Capisce?

Have you seen these 10 incredible Mafia films?

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Mafia movies and TV shows have always been extremely popular, and for good reason: they expose the seedy underbelly of society, which is definitively a fascinating subject for us regular folks on this side of the law. With that in mind, we have selected some of our favorite Mafia and crime films to pay tribute to these 10 fictional criminal masterminds. Without further ado, here’s our list!

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We’ll start with what many consider the quintessential Mafia movie. Inspired by Mario Puzo’s 1969 bestseller, The Godfather is widely regarded as a masterpiece. From its superb acting to its equally stunning cinematography, few films have amassed a cult following quite like The Godfather.

The film explores the history of the Corleone family, focusing on patriarch Vito Corleone and his son and successor, Michael. The Godfather was revolutionary in its portrayal of the Mafia, depicting it as a sophisticated network with its own set of rules and traditions.

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Few people realize that Brian De Palma’s iconic 1983 film Scarface is actually a remake of an older movie. De Palma’s version, starring the legendary Al Pacino, was based on a 1932 film starring Paul Muni, which itself was adapted from a 1930 novel.

While the original was groundbreaking for its time, De Palma’s version remains the most well-known—and for good reason. Pacino delivers a riveting performance as the power-hungry Tony Montana, charting his meteoric rise and dramatic fall in the Miami underworld.

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Martin Scorsese is no stranger to Mafia films, having directed blockbusters like The Departed and The Irishman. However, his most iconic contribution to the genre is arguably his 1990 classic Goodfellas, considered by many to be an absolute masterpiece.

Based on Nicholas Pileggi’s nonfiction book Wiseguy, the film follows the true story of mobster Henry Hill. Goodfellas boasts an outstanding cast, including Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Lorraine Bracco, and Joe Pesci, who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his unforgettable performance.

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Quentin Tarantino’s debut film showcased the brilliance of this then-young promise. Made on a minimal budget, Reservoir Dogs is set primarily in an abandoned warehouse, where a group of bank robbers grapples with the fallout of a botched heist.

Much of what makes this film so memorable is its deep dive into the inner workings of organized crime—from the color-coded aliases adopted by the thieves (like "Mr. Orange" and "Mr. Blonde") to the growing unease and distrust among them.

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Is there a better antagonist for a Mafia movie than the most infamous gangster of all time? The Untouchables follows Prohibition agent Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) as he fights to take down criminal kingpin Al Capone, masterfully portrayed by Robert De Niro.

Loosely based on Ness’s real-life battle against Capone’s criminal empire in 1930s Chicago, this 1987 film received four Oscar nominations, with Sean Connery winning Best Supporting Actor.

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Michael Mann’s 1995 film Heat holds the distinction of featuring two of the crime genre’s most iconic actors: Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. The film pits their characters against each other, with Pacino playing a seasoned detective reluctantly hunting a professional thief portrayed by De Niro.

One of Heat’s greatest strengths is its compelling characters. Though clear rivals, Pacino and De Niro’s characters share a deep, mutual respect, adding layers of complexity to their conflict.

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While Denzel Washington is best known for his role as the corrupt detective Alonzo Harris in the 2001 crime thriller Training Day, his outstanding performance in the 2007 film American Gangster shouldn’t be overlooked.

Loosely based on the life of gangster Frank Lucas, portrayed by Washington, American Gangster follows Lucas’s rise to power and his battle against detective Richie Roberts, played by Russell Crowe.

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If Goodfellas has taught us anything, it’s that a Scorsese film starring Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro is a guaranteed blockbuster. The 1995 film Casino follows a gambling expert (De Niro) tasked with overseeing a Chicago casino run by a Mafia "made man" (Pesci).

Like The Godfather, one of this film’s greatest strengths is its detailed portrayal of the Mafia’s inner workings, from daily operations to internal struggles. Sharon Stone’s performance as hustler Ginger McKenna earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

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A Bronx Tale (1993) marks Robert De Niro’s directorial debut and is based on a play by actor Chazz Palminteri. The film follows Calogero, an Italian-American boy fascinated by the Mafia who idolizes a local crime boss, played by Palminteri himself.

A Bronx Tale does a fantastic job of showing Calogero’s internal struggle between the allure of wealth and power offered by the Mafia and the hardworking, honest life his father (De Niro) tries to instill in him.

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We’ll end this article with a film many believe to be solely responsible for completely revolutionizing the crime genre. Starring Hollywood legend James Cagney, The Public Enemy (1931) follows Tom Powers, a young man rising through Chicago’s criminal underbelly during Prohibition.

Loosely based on Al Capone’s life, the film was groundbreaking for its time. In 1998, The Public Enemy was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress.

Exploring the world

Who got to the Americas first? The unique journeys of 10 iconic explorers

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Nowadays, you can buy your ticket, take a plane, and fly almost anywhere in the world. But this was not always the case. Throughout history, some people have dedicated their lives to exploring unknown parts of the Earth, getting on big ships, and setting sail with little more than hopes and a few wild theories. Today, we're revisiting the journeys of 10 iconic explorers who changed the course of history, making huge contributions to culture, trade, and science. Let's start this adventure!

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Let's travel more than 1000 years into the past to talk about Leif Erikson, one of the earliest renowned explorers in history.

Erikson, a Norse born around 970 CE in what is now Iceland, is recognized as the first European to set foot on mainland America. That's right! Archaeological evidence suggests he had been here almost 500 years before Christopher Columbus. Impressive, isn't it?

In the 11th century, Erikson explored the coasts of North America and is thought to have established a Norse settlement in an area known as Vinland, which many historians believe was located in present-day Newfoundland, Canada.

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Do you remember what you were doing when you were 17? Most of us were in high school, but that was not the case for Marco Polo, who, at the age of 17, was starting an epic journey from Venice, Italy, to China!

Marco Polo's expedition to Asia began in the year 1271. Although trade had provided Europe with some knowledge about Asia, their understanding of "the East" was quite limited- at that time, Europeans weren't even aware of the existence of the Americas!- In this context, Marco Polo's journey was not only important but also innovative and risky.

Together with his father, he traveled overland along the Silk Road and reached the Chinese Empire in 1275. But that's not all: he spent 17 years there! You can read everything he saw, learned, met, and experienced there in the famous The Travels of Marco Polo.

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Sometimes, mistakes or unforeseen events end up bringing big changes. That's what happened when the famous Christopher Columbus reached the Caribbean coast, thinking he had arrived in Asia.

As you probably already know, the Genoese set sail from Spain in 1492 in search of a westbound route to Asia. However, a few months after setting sail, Columbus and his ships arrived not in Asia but in the Caribbean on October 12, 1492. Unaware of his amazing finding, Columbus made 3 more voyages to the "New World."

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The Age of Exploration wouldn't have been the same without the iconic Vasco da Gama. Born around 1460 in Portugal, he's famous for nothing less than being the first European to reach India by sea.

At that time, trade between Europe and India was only by land, with many intermediaries involved. Therefore, establishing a safe sea route for trade was a crucial achievement at the time.

Da Gama set sail from Lisbon, Portugal, in 1497. He skirted the coasts of Africa and successfully reached India in 1498. But this major feat didn't end there; da Gama made two more voyages in 1502 and 1524, expanding Portugal's power over the region.

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In 1497, another European set sail in search of Asia, but he ended up exploring the coasts of North America instead.

John Cabot was born in Venice as Giovanni Caboto around 1450. In 1497, he was sent by the English crown to seek a westbound route to reach Asia, but just like Columbus, he encountered America. He arrived in Newfoundland, Canada, without being fully aware of where he was, and he claimed part of present-day Canada and the United States for England.

Cabot is considered the first European to explore the coasts of North America since the Norse voyages, which marked the beginning of England's exploration and land claims in the New World.

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Ferdinand Magellan is a familiar name, right? He was born around 1480 in northern Portugal and would become one of the most famous explorers in history.

In 1519, he set sail from Spain towards the West in search of the "Spice Islands," which was the name for present-day Indonesia. Along the way, he discovered a passage connecting the Atlantic Ocean to another body of water that he named "The Peaceful Sea," known now as the Pacific Ocean. That passage would later take his name: the Strait of Magellan.

In 1521, he and his crew reached The Philippines. Although he lost his life there, the expedition continued and returned to Spain in 1522, completing the very first successful circumnavigation of the globe!

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More than 50 years after Magellan, Sir Francis Drake also completed the feat of circumnavigating the globe, becoming the first Englishman to achieve this.

He and his 5 ships began their voyage from Plymouth, England, in 1577. They crossed the Atlantic to what is now the east coast of Argentina. Drake traveled through South America, facing Spanish troops settled in the area.

In 1578, they were crossing the Strait of Magellan. But, before they reached the Pacific, a huge storm hit Drake's crew. Only his ship was able to make it through. With just one vessel, he sailed along the west coast of the Americas, reaching modern California to claim that territory for England. The voyage continued to the Philippines, then crossed the Indian Ocean, the coasts of Africa again, and finally returned to Plymouth in 1580.

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Undoubtedly one of the greatest explorers and navigators of the 18th century, James Cook was born in 1728 in Yorkshire, England. But Cook was not just an explorer; he was also an artist! From a young age, he developed skills in navigation and cartography, mapping large areas with incredible accuracy.

On the first of his major voyages, from 1768 to 1771, he traveled the South Pacific, becoming one of the first Europeans to circumnavigate New Zealand and make a detailed map of the entire region.

On a second voyage, from 1772 to 1775, he traveled South and crossed the Antarctic Circle! On his third and last voyage, from 1776 to 1779, he reached the Hawaiian Islands, making detailed maps of the area and contributing enormously to the geographic knowledge of the Earth and the Pacific Ocean, specifically.

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In 1803, the United States doubled the size of its territory thanks to what we know as the Louisiana Purchase. With so much new territory in our country, someone had to explore it properly. President Thomas Jefferson entrusted this job to Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, began in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1804. They traveled up the Missouri River, crossed the Rocky Mountains, and reached the Pacific Ocean! Then, they successfully returned to Missouri in 1806.

These two explorers traveled enormous distances and examined key areas in our territory, discovering new routes and thus helping to improve the country's understanding and knowledge of its lands.

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Our adventure has now reached the 20th century, specifically the year 1969. Since we had already explored almost every corner of the Earth, we humans decided to look up and go for interstellar conquests.

In those years, there was an explorer who, instead of setting sail on tumultuous seas, boarded a spacecraft to cross outer space and reach the Moon!

We're talking about the American Neil Armstrong, astronaut, engineer, and naval aviator. His most famous mission was Apollo 11, thanks to which he became the first human being to set foot on the Moon. You know: "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."