The crime genre has pleny of hidden gems, including some movies made by the greatest directors of all time. Although crime aficionados will all know the big hitters like The Godfather and Goodfellas, there is plenty more to discover. Many great directors have built their careers off of crime movies. Even more have delivered surprisingly accomplished crime movies despite not being particularly well-known for their work in the genre. This includes Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott.
Whether they make movies based on real crimes or works of pure fiction, big-name directors have often been drawn to the crime genre at some point in their careers. Directors like Stanley Kubrick and Christopher Nolan may be known for working in other genres, but their crime movies shouldn’t be overlooked. There are also plenty of underappreciated movies in the filmography of crime genre legends, like Martin Scorsese and David Fincher.
Related 10 Crime Movies With Incredible Opening Scenes
Famous crime movies including The Godfather, Pulp Fiction, and Baby Driver establish the tone and the theme of the story in amazing opening scenes.
10 Insomnia (2002)
Christopher Nolan
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Insomnia
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*Availability in US Director Christopher Nolan Release Date May 24, 2002 Cast Al Pacino , Robin Williams , Hilary Swank , Oliver Zemen , Martin Donovan , Paul Dooley
Christopher Nolan has referred to Insomnia as his most underrated movie. The crime thriller certainly doesn’t get the same level of attention as his later blockbusters, although it’s just as captivating. Al Pacino plays a detective with insomnia working in the midnight sun of Alaska, hunting a killer who always seems to be one step ahead of him. This gives Robin Williams a rare chance to show off his dramatic skills.
Insomnia is less provocative than some of Nolan’s big-budget sci-fi spectaculars. However, a more simplified approach highlights a few things which Nolan does incredibly well. He has a few scenes of nerve-shredding tension, such as the shootout in thick fog or the chase which leads over some floating logs. Both sequences highlight the unique setting of Insomnia, which reflects Detective Dormer’s troubled internal state.
9 Minority Report (2002)
Steven Spielberg
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8/10 Minority Report
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*Availability in US Director Steven Spielberg Release Date June 21, 2002 Cast Tom Cruise , Neal McDonough , Samantha Morton , Colin Farrell , Max Von Sydow
Minority Report is a crime movie about the nature of criminality, using a unique sci-fi concept to augur the possible future of law enforcement. As conversations about government surveillance become more prevalent in an increasingly digital age, Minority Report has started to look remarkably prescient in hindsight. Aside from its philosophical angle, Minority Report also has some thrilling action sequences.
The combination of Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg is a recipe for blockbuster action, and Minority Report doesn’t disappoint. Spielberg has worked in many genres over the years, although he hasn’t often dipped his toes into the crime genre. Minority Report is the most Spielbergian approach to the genre possible, and the result is a unique crime movie with a flair for spectacle.
8 The Irishman (2019)
Martin Scorsese
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9/10 6.3/10 The Irishman
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*Availability in US Director Martin Scorsese Release Date November 27, 2019 Cast Bobby Cannavale , Jack Huston , Joe Pesci , Jesse Plemons , Sebastian Maniscalco , Al Pacino , Kathrine Narducci , Stephen Graham , Ray Romano , Aleksa Palladino , Anna Paquin , Robert De Niro , Harvey Keitel , Jake Hoffman Expand
Martin Scorsese’s crime movies have been helping to shape the genre for decades. From the gangster classic Goodfellas to the white-collar crime biopic The Wolf of Wall Street, Scorsese has produced a wide variety of influential crime movies. This means that he also has plenty of underrated crime movies to his credit. The Irishman isn’t often cited among Scorsese’s best movies, but it deserves more attention.
The Irishman is one of Scorsese’s more ambitious movies. The three-and-a-half hour crime epic tracks the life of a mob assassin across several decades, charting his rise from his early days with the Bufalino crime family up to his death. Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci deliver superb performances, and Al Pacino provides an electrifying presence as Jimmy Hoffa. The Irishman posits one solution to the mystery of the union leader’s disappearance.
7 BlacKkKlansman (2018)
Spike Lee
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7/10 8/10 BlacKkKlansman
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*Availability in US Director Spike Lee Release Date August 9, 2018 Cast Alec Baldwin , John David Washington , Isiah Whitlock Jr. , Robert John Burke , Brian Tarantina , Arthur J. Nascarella
Denzel Washington and Spike Lee have worked together many times, but one of his best crime movies stars Denzel’s son, John David Washington. He stars alongside Adam Driver as a pair of detectives who manage to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan, getting into direct contact with the organization’s leader. Surprisingly, BlacKkKlansman is based on a true story that took place in Colorado in the 1970s.
Washington and Driver strike up a wonderful comedic chemistry as two friends and colleagues hatching a potentially dangerous scheme with one another. BlacKkKlansman has plenty of snappy comedic dialogue between the two of them, and the dramatic irony of the Klan not knowing their true identities is another consistent source of comedy. BlacKkKlansman has some fun with its peculiar premise, but it ends with the acknowledgment that the events depicted are all too real, and that racial hate still exists in America.
6 The Killer (2023)
David Fincher
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8/10 6/10 The Killer
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*Availability in US Director David Fincher Release Date November 10, 2023 Cast Michael Fassbender , Tilda Swinton , Kerry O’Malley , Charles Parnell , Lacey Dover , Monique Ganderton , Sala Baker
Many of David Fincher’s best movies explore the depths of criminal psychology, including Se7en, Zodiac and Fight Club. Compared to these classics, The Killer hasn’t gotten much attention. It’s possible that its status will grow in the years to come, but it stands out as an underrated gem at the moment. Michael Fassbender plays an assassin who has to run for his life when he botches a job.
The Killer uses narration to bring the audience inside the mind of the protagonist. Fincher’s direction also serves to create a more immersive atmosphere, as his camera tracks every one of Fassbender’s movements. This amounts to a propulsive thrill ride that gradually peels back the layers of a fascinating criminal underworld. It isn’t the violent actioner that some were anticipating, but it’s a compelling and stylish thriller that shows what Fincher is capable of.
5 Thief (1981)
Michael Mann
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Thief
Director Michael Mann Release Date March 27, 1981 Cast James Caan , Tuesday Weld , Willie Nelson , Jim Belushi , Robert Prosky , Tom Signorelli , Dennis Farina , Nick Nickeas
Michael Mann’s most famous crime movies include Heat, Collateral and Manhunter. Thief came before all of these, and it shows the early signs of Mann’s special suitability for the genre. Thief is a gloriously stylish heist thriller, soaked in neon and moonlight, following a safecracker trying to break free from his life of crime. James Caan delivers one of his most memorable performances.
Unlike many other heist movies, Thief isn’t about the slick fantasy of theft. Frank isn’t the type of thief to dance through a laser grid or dangle from the ceiling by a thin wire. He’s a battering ram with an unflappable sense of professionalism. This attitude colors the entire film. Despite Mann’s stylistic flourishes, and a pulsating synth score by Tangerine Dream, Thief is a grounded thriller that presents crime just like any other job.
4 Layer Cake (2004)
Matthew Vaughn
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Layer Cake
Director Matthew Vaughn Release Date June 3, 2005 Cast Daniel Craig Sienna Miller , Michael Gambon , Tom Hardy , Jamie Foreman , Sally Hawkins , Burn Gorman , Brinley Green
Matthew Vaughn is now most famous for his Kingsman movies and Kick-Ass. His directorial debut is more restrained and more grounded, but it’s just as entertaining. Layer Cake stars Daniel Craig as a cocaine distributor in London trying to get out of the business safely. Craig’s performance is often cited as one of the key factors in his casting as James Bond, as he oozes charm.
Layer Cake is a distinctly British crime drama, showing the murky depth of London’s criminal underworld, and contrasting this with the luxurious lifestyles of the gangsters. Vaughn reigns in some of his more exuberant stylistic quirks, but Layer Cake still bears many of his hallmarks. The director frequently finds interesting ways of framing his subjects as they jostle for power and control. He also shows his flair for action early on in his career.
3 The Killing (1956)
Stanley Kubrick
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The Killing
Director Stanley Kubrick Release Date June 6, 1956 Cast Sterling Hayden , Coleen Gray , Vince Edwards , Jay C. Flippen , Ted de Corsia , Marie Windsor , Elisha Cook Jr. , Joe Sawyer
It says a lot about the quality of Stanley Kubrick’s filmography that a movie as good as The Killing isn’t typically considered among his finest works. Although he only directed a total of 13 movies, he made revolutionary contributions to the war genre, sci-fi and horror. The Killing was his first big Hollywood project, and it helped birth the heist genre along with the French film Rififi.
Many elements of The Killing have been imitated over the years, but it’s still a compelling watch almost 70 years later. It’s a beautifully crafted noir with an absorbing sense of style, from its memorable pig masks to the clever chessboard analogy that runs throughout the heist. The Killing has been somewhat overshadowed by the likes of 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Shining, but it hits heights that many other directors could only dream of.
2 Dial M For Murder (1954)
Alfred Hitchcock
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Alfred Hitchcock has so many well-known crime movies that it’s hard to pick just one. Dial M for Murder isn’t quite as popular as the likes of Vertigo and Rear Window, but it’s definitely worth a look for fans of the genre. Dial M for Murder features Grace Kelly at her best. She plays a woman whose husband arranges to have her killed, but when she fights off the attacker, he tries to have her imprisoned for murder instead.
Dial M for Murder is rather simplistic compared to some of Hitchcock’s splashier thrillers. Most of the action unfolds on a single set, and the investigation into the murder drills down into details as minute as the exact whereabouts of a latch key. Despite this, Hitchcock manages to keep things as entertaining as any of his other movies. The audience knows the solution, and Hithcock draws out the dramatic irony to excruciating lengths while the detective muddles through.
1 Thelma & Louise (1991)
Ridley Scott
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Thelma & Louise
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*Availability in US Director Ridley Scott Release Date May 24, 1991 Cast Susan Sarandon , Geena Davis , Harvey Keitel , Michael Madsen , Christopher McDonald , Stephen Tobolowsky , Brad Pitt , Timothy Carhart
Ridley Scott first made a name for himself as a director of trend-setting sci-fi blockbusters with Alien and Blade Runner, but he soon branched out into other genres. Thelma and Louise is an unusual offering from Scott, but the feminist road trip crime thriller is up there with his best movies. Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon star as two friends who embark on a vacation from their husbands, but they have to lead a chase through the desert after killing a man at a bar in self-defense.
Scott uses plenty of long shots in Thelma and Louise to emphasize the yawning expanse of the American west. The setting becomes a pressure cooker as the two friends realize they have nowhere to run to, eventually leading to the iconic finale, in which they choose death over a life in prison. Brad Pitt also features in one of his earliest roles as a charming hitchhiker who becomes tangled up in the mess of Thelma and Louise’s actions.