James Gandolfini dead: who's the greatest TV and movie gangster?

IN THE wake of the shock death of Sopranos star James Gandolfini - we examine the greatest TV and film gangsters of all time. Who gets your vote?

Al Pacino?s portrayal of the drug-crazed gangster Tony Montana in Scarface is a cult favourite.

IN THE wake of the shock death of Sopranos star James Gandolfini at the age of 51 - we examine the greatest TV and film gangsters of all time.

They have terrified us, thrilled us and - in the case of Gandolfini's powerful yet vulnerable Tony Soprano - intrigued us.

Who gets your vote for the best on-screen gangster of all time?

TONY SOPRANO

Regularly voted by critics and audiences alike as among the best TV series ever made, Gandolfini's troubled, brutal, sensitive Tony Soprano was the show's beating heart and tortured soul. Over six seasons, Gandolfini's mob boss was capable of great kindness and terrible cruelty in trying to balance modern family life with a career in the mafia, literally driving him into therapy. He won three Emmys, a Golden Globe and a swag of other awards for the role.

Management style: therapy, outbursts of rage, hiding dismembered heads in bowling ball bags

Best quote: "You got no f-----g idea what it's like to be number one. Every decision you make affects every facet of every other f-----g thing. It's too much to deal with almost."

The original Don - Marlon Brando won an Oscar for his role as Vito Corleone in The Godfather.

THE CORLEONES

Francis Ford Coppola's sprawling, Oscar-winning trilogy has never been bettered in more than 40 years of making mob movies, telling the tale of the Corleone clan's arrival in America as penniless immigrants, through their rise to be one of the top mafia families in New York and their ultimately doomed attempts to go straight. Marlon Brando won an Oscar for his role as the jowly, mumbling family kingpin Vito, who was succeeded by the cold-blooded dead-eyed, reluctantly ambitious son Michael, played by future Oscar-winner Al Pacino in his breakout role.

Management style: banking favours, decapitating horses

Best quote: "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse."

AL CAPONE

Having won a Best Supporting Actor as the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part 2, Robert De Niro stacked on 14 kilos to play the real life Depression-era Chicago gangster in Brian De Palma's 1987 hit The Untouchables. Although he was only in a few scenes, De Niro's cigar-chomping, psychotic rage looms large over the entire film.

Management style: natty suits, swanky dinners, buying officials and swinging baseball bats

Best quote: "You can get further with a kind word and a gun than you can with just a kind word."

Al Pacino's portrayal of the drug-crazed gangster Tony Montana in Scarface is a cult favourite.

TONY MONTANA

Al Pacino is another serial gangster offender - he also appeared in Donnie Brasco and Dick Tracy - but his Golden Globe-nominated role as the Cuban born, Miami-based drug kingpin Tony Montana in Scarface remains one of his finest hours. Initially released to lukewarm reviews, the ultra-violent morality tale has become a cult favourite and was included on the American Film Institute's list of the top ten gangster films.

Management style: flashy wardrobes, enormous firearms and even bigger bowls of cocaine.

Best quote: "Say hello to my little friend."

Steve Buscemi as Nucky Thompson in Boardwalk Empire.

NUCKY THOMPSON

Like Al Capone, who also features as a character in HBO hit Boardwalk Empire, the fictional Enoch Malachai "Nucky" Thompson also made his fortune in bootleg booze and corrupt officials. As the treasurer of Atlantic City, Irish-born Nucky wielded frightening power, with a ruthless streak only slightly tempered by his generosity to those close to him. For a price.

Management style: dinner suits, quality Scotch, envelopes full of cash.

Best quote: "You wanna be a gangster, kid? Go be a gangster. But if you want to be a gangster in my town, then you'll pay me for the privilege."

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