Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
In the fifth century Saint Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland and drove the snakes out of the Emerald Isle. Fifteen centuries later we celebrate his memory with green milkshakes, green beer, and, if you mix the two, green vomit. Oh yeah, and parades. They’ve been celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in America since the 1700s and as the saying goes; everyone’s a little Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. Well, except for Italians and the Scottish, that is.
Before becoming presidents and late night talk show hosts, the Irish faced prejudice as one of America’s first immigrant groups. And like others denied the benefits of “The American Dream,” crime offered opportunities for advancement. Fortunately, Americans love a good gangster. From fancifully named 1800s hooligans The Dead Rabbits to 1980s Boston crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger, Irish-American gangsters have captivated our imagination, and make for good movie subjects. If you want to skip the bars this St. Patrick’s Day, hunker down and stream these Irish gangster dramas and avoid getting anything gross on the bottom of your shoe.
'Gangs Of New York' (2002)
Martin Scorsese’s historical drama travels back to the Civil War, when oddly dressed ruffians fought pitched battles as members of the Dead Rabbits and Bowery Boy gangs. It’s visually stunning and, up until the halfway point, is an arresting portrait of 1800s New York City street theater. Sadly, it runs out of gas towards the end as it tries to make sense of the Draft Riots of 1863. Still, it’s worth watching once and the acting is top notch, especially Daniel Day-Lewis’ portrayal as Nativist gang leader Bill “The Butcher” Cutting.
(Watch it now on Netflix)
'Miller's Crossing' (1990)
Maybe the best movie on this list, the Coen brothers take on a Prohibition-era gangster tale features Gabriel Byrne as Tom Reagan, right hand man of Irish mobster and political boss Leo O’Bannon, who goes to war with Mafioso Johnny Caspar. As to be expected from any Coen brothers film, it is well-written, funny, a little weird and gorgeous to look at.
(Rent it now on Amazon Video)
'The Irish Mob' (2008)
Over the course of six episodes, this Irish documentary series chronicles the most infamous Irish-American mobsters of the 20th century. There’s roaring ’20s era Cotton Club kingpin Owney “The Killer” Madden, drug-crazed ‘70s crime gang The Westies, Boston’s Whitey Bulger, and Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran – the subject of Martin Scorsese’s upcoming Netflix film, among others. The show uses interviews with experts and associates, archival footage and dramatic recreations to paint an entertaining history of gangsters whose outsize personalities overcame their dwindling criminal influence.
(Watch it now on Netflix)
'The Departed' (2006)
Replete with bad New England accents, regional clichés, and a soundtrack featuring The Dropkick Murphys, this Martin Scorsese movie is guilty of kicking off both the modern wave of Irish gangster films as well as the fetish for Boston crime dramas. Matt Damon plays Colin Sullivan, a criminal plant inside the Boston PD who’s trying to ferret out undercover cop Billy Costigan, overplayed by Leonardo DiCaprio, while both compete for the approval of Jack Nicholson as criminal father figure and Whitey Bulger stand-in Frank Costello. Despite a clumsy finish, the action is well done, the plot twists surprising, Nicholson is excellent, and at least 1/3 of the accents are from actual Massachusetts natives.
'Brotherhood' (2006)
Brotherhood (2006)
Borrowing it’s premise from Boston’s real life Bulger brothers, this mid-2000s Showtime series featured Australian actor Jason Clarke as Rhode Island politician Tommy Caffee and Englishman Jason Isaacs as his criminal brother, Michael. The New England accents are possibly worse than those in The Departed, and over the course of its three seasons various plotlines disappear quicker than a shot of Jameson’s, but its still amazing watching Harry Potter‘s Lucius Malfoy portray a quick-tempered townie scumbag.
'Kill The Irishman' (2011)
With a bad accent and a worse hairpiece, this film features British actor Ray Stevenson as Cleveland area Irish-American gangster Danny “The Irishman” Greene, who fought a one-man war with the city’s Mafia before being blown to smithereens in a car bomb. The film is long on hoary ethnic stereotypes and hyperbole and short on nuance and character development, but has a surprisingly good cast and the requisite amount of violence to hold your attention for an hour and 40 minutes.
(Watch it now on Hulu)
'Black Mass' (2015)
Overwrought and unoriginal, this biopic tackles the story of real-life Irish-American crime boss Whitey Bulger, who ruled the Boston underworld with help from the F.B.I. and his younger brother, Massachusetts Representative Billy Bulger. Recycling clichés from gangster movies, Boston crime dramas and Boston gangster crime dramas, it fails to do justice to one of the most fascinating stories in American criminal history, and is done no favors by Johnny Depp’s hammy portrayal of Bulger and bad prosthetic makeup which makes him look a live action version of Gollum from The Lord Of The Rings.
(Rent it now on Amazon Video)
'Road To Perdition'
Based on the graphic novel of the same name, this Depression-era tale of revenge stars Tom Hanks, who wreaks havoc on his Irish-American crime family after they kill his wife and one of his sons. It’s main problem is the suspension of disbelief required to accept the man Esquire magazine called “America’s Dad” as a bloody minded gangster, and it can’t decide if it’s a crime drama or a Father – Son road movie, but it’s not bad by any stretch.
(Rent it now on Amazon Video)
'Goodfellas'
OK, OK, I know this Martin Scorsese epic is one the greatest Mafia movies ever made, but hear me out, main character Henry Hill can never become a “made member” of La Cosa Nostra, why? Because he’s half-Irish. Who does he make his bones with in the world of organized crime? Irish-American gangster James “Jimmy the Gent” Conway, who was based on real-life tough guy Jimmy Burke. It’s as much about Irish-American gangsters as it is Italian-Americans. Not buying it? Alright, let’s change the subject before I get whacked.
'State Of Grace' (1990)
While not available anywhere for streaming, I would be remiss to leave out this heavily stylized melodrama, starring Sean Penn and Gary Oldman as Irish-American wise guys in Hell’s Kitchen. Inspired by infamous New York crime gang The Westies, there’s plenty of blue collar angst to go around and meditations on the time-honored themes of sin, family, honor and betrayal. Not great but not terrible, and certainly worth watching, though try not to get distracted by Oldman’s ridiculous version of New Yorkese and unpleasantly omnipresent greasy hair.
Benjamin H. Smith is a New York based writer, producer and musician who will celebrate this St. Patrick’s Day as hard as any person who’s 3/16ths Irish would. Follow him on Twitter:@BHSmithNYC.
