Mafia Movies That Were Based on True Stories

Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather and its sequels, adapted from Mario Puzo’s novel, remain the genre’s best‑known work. Still, many filmmakers have turned to real headlines and memoirs for material, and knowing a film draws on true events often adds an extra edge of grit and realism.

Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas was adapted from Nicholas Pileggi’s Wiseguy, the biography of Henry Hill, a onetime Lucchese gangster who became an FBI informant after a drug bust. Ray Liotta played Hill as the film follows his life from the fifties through his rise and fall; the cast only met Hill after production, and he later told Liotta he loved the portrayal.

Critics have kept the film among Scorsese’s highest‑rated works. Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables takes loose inspiration from Eliot Ness’s memoir, favoring operatic, high‑drama moments—Sean Connery’s death scene earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

the godfather, mario puzo, goodfellas, martin scorsese, wiseguy, henry hill, ray liotta, the untouchables, eliot ness, sean connery