Spaghetti Eastern Trivia Quiz

Answer: Goodfellas

"As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster." Starring Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, and Joe Pesci, who won an Oscar for his portrayal of an out-of-control Mafia wannabe, "Goodfellas" paints a chilling yet mesmerizing picture of mob life through the life story of a real mobster.

The film features the saga of the Lufthansa Heist, in which nearly $6 million was stolen from Kennedy Airport in 1978. It is one of Martin Scorsese's best directorial efforts.

Answer: The Cotton Club

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who had some experience with the gangster genre, "The Cotton Club" portrays life in the famous nightclub through the tale of a jazz trumpeter (Richard Gere), who falls for the girlfriend (Diane Lane) of famous crime boss Dutch Schultz (James Remar) in the 1930s. Featuring Nicolas Cage and Laurence Fishburne as mobsters and the great Bob Hoskins as the owner (among other activities) of the Club.

Answer: Little Caesar

"Little Caesar" made Edward G. Robinson a star, although it simultaneously typecast the versatile actor as a thug. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy (who also directed "The Wizard of Oz") and featuring Douglas Fairbanks as a fellow aspiring gangster, the film chronicles the diverging crime careers of two friends in the Chicago mob.

It features the iconic quote, "Is this the end of Rico?" as Robinson meets his inevitable end.

Answer: Prizzi's Honor

Sexy, funny ("Just because she's a thief and a hitter doesn't mean she's not a good woman in all the other departments."), and stunningly violent, "Prizzi's Honor" paints a picture of Brooklyn mob life through its portrayal of the love affair of two competing hit-persons(?), played by Jack Nicholson and Kathleen Turner. John Huston directed his daughter Anjelica in her Oscar-winning performance as a mob boss in waiting.

Answer: Mickey Blue Eyes

Hugh Grant stars as an art auctioneer who becomes embroiled in the crime activities of a Mafia family through his love for the daughter (Jeanne Tripplehorn) of a Mafioso (James Caan). The FBI ropes him into a plan to capture the bad guys through an elaborate sting operation. Featuring money laundering and real and faked murders, "Mickey Blue Eyes" is most notable for the number of supporting character actors who later turn up in other gangster stories.

Answer: Once Upon a Time in America

Starring Robert De Niro and James Woods, "Once Upon a Time in America" is the final film directed by the legendary Italian director Sergio Leone, who singlehandedly established the "Spaghetti Western" film genre. His 1960s films starring Clint Eastwood as "The Man with No Name" and 1968's "Once Upon a Time in the West," which starred Henry Fonda in a rare appearance as a western baddie, elevated Leone to the Director's Pantheon long before he turned his attention to American crime in 1984's "Once Upon a Time in America".

As De Niro and Woods rob, swindle, rape, and murder their way through New York's hierarchy of organized crime, the film shows how their personal stories of love, corruption, addiction, violence, and betrayal lead to an ultimate confrontation.

Answer: The Godfather

Everything about "The Godfather" is epic. The first of three films that tell the story of the rise to pre-eminence and eventual fall of the Corleone crime family in New York, the original 1972 film stands on its own as one of the best films ever made - period. Directed with meticulous care by Francis Ford Coppola, the film established the careers of Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, James Caan, Diane Keaton, and Talia Shire; and featured Marlon Brando's Oscar-winning performance as patriarch Vito Corleone. Simply perfection.

Answer: Miller's Crossing

Brought to life by the Coen brothers, "Miller's Crossing" tells the story of a crafty mob lieutenant, played by Gabriel Byrne, who manipulates the two sides of an incipient Irish-Italian mob war off against each other - to the advantage of his crime-boss mentor, played by Albert Finney.

As with most Coen plots, there is double-crossing, shady dealings, questionable relationships, and homicide. An initial commercial flop but critical success, "Miller's Crossing" has since acquired its deserved elevated status, due as much to the later popular success of it creators' films as to its own merit.

Answer: Donnie Brasco

Starring Johnny Depp as the undercover FBI agent and Al Pacino (in one of his greatest performances) as his unsuspecting mentor, "Donnie Brasco" also stars Michael Madsen as a crime boss and Anne Heche as Depp's wife. As the story builds to its inevitable conclusion of revealed identities, betrayal, violence, and murder, it questions how a man can live among such gangsters and not eventually adopt their lifestyle as his own.

Answer: The Departed

Set in Boston, "The Departed" is also an homage to its infamous crime boss "Whitey" Bulger and the corrupt FBI agent who protected him. It starred a Murderer's Row of great actors: Jack Nicholson as the crime boss, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon as the opposing lawman and mob infiltrators, Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin as police supervisors, David O'Hara and Ray Winstone as mobsters, and Mark Wahlberg as a profane, violent, yet honest cop.

The film earned its director Martin Scorsese his first Best Director Oscar.