the killer (1989)

AKA Dip huet seung hung. Bloodshed of Two Heroes.
"I thought those I killed deserved to die. Now I believe everybody has the right to live."
Ah Jong (Chow Yun-Fat) is a principled hitman who decides it is his duty to look after Jennie (Sally Yeh) a nightclub singer after he accidentally blinds her during a gunfight. To add to his problems he has a detective and also a ruthless mob after him.
A stone cold classic. This has everything, pathos and action, and plenty of it.

a better tomorrow II (1987)

AKA Ying hung boon sik II.
"What makes you think that the good guys always win?"
Restaurant owner Ken Gor (Chow Yun Fat), twin brother of Mark Gor, teams up with police detective Kit (Leslie Cheung) and his struggling ex-con brother Ho (Lung Ti) to avenge an innocent death by a Triad gang, and bring down the new head of the gang KO (Shan Kwan).
The drama is broadened out with Ken being based in New York, whilst the others remain in Hong Kong. Woo ups the action, which whilst not matching up the previous film, is still head and shoulders above most action flicks.

machine-gun kelly (1958)

"I didn't want to be public enemy number one!"
Machine-Gun Kelly (Charles Bronson), is a bank robber, who pushed by his moll, Flo (Susan Cabot), decides to up his game by moving into kidnapping. He happens upon a little girl waiting for her nurse and snatches her for ransom, along with her nurse. But things start to unravel when Apple (Richard Devon) makes a play to take over the gang, resulting in one fat mountain lion, and one less gang member.
A fictionalised account of the life of George "Machine Gun" Kelly, that far from eulogising the gangster, shows him as a manipulated and self-loathing thug, and worthy of it. A nicely made small scale noirish thriller, by Corman.

hard boiled (1992)

AKA Lat sau san taam. Hot-Handed God of Cops.
"Give a guy a gun, he thinks he's Superman. Give him two and he thinks he's God."
Tequila (Chow Yun Fat) is a hard-boiled cop, who loses his partner in a raid on some gun smugglers and vows to bring the gang to justice. To do so he teams up with Tony (Tony Leung), a hitman, who is actually an undercover cop. Together they go after the ruthless Johnny Wong (Anthony Wong) who has the perfect hideout inside a hospital.
Another classic from John Woo. If its action centred around someone who exudes coolness without trying, then this is the film for you.

a better tomorrow (1986)

AKA Ying hung boon sik. The Essence of Heroes. Rapid Fire.
"Don't let me see you again."
Two brothers and how they make their differing ways in the world. One, Ho (Lung Ti), is a career criminal, who on release tries to go straight. The other Kit (Leslie Cheung), a young idealistic cop, who disowns his brother when he finds out he's crooked. Unfortunately the ties to the mob are not easy to break, and Tse-Ho owes a debt of honour to his friend Mark (Chow Yun Fat), who is now crippled and barely scrapping a living on the streets.
A classic gangster flick, thick with honour, gun-play and melancholy, that brought Chow Yun Fat to fame and begat a series of films and an entire genre of gangster films.

dillinger (1973)

"Shoot Dillinger and we will figure out a way to make it legal."
John Dillinger (Warren Oates) is a bank robber in depression era America. After five FBI agents are killed by Dillinger's gang, the Bureau and in particular agent Mel Purvis (Ben Johnson) target him and attempt to hunt him down. Whilst they wait for Dillinger to make a mistake Purvis takes out several other mobsters, but Dillinger's exploits are making him and his gang folk heroes, which makes life difficult for Purvis.
The fictionalised account of the last days of the real life bank robber John Dillinger, but the film focuses on and is as much about Melvin Purvis as Dillinger, and his dogged pursuit of gangsters. This manages to provide action, whilst also giving some insight into the personalities and motivations of the main characters. How true these depictions are to real life is open to some debate, but it makes for fine entertainment.

bloody mama (1970)

Though based on a true story, this is an entirely fictitious account of Ma Baker and her boys. It's believed that Ma Baker had no actual involvement in the Barker-Karpis gang. This not withstanding, the film rattles along in fine style as she and her boys go from small time delinquents to FBI's most wanted. Along the way the boys develop virtually every deviancy known to man, or woman for that matter. All interspirsed with archive of the period, commented on by Ma herself, as she looks after her boys and all their needs! A low budget, but compelling film, just don't believe a word of it!

the most terrible time in my life (1994)

aka Waga jinsei saiaku no toki.
Maiku Hama is a private detective in Yokohama who comes to the aid of a Taiwanese waiter named Yang and agrees to track down his missing brother, but becomes embroiled in an escalating gang war.
Filmed as a stylish film noir, quirky characters add a level of humour to the dark and sometimes violent storyline.

tokyo drifter (1966)

aka Tôkyô nagaremono. The Man From Tokyo.
When a yakuza boss goes straight, so does Tetsu (Tetsuya Watari). But leaving the gangster life is not so easy, and a rival gang make life difficult. Tetsu gives up everything he loves to save his boss, becoming the Tokyo Drifter, but he finds he cannot run away from his problems, and has to return for one last showdown.
Full of wonderful set pieces, all to a wonderfully mournful theme tune. Director Seijun Suzuki as usual forgets plot in his pursuit of his singular visual style, producing a cool free-jazz gangster flick. Tetsuya Watari remains the only man to look cool in a powder blue suit.