America believes in gangsters.
And with the release of American Gangster this Friday, we decided to celebrate the greatest gangster movies of all time with something slightly different.
Cinema has provided some superb mafioso, but we decided to look at a dream-team: a Mafia Family built of the very best in the business, as seen in Hollywood.
The following is one Family you better not go against:
The Muscle
Luca Brasi (Lenny Montana from The Godfather)
'May that first child be a masculine one,' Luca repeats to himself over and over, making sure he gets it right when speaking to Vito Corleone to offer the Don's daughter blessings on her wedding day. But despite the almost nervous demeanor, this ox is the Godfather's strongest physical asset -- and the only man the Don feared.
Rumoured to be based on real-life mobster Santo 'Sonny Boy' Ricchiettore, Brasi is a ruthless enforcer who single-handedly ended the 'Olive Oil War' by killing all of Corleone's rivals in a week. From guns to decapitation with axes, Brasi is adept at it all, and one of the Don Vito's most trusted men.
Just the ideal brawn to build the finest Family upon.
Text: Raja Sen | Design & Imaging: Uday Kuckian