True crime has always been a favourite topic for filmmakers and cinema goers, with stories and characters so astounding you would have thought they were made up. One of these films is Black Mass starring Johnny Depp which reveals the infamous criminal career of the most violent mobster in history, James ‘Whitey’ Bulger. To celebrate the release of Black Mass on Blu-ray and DVD on March 21st and on Digital HD March 19, we take a look at a selection of films based on crime stories.
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Hollywood A-lister Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Frank Abagnale, a masterful con artist audaciously finding new ways to make money. Unsatisfied with his life he successfully poses as a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer all before his 19th birthday. Tom Hanks is the FBI agent assigned to his case and they embark in a game of cat and mouse.
American Gangster (2007)
In 1970s America, Detective Roberts (Russell Crowe) attempts to bring down the drug empire of real life criminal Frank Lucas, played by Denzel Washington. Lucas takes over as the number one drug importer in Manhattan when his mentor dies suddenly. Meanwhile Roberts is invited to head the investigation seeking out the leader of the dealers.
Zodiac (2007)
Based on the book with the same name by Robert Graysmith, Jake Gyllenhaal plays Graysmith who decided to play detective when he becomes obsessed with a mysterious killer who is only known as Zodiac. The serial killer communicated with police via cryptic letters and messages which drives Robert and the crime reporter, played by Robert Downey Jnr, crazy as they become obsessed with case and finding the killer.
Goodfellas (1990)
The film follows the rise and fall of Henry Hill (played by Ray Liotta), a mobster from New York who associated with the Lucchese crime family. The film follows Hill as a boy when he was fascinated by the mafia so he worked his way up in to the family from a young age. Hill and his two friends Jimmy (Robert De Niro) and Tommy (Joe Pesci) graduate from petty crime to violent murders in the Scorsese adaptation.
Black Mass (2015)
It follows the true story of James ‘Whitey’ Bulger (Johnny Depp), who reluctantly forms an alliance with the FBI thanks to his brother (Benedict Cumberbatch) being a state senator and his childhood friend (Joel Edgerton) being on the force. He becomes an FBI informant in the hopes of taking down a mafia in Boston who is invading his turf.
BLACK MASS IS OUT ON BLU-RAY AND DVD MARCH 21 AND ON DIGITAL HD MARCH 19
