American gangster cinema

the long version

"Much analysis of gangster movies has been based on a view of the gangster as a malign figuration of the American Dream, originally set in the era of the Depression. This book extends previous analyses of the genre by examining the evolution of gangster movies from the 1930s to the contemporary period; and by placing them in the context of cultural and cinematic issues such as masculinity, consumerism and technology. With a close examination of many films from Scarface and The Public Enemy to Miller's Crossing and Pulp Fiction, this book provides a fascinating insight into a topical and popular subject."--BOOK JACKET.