Boardwalk Empire is the story of an Atlantic City politician who plays both sides of the law, dealing alcohol with gangsters during the prohibition era in American history. For those who don't know, Prohibition was a time in the United States when it was made against the law to sell and drink alcohol. In result, gangsters and crooked politicians started moving and selling alcohol the way most gangsters do with drugs today. For a decent amount of time, many people died and profited from the illegal alcohol business that reigned over the country at the time. The show follows politician, Enoch "Nucky" Thompson played by Steve Buscemi. This show aired for the first time on HBO on September 19, 2010 and aired for 5 amazing seasons, from 2010 to 2014.
It starred an amazing cast that brought these characters to life in an unbelievable way, including names such as:
Steve Buscemi
Kelly Macdonald
Michael Shannon
Shea Whigham
Stephen Graham
Vincent Piazza
Michael K. Williams
Michael Stuhlbarg
Anatol Yusef
& Michael Pitt
This right here, hands down is one of my favorite shows to ever hit television. Now me, I'm a huge fan of movies like American Gangster, Goodfellas and Casino. Those true crime gangster stories. This reminded me of those movies, it just takes place much further back. Between World War 1 and World War 2. It's filled with amazing dialogue, scenes that will surprise you as well as entertain. Even one of the most famous gangsters in history, Al Capone, is portrayed in this show. And they make him look ruthless and crazy. It's awesome to watch the progression of characters in this show as they move up. Some will start as low level security types, and by the end of the show end up being one of the guys who run the shit. It's awesome to see.
In my opinion, everything about this show is amazing. The costumes, the sets, the acting, I mean it all brings you way back in time. It's one of the most believable shows I've seen in quite some time. If you never got the chance to see this show while it was on the air, I definitely recommend you give it a watch. It's filled with corruption, murder, sex, extortion and all the elements to make a great gangster show. It gives you some close looks into the lives of notorious gangsters from back in time, like Al Capone, Lucky Luciano and even Meyer Lansky. I easily give this show a 5/5. If you love gangster movies, I guarantee, you will love this show!
