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612 films

Crime

The crime film follows lawbreakers, investigators and the systems around them. It grew from the gangster cycle of early 1930s Hollywood and from French poetic realism, then found new forms in Melville's cool procedurals, the New Hollywood of Coppola and Scorsese, Hong Kong's heroic bloodshed and Korean revenge dramas. At its best it uses crime to examine loyalty, class and the price of ambition.

Where
The United States, France, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Italy
When
From the 1900s; the gangster cycle begins around 1930
Key figures
Fritz Lang, Jean-Pierre Melville, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, John Woo, Park Chan-wook
Landmark films
Scarface (1932), The Godfather (1972), Goodfellas (1990), Infernal Affairs (2002)
Legacy
Made the criminal a tragic, sometimes sympathetic protagonist

What to look for

  • Loyalty and betrayal inside a closed group
  • Cities as moral landscapes
  • Heists planned and executed in detail
  • Cops and criminals as mirror images
  • Violence with consequences

Directors with the most films in this genre

Alfred Hitchcock12 filmsMartin Scorsese12 filmsFritz Lang11 filmsJohnnie To10 filmsBrian De Palma9 filmsThe Coen Brothers9 filmsTakeshi Kitano8 filmsAnurag Kashyap7 filmsClaude Chabrol7 filmsCosta-Gavras7 filmsJohn Woo7 filmsSidney Lumet7 filmsDavid Fincher6 filmsFrancis Ford Coppola6 filmsHenri-Georges Clouzot6 filmsJacques Audiard6 filmsJean-Pierre Melville6 filmsQuentin Tarantino6 filmsAki Kaurismäki5 filmsAkira Kurosawa5 filmsDon Siegel5 filmsLars von Trier5 filmsMichael Cimino5 filmsPablo Trapero5 films
See all 283 directors
Robert Siodmak5 filmsSteven Soderbergh5 filmsAbel Ferrara4 filmsArthur Penn4 filmsFrançois Truffaut4 filmsGuy Ritchie4 filmsJean Renoir4 filmsJean-Luc Godard4 filmsJim Jarmusch4 filmsJohn Huston4 filmsJosef von Sternberg4 filmsJosé Padilha4 filmsKathryn Bigelow4 filmsLouis Feuillade4 filmsMichael Curtiz4 filmsMichael Haneke4 filmsOrson Welles4 filmsRobert Altman4 filmsSeijun Suzuki4 filmsSerdar Akar4 filmsStanley Kubrick4 filmsTakashi Miike4 filmsVishal Bhardwaj4 filmsWong Kar-wai4 filmsAlan Parker3 filmsAlberto Lattuada3 filmsBenjamin Christensen3 filmsBertrand Tavernier3 filmsBilly Wilder3 filmsBob Rafelson3 filmsBrillante Mendoza3 filmsDanny Boyle3 filmsDario Argento3 filmsDennis Hopper3 filmsEdward Dmytryk3 filmsEdward Yang3 filmsElio Petri3 filmsGiuseppe Tornatore3 filmsGovind Nihalani3 filmsHal Hartley3 filmsHirokazu Kore-eda3 filmsJacques Becker3 filmsJoseph Losey3 filmsJulien Duvivier3 filmsJuzo Itami3 filmsKen Loach3 filmsMarcel Carné3 filmsMario Bava3 filmsNicholas Ray3 filmsPark Chan-wook3 filmsRaoul Walsh3 filmsRené Clément3 filmsRichard Linklater3 filmsSam Peckinpah3 filmsShohei Imamura3 filmsSpike Lee3 filmsStephen Frears3 filmsThe Dardenne Brothers3 filmsWilliam Wyler3 filmsYoussef Chahine3 filmsAgnieszka Holland2 filmsAlexander Mackendrick2 filmsAli Abbasi2 filmsAndrey Zvyagintsev2 filmsArturo Ripstein2 filmsAtom Egoyan2 filmsBen Affleck2 filmsBille August2 filmsBong Joon-ho2 filmsBruno Dumont2 filmsCarol Reed2 filmsChristopher Nolan2 filmsCorneliu Porumboiu2 filmsDamián Szifron2 filmsDavid Cronenberg2 filmsDavid Lynch2 filmsDeepa Mehta2 filmsDiao Yinan2 filmsDino Risi2 filmsEdwin S. Porter2 filmsElia Kazan2 filmsEmir Kusturica2 filmsFrancesco Rosi2 filmsG.W. Pabst2 filmsGavin Hood2 filmsGeorge Roy Hill2 filmsGianni Amelio2 filmsGlauber Rocha2 filmsGuru Dutt2 filmsGus Van Sant2 filmsHany Abu-Assad2 filmsHoward Hawks2 filmsHéctor Babenco2 filmsJacques Rivette2 filmsJafar Panahi2 filmsJean-Pierre Jeunet2 filmsJia Zhangke2 filmsJohn Cassavetes2 filmsJoseph L. Mankiewicz2 filmsKim Ki-duk2 filmsLawrence Kasdan2 filmsLee Chang-dong2 filmsLouis Malle2 filmsLuchino Visconti2 filmsLütfi Ömer Akad2 filmsMani Ratnam2 filmsMario Monicelli2 filmsMasahiro Shinoda2 filmsMatteo Garrone2 filmsMax Ophüls2 filmsMike Newell2 filmsMira Nair2 filmsNagisa Oshima2 filmsNeil Jordan2 filmsOliver Stone2 filmsPablo Larraín2 filmsPaul Thomas Anderson2 filmsPedro Almodóvar2 filmsPeter Bogdanovich2 filmsPietro Germi2 filmsRainer Werner Fassbinder2 filmsRené Clair2 filmsRobert Bresson2 filmsRobert Wiene2 filmsRoman Polanski2 filmsSamuel Fuller2 filmsSteve McQueen2 filmsSteven Spielberg2 filmsTod Browning2 filmsWerner Herzog2 filmsWilliam Friedkin2 filmsWim Wenders2 filmsWoody Allen2 filmsAbbas Kiarostami1 filmAlain Resnais1 filmAlain Tanner1 filmAlan J. Pakula1 filmAlejandro G. Iñárritu1 filmAlexander Kluge1 filmAlexander Nanau1 filmAndrzej Żuławski1 filmAndré Cayatte1 filmAnn Hui1 filmAsghar Farhadi1 filmAva DuVernay1 filmBarry Levinson1 filmBernardo Bertolucci1 filmBill Forsyth1 filmBo Widerberg1 filmBéla Tarr1 filmCarlos Reygadas1 filmCarlos Saura1 filmCharlie Chaplin1 filmCristian Mungiu1 filmD.W. Griffith1 filmDenis Villeneuve1 filmDerek Jarman1 filmDerviş Zaim1 filmEmin Alper1 filmErden Kıral1 filmErnst Lubitsch1 filmF.W. Murnau1 filmFatih Akin1 filmFederico Fellini1 filmFernando Meirelles1 filmFrank Capra1 filmFred Zinnemann1 filmFridrikh Ermler1 filmGeorge Cukor1 filmGiuseppe De Santis1 filmGuillermo del Toro1 filmHal Ashby1 filmHarmony Korine1 filmHiroshi Teshigahara1 filmHou Hsiao-hsien1 filmJean Delannoy1 filmJean-Pierre Bekolo1 filmJerzy Skolimowski1 filmJim Sheridan1 filmJohn Ford1 filmJohn Schlesinger1 filmJorge Sanjinés1 filmJuan Antonio Bardem1 filmJustine Triet1 filmKaouther Ben Hania1 filmKarim Aïnouz1 filmKeisuke Kinoshita1 filmKira Muratova1 filmKleber Mendonça Filho1 filmKrzysztof Kieślowski1 filmKunle Afolayan1 filmLadj Ly1 filmLau Lauritzen Jr.1 filmLav Diaz1 filmLeopoldo Torre Nilsson1 filmLeos Carax1 filmLina Wertmüller1 filmLindsay Anderson1 filmLois Weber1 filmLucian Pintilie1 filmLuis Buñuel1 filmLukas Moodysson1 filmLynne Ramsay1 filmMarco Bellocchio1 filmMarco Ferreri1 filmMasaki Kobayashi1 filmMaurice Pialat1 filmMehboob Khan1 filmMetin Erksan1 filmMichael Moore1 filmMichelangelo Antonioni1 filmMike Leigh1 filmMohammad Rasoulof1 filmMohsen Makhmalbaf1 filmNadav Lapid1 filmNeill Blomkamp1 filmNicolas Roeg1 filmNikita Mikhalkov1 filmNouri Bouzid1 filmNuri Bilge Ceylan1 filmOlivier Assayas1 filmOnur Ünlü1 filmOscar Micheaux1 filmOtar Iosseliani1 filmPaolo Sorrentino1 filmPaul Greengrass1 filmPeter Greenaway1 filmPeter Jackson1 filmPeter Weir1 filmRaj Kapoor1 filmRalitza Petrova1 filmRaúl Ruiz1 filmRidley Scott1 filmRoland Joffé1 filmRoy Andersson1 filmRuy Guerra1 filmSam Mendes1 filmSatoshi Kon1 filmSean Baker1 filmSergio Leone1 filmSergio Sollima1 filmShyam Benegal1 filmSofia Coppola1 filmSrdjan Dragojević1 filmTed Kotcheff1 filmTerrence Malick1 filmThomas Vinterberg1 filmTim Burton1 filmTodd Phillips1 filmTrần Anh Hùng1 filmTsai Ming-liang1 filmTunç Okan1 filmUğur Yücel1 filmVolker Schlöndorff1 filmWalter Salles1 filmWes Anderson1 filmXie Fei1 filmZeresenay Berhane Mehari1 filmÖmer Kavur1 film

Often combined with

Drama Thriller Comedy Mystery Action Film-Noir

Top 100 rated films

  1. The Godfather 1972 · Francis Ford Coppola · IMDb 9.2
  2. The Dark Knight 2008 · Christopher Nolan · IMDb 9.1
  3. 12 Angry Men 1957 · Sidney Lumet · IMDb 9.0
  4. The Godfather Part II 1974 · Francis Ford Coppola · IMDb 9.0
  5. Fight Club 1999 · David Fincher · IMDb 8.8
  6. Pulp Fiction 1994 · Quentin Tarantino · IMDb 8.8
  7. Goodfellas 1990 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 8.7
  8. City of God 2002 · Fernando Meirelles · IMDb 8.6
  9. Se7en 1995 · David Fincher · IMDb 8.6
  10. Le Trou 1960 · Jacques Becker · IMDb 8.5
  11. The Departed 2006 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 8.5
  12. High and Low 1963 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 8.4
  13. Witness for the Prosecution 1957 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 8.4
  14. Double Indemnity 1944 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 8.3
  15. M 1931 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 8.3
  16. Once Upon a Time in America 1984 · Sergio Leone · IMDb 8.3
  17. Scarface (1983) 1983 · Brian De Palma · IMDb 8.3
  18. 13th 2016 · Ava DuVernay · IMDb 8.2
  19. A Brighter Summer Day 1991 · Edward Yang · IMDb 8.2
  20. A Clockwork Orange 1971 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 8.2
  21. Casino 1995 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 8.2
  22. Close-Up 1990 · Abbas Kiarostami · IMDb 8.2
  23. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 2003 · Quentin Tarantino · IMDb 8.2
  24. Los Olvidados 1950 · Luis Buñuel · IMDb 8.2
  25. No Country for Old Men 2007 · The Coen Brothers · IMDb 8.2
  26. Prisoners 2013 · Denis Villeneuve · IMDb 8.2
  27. Reservoir Dogs 1992 · Quentin Tarantino · IMDb 8.2
  28. Rocco and His Brothers 1960 · Luchino Visconti · IMDb 8.2
  29. Snatch 2000 · Guy Ritchie · IMDb 8.2
  30. Taxi Driver 1976 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 8.2
  31. The Sting 1973 · George Roy Hill · IMDb 8.2
  32. Catch Me If You Can 2002 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 8.1
  33. Collective 2019 · Alexander Nanau · IMDb 8.1
  34. Dial M for Murder 1954 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 8.1
  35. Fargo 1996 · The Coen Brothers · IMDb 8.1
  36. In the Name of the Father 1993 · Jim Sheridan · IMDb 8.1
  37. Les Diaboliques 1955 · Henri-Georges Clouzot · IMDb 8.1
  38. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels 1998 · Guy Ritchie · IMDb 8.1
  39. Memories of Murder 2003 · Bong Joon-ho · IMDb 8.1
  40. On the Waterfront 1954 · Elia Kazan · IMDb 8.1
  41. Paper Moon 1973 · Peter Bogdanovich · IMDb 8.1
  42. Rashomon 1950 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 8.1
  43. The Big Lebowski 1998 · The Coen Brothers · IMDb 8.1
  44. Time of the Gypsies 1988 · Emir Kusturica · IMDb 8.1
  45. Trainspotting 1996 · Danny Boyle · IMDb 8.1
  46. White Heat 1949 · Raoul Walsh · IMDb 8.1
  47. Z 1969 · Costa-Gavras · IMDb 8.1
  48. Black Cat, White Cat 1998 · Emir Kusturica · IMDb 8.0
  49. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 1969 · George Roy Hill · IMDb 8.0
  50. Dog Day Afternoon 1975 · Sidney Lumet · IMDb 8.0
  51. Dogville 2003 · Lars von Trier · IMDb 8.0
  52. Elite Squad 2007 · José Padilha · IMDb 8.0
  53. Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion 1970 · Elio Petri · IMDb 8.0
  54. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 2004 · Quentin Tarantino · IMDb 8.0
  55. Le Samouraï 1967 · Jean-Pierre Melville · IMDb 8.0
  56. Perfect Blue 1997 · Satoshi Kon · IMDb 8.0
  57. Slumdog Millionaire 2008 · Danny Boyle · IMDb 8.0
  58. The 400 Blows 1959 · François Truffaut · IMDb 8.0
  59. The Wounds 1998 · Srdjan Dragojević · IMDb 8.0
  60. 3-Iron 2004 · Kim Ki-duk · IMDb 7.9
  61. A Short Film About Killing 1988 · Krzysztof Kieślowski · IMDb 7.9
  62. Arsenic and Old Lace 1944 · Frank Capra · IMDb 7.9
  63. Big Deal on Madonna Street 1958 · Mario Monicelli · IMDb 7.9
  64. Bowling for Columbine 2002 · Michael Moore · IMDb 7.9
  65. Carlito's Way 1993 · Brian De Palma · IMDb 7.9
  66. Chungking Express 1994 · Wong Kar-wai · IMDb 7.9
  67. Dancer in the Dark 2000 · Lars von Trier · IMDb 7.9
  68. Elevator to the Gallows 1958 · Louis Malle · IMDb 7.9
  69. Le Cercle rouge 1970 · Jean-Pierre Melville · IMDb 7.9
  70. Mildred Pierce 1945 · Michael Curtiz · IMDb 7.9
  71. Panique 1946 · Julien Duvivier · IMDb 7.9
  72. Pixote 1981 · Héctor Babenco · IMDb 7.9
  73. Rope 1948 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 7.9
  74. Second Wind 1966 · Jean-Pierre Melville · IMDb 7.9
  75. Shoplifters 2018 · Hirokazu Kore-eda · IMDb 7.9
  76. Strangers on a Train 1951 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 7.9
  77. The Bad Sleep Well 1960 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 7.9
  78. The Big Heat 1953 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.9
  79. The Big Sleep 1946 · Howard Hawks · IMDb 7.9
  80. The Killing 1956 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 7.9
  81. The Maltese Falcon 1941 · John Huston · IMDb 7.9
  82. The Roaring Twenties 1939 · Raoul Walsh · IMDb 7.9
  83. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse 1933 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.9
  84. Touch of Evil 1958 · Orson Welles · IMDb 7.9
  85. Trouble in Paradise 1932 · Ernst Lubitsch · IMDb 7.9
  86. A Prophet 2009 · Jacques Audiard · IMDb 7.8
  87. Angels with Dirty Faces 1938 · Michael Curtiz · IMDb 7.8
  88. Bus 174 2002 · José Padilha · IMDb 7.8
  89. Captain Phillips 2013 · Paul Greengrass · IMDb 7.8
  90. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler 1922 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.8
  91. Fury 1936 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 7.8
  92. Gaslight 1944 · George Cukor · IMDb 7.8
  93. Le Corbeau 1943 · Henri-Georges Clouzot · IMDb 7.8
  94. Lilya 4-ever 2002 · Lukas Moodysson · IMDb 7.8
  95. Mississippi Burning 1988 · Alan Parker · IMDb 7.8
  96. Monsieur Verdoux 1947 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 7.8
  97. Stray Dog 1949 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 7.8
  98. The Asphalt Jungle 1950 · John Huston · IMDb 7.8
  99. The Day of the Jackal 1973 · Fred Zinnemann · IMDb 7.8
  100. The Gentlemen 2019 · Guy Ritchie · IMDb 7.8