Mean Streets is an interesting mention, but imo it's not really a gangster film. A gangster film I think requires taht it be about some sort of organized crime enterprise. It's not merely about criminals, but about how people can be in a business enterprise that involves some degree of breaking the law. As such it is really about capitalism and the limits the law seeks to place on it. Mean Streets is a great film, but it's really about some small time guys just trying, not very well, to get by. You gotta draw the line somewhere.
