We all secretly love daydreaming about the bad guys in movies, don’t we? Especially when the films have a mafia atmosphere, it’s hard to resist getting excited and captivated by their charm and allure.
Interestingly, the movie industry has found that telling the stories of villains is really appealing, no matter if they’re big-time crooks or infamous killers.
In the mafia world, alliances are fragile, enemies are abundant, and it’s hard to tell who is truly playing who. And oh, the MUSIC; we all have to agree that mafia movies contain the best pulse-wrenching music.
So wear your Ray-Bans, witness some of the best underworld dramas, and prepare to be whacked with the best mafia movies on Hulu. I hope you all know that Hulu is exclusive to the US, meaning a VPN subscription is necessary to access Hulu from anywhere else.
The Godfather (1972)
| Stars: | Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, James Caan |
|---|---|
| Director: | Francis Ford Coppola |
| Writer: | Francis Ford Coppola, Mario Puzo |
| Genre | Crime, Drama |
| IMDb: | 9.2/10 |
| Runtime: | 2h 55m |
No one can beat the class Al Pacino has when it comes to mafia movies. He’s irresistible, magnetic, and, to put it simply, mesmerizing.
The Godfather is a masterpiece and the greatest mafia film cinema has ever made. The movie follows the story of the Corleone family, a formidable mafia family that rules New York City.
Don Vito, the family patriarch, intends to pass on his criminal empire to his son Michael, but the family is in danger due to police and rival gang attacks.
A prominent theme of The Godfather is the idea of power and its potentially corrupting effect on people and establishments. The Godfather impacted every mafia film and television series that came after it, whether through cinematography, dialogues, or the overall emphasis on “family business.”
Read More: Twists and Turns: 9 Mind-Bending Mystery Movies on Netflix
Casino (1995)
| Stars: | Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone |
|---|---|
| Director: | Martin Scorsese |
| Writer: | Martin Scorsese, Nicholas Pileggi |
| Genre | Crime, Drama |
| IMDb: | 8.2/10 |
| Runtime: | 2h 58m |
Do you know the rules of Casino? As Ace Rothstein says, “The longer they play, the more they lose. In the end, we get it all.”
Casino is a thorough look at Las Vegas gambling from the 1970s through the 1980s, a time of extreme organized crime. Despite being long, the movie keeps viewers interested and tense the entire time by exposing the shady side of the industry behind all the glamour.
The film is rife with crime and bloodshed with the cruel and unsympathetic yet well-developed characters.
Heat (1995)
| Stars: | Al Pacino, Val Kilmer, Robert De Niro |
|---|---|
| Director: | Micheal Mann |
| Writer: | Micheal Mann |
| Genre | Action, Crime, Drama |
| IMDb: | 8.3/10 |
| Runtime: | 2h 50m |
With the incredible performances of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, Heat is recognized as one of the most influential movies and has inspired dozens of other works.
Heat centers on the life of a gang of professional bank robbers led by Neil McCauley and the devoted LAPD officer Vincent Hanna, who is out to stop them. The distinction between legality and criminality grows hazier as the two men play a game of cat and mouse.
The movie is renowned for its gripping action scenes and realistic depiction of crime.
Read More: The Top 9 Gangster Movies on Hulu in 2023
Road to Perdition (2002)
| Stars | Tyler Hoechlin, Tom Hanks, Rob Maxey |
|---|---|
| Director | Sam Mendes |
| Writer | David Self, Max Allan Collins, Richard Piers Rayner |
| Genre | Crime, Drama, Thriller |
| IMDb | 7.7/10 |
| Runtime | 1h 57m |
“This isn’t vengeance. Revenge is a dish best served cold. This is punishment.” This iconic line of Tom Hanks’s Road to Perdition shows a darker portrayal, quite different from the actor’s benign persona.
Mob enforcer Michael Sullivan, who is planning retaliation against those responsible for his family’s murder, flees with his surviving kid. The movie then tells a heartwarming father-and-son tale as Sullivan tries to balance his violent tendencies and his wish to prevent his kid from continuing in his footsteps.
Road to Perdition, based on the same-titled graphic novel, uses stunning photography and speech to convey its story in the movie and is one of the best mafia movies on Hulu.
Gangs of New York (2002)
| Stars | Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio |
|---|---|
| Director | Martin Scorsese |
| Writer | Steven Zaillian, Kenneth Lonergan, Jay Cocks |
| Genre | Crime, Drama |
| IMDb | 7.5/10 |
| Runtime | 2h 47m |
Gangs of New York is set in 1863, at a period when an Irish immigrant group is staging a protest against the danger of conscription, and a long-running Catholic-Protestant animosity explodes into bloodshed.
Years after his father was murdered, Amsterdam Vallon returns to the Five Points of America to get revenge on Bill the Butcher, the insane gangland boss.
Vallon battles to avenge the Butcher and bring peace back to the region with a brand-new army and an eager pickpocket.
The movie features the beginnings of New York City during the Civil War when it was only “a furnace where a city might be forged” rather than a fully developed city.
Read More: The Top 21 Prison Movies on Netflix
American Gangster (2007)
| Stars | Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Denzel Washington |
|---|---|
| Director | Ridley Scott |
| Writer | Steven Zaillian, Mark Jacobson |
| Genre | Biography, Crime, Drama |
| IMDb | 7.8/10 |
| Runtime | 2h 37m |
American Gangster is a 2007 biographical crime film. The movie is partially inspired by the criminal life of Frank Lucas, a mobster from La Grange, North Carolina, who entered the country illegally aboard US military aircraft during the Vietnam War and was eventually apprehended by a task team headed by Newark Detective Richie Roberts.
American Gangster narrates the parallel stories of Harlem criminal lord Frank Lucas and struggling New Jersey detective Richie Roberts. Their stories intersect as Roberts attempts to bring down Lucas, who has amassed a fortune via gambling and illegal drug use.
In exchange for a reduced sentence, Roberts promises to provide a list of dishonest police officers and offshore bank accounts. In 1991, Lucas signed the agreement and was set free.
Red (2010)
| Stars | Morgan Freeman, Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren |
| Director | Robert Schwentke |
| Writer | Warren Ellis, Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber |
| Genre | Action, Comedy, Crime |
| IMDb | 7.0/10 |
| Runtime: | 1h 51m |
Red is an American action comedy movie from 2010 partially inspired by the same-titled limited series from DC Comics. Red as a color has nothing to do with the movie Red and stands for Retired Extremely Dangerous.
Frank Moses, a former black operations officer, discovers that he is under attack from an assassin. In an attempt to protect himself, he gets in touch with his old team to track out the guy who has vowed to kill him.
Read More: Top 9 Denzel Washington Movies on Netflix
American Dream/American Knightmare (2018)
| Stars | Antoine Fuqua, Suge Knight |
|---|---|
| Director | Antoine Fuqua |
| Genre | Documentary |
| IMDb | 6.0/10 |
| Runtime | 1h 25m |
American Dream/American Knightmare explores the life and career of gangsta rap producer and co-founder of Death Row Records, Suge Knight. The movie features interviews Fuqua had with Knight in December 2011 and November 2012, during which Knight describes how everything started and ended.
Fuqua makes an extremely tough attempt: getting Suge to answer questions straight without deviating into any Great Man digression he’d like to discuss.
Paradise City (2022)
| Stars | Carrie Bernans, Bruce Willis, John Travolta |
|---|---|
| Director | Chuck Russell |
| Writer | Chuck Russell, Edward Drake, Corey Large |
| Genre | Action, Thriller |
| IMDb | 3.7/10 |
| Runtime | 1h 32m |
The criminal thriller Paradise City, which takes place in Los Angeles is directed by Chuck Russell. The movie focuses on a power struggle between two opposing criminal groups as he investigates the city’s seedy underbelly.
The story centers on a gang of criminals headed by drug kingpin Angelo Morello and Ryan Earl, who serve as his enforcers. The two brothers must negotiate a dangerous world of murder and betrayal to save their territories and loved ones as a vicious thug threatens Angelo’s empire.
Their only goal is survival in a dangerous game where emotions grow, and allegiances change.
Read More: Unraveling the Mystery: Top 9 Kidnapped Movies on Hulu
Wrapping Up!
Hulu has many gangster films, ranging from post-apocalyptic thrillers to classic heists to everything that should be in a mafia movie. These best mafia movies on Hulu will keep you interested and delighted, regardless of your preference for action-packed or emotionally charged stories.
Now that you have your snacks ready, dive into the riveting realm of crime and suspense with these best mafia movies on Hulu, but remember, you still need a reputable VPN to access Hulu outside the US.
