movie.
The Alto Knights is essentially Scorsese-lite, borrowing all the stylistic hallmarks of Scorsese’s crime films without replicating the depth or raw honesty. Still, as far as Scorsese imitators go, it’s a very entertaining little gangster movie.
9 Analyze This
Psychological Mob Comedy
The sequel may have been a bridge too far, but Analyze This still holds up as a comedy classic. De Niro and Crystal share a hilarious on-screen dynamic as a ruthless mafioso and his put-upon therapist. The script is full of great gags, courtesy of Ghostbusters’ Harold Ramis, but the character work is surprisingly strong, too, thanks to the contributions of legendary playwright Kenneth Lonergan. Analyze This is a prime example of a comedy that fulfills the potential of its juicy high-concept premise.
8 The Untouchables
Prohibition Era Showdown
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The Untouchables
- Release Date
- June 3, 1987
- Runtime
- 1h 59m
- Director
- Brian De Palma
WHERE TO WATCH
The Untouchables, directed by Brian De Palma, is a crime drama set during Prohibition-era Chicago. The film stars Kevin Costner as Eliot Ness, a federal agent determined to bring down the notorious gangster Al Capone, portrayed by Robert De Niro. Alongside Sean Connery as seasoned officer Jim Malone, Ness forms an elite team to combat organized crime, focusing on the legal strategy to dismantle Capone's empire.
- Writers
- David Mamet
Long after he got his start in Brian De Palma’s early experimental comedies, De Niro reunited with the director to play Al Capone to Kevin Costner’s Eliot Ness in the crime epic The Untouchables. De Palma’s dramatization of the story deviates wildly from the real events, but it delivers some of the genre’s most iconic moments, like Capone savagely beating a lieutenant with a baseball bat. The Untouchables might not be the most accurate gangster movie of De Niro’s career, but it’s one of the most thrilling.
7 Mean Streets
Early Urban Grit
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Mean Streets
- Release Date
- October 14, 1973
- Runtime
- 112 Minutes
- Director
- Martin Scorsese
Cast
-
Harvey Keitel
WHERE TO WATCH
Mean Streets is a crime drama directed by Martin Scorsese, following the lives of small-time criminals in New York City's Little Italy. Starring Harvey Keitel as Charlie and Robert De Niro as the reckless Johnny Boy, the film explores themes of guilt, redemption, and the harsh realities of street life. Mean Streets is noted for its gritty portrayal of urban corruption and the dilemmas faced by those entangled in it.
De Niro’s first of many collaborations with Martin Scorsese, Mean Streets, is a character-driven two-hander about a young mafioso named Charlie, played by Harvey Keitel, trying to keep his reckless friend Johnny Boy under control in Little Italy.
De Niro turns in a gleefully sadistic performance as Johnny Boy, stealing every scene he’s in, and Keitel is a great deadpan foil. Scorsese and De Niro’s later gangster movies would get much leaner and more ambitious, but Mean Streets perfectly introduced their uniquely authentic take on the genre.
6 A Bronx Tale
Neighborhood Loyalty and Lessons
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A Bronx Tale
- Release Date
- October 1, 1993
- Runtime
- 121 Minutes
- Director
- Robert De Niro
Cast
-
Chazz Palminteri
WHERE TO WATCH
A Bronx Tale is a coming-of-age drama set in the 1960s Bronx and directed by Robert De Niro. The film explores the life of a young boy named Calogero who is torn between the values of his hardworking father and the allure of a charismatic mob boss. Starring Robert De Niro and Chazz Palminteri, it delves into themes of loyalty, family, and the complexities of moral choices.
De Niro’s directorial debut, A Bronx Tale, is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story about a young Italian-American man torn between the working-class values of his father and the glamorous lifestyle of a mob boss who takes him under his wing. In the director’s chair, De Niro manages to evoke a wide range of emotions; it has funny moments, heartbreaking moments, and rage-inducing moments. Chazz Palminteri’s semi-autobiographical script, based on his own one-man show, makes A Bronx Tale much more personal than the average gangster movie.
5 Casino
Vegas Vice and Violence
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Casino
- Release Date
- November 22, 1995
- Runtime
- 179 minutes
- Director
- Martin Scorsese
Cast
-
Sam "Ace" Rothstein
Sharon StoneGinger McKenna
WHERE TO WATCH
Casino, directed by Martin Scorsese, follows Sam "Ace" Rothstein as he navigates the challenges of managing the Tangiers Casino in 1970s Las Vegas. As Rothstein contends with complications from his enforcer Nicky Santoro, wife Ginger, and various external pressures, he faces mounting personal and professional risks.
Casino loses some points for being a stylistic rehash of Goodfellas, copying its cinematic approach to lesser effect. But it’s still a spectacular crime epic in its own right.
De Niro’s fraught on-screen dynamic with a career-best Sharon Stone is the highlight of the movie.
This one takes Scorsese to Las Vegas to examine the illicit ins and outs of the gambling industry, which he uses to tell another cautionary tale of a gangster’s rise and fall in organized crime. De Niro’s fraught on-screen dynamic with a career-best Sharon Stone is the highlight of the movie.
4 Once Upon A Time In America
Epic Gangster Saga
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Once Upon a Time in America
- Release Date
- June 1, 1984
- Runtime
- 229 Minutes
- Director
- Sergio Leone
Cast
-
James Woods
WHERE TO WATCH
Once Upon a Time in America tells the story of a group of Jewish gangsters in New York City over several decades, from their youth in the 1920s to their final days in the 1960s. Robert De Niro and James Woods star in the 1984 crime drama directed by Sergio Leone.
Spaghetti western pioneer Sergio Leone finally managed to realize his long-gestating ion project as his final film. Once Upon a Time in America chronicles the lives of two Jewish gangsters, played by De Niro and James Woods, as they rise through New York’s criminal underworld. Clocking in at nearly four hours, Once Upon a Time in America isn’t as tight as Leone’s previous films — there are plenty of flaws in its disted pacing and unfocused narrative — but it’s an impressive artistic achievement nonetheless.
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