Crime backdrop

Crime movies

A deep dive into the underworld of gangsters, detectives, and heists where the line between right and wrong blurs.

Subgenres include: Organized Crime, Heist, Con Artist Crime.

Disclosure

1321. Disclosure

Thriller Drama Crime
6.2

19942h 8min

United States

Director: Barry Levinson

A computer specialist is sued for sexual harassment by a former lover turned boss who initiated the act forcefully, which threatens both his career and his personal life.


Little Odessa

1322. Little Odessa

Drama Crime
6.7

19941h 38min

United States

Director: James Gray

Long separated from his family, hitman Joshua returns to Brighton Beach for a contract killing for the Russian Mafia. His abusive father, Arkady, banned him from returning after Joshua committed his first murder. He takes up residence in a hotel, and soon everyone knows he has returned. He goes home to visit his dying mother, Irina, and prepares for the assassination, getting drawn back into the criminal community he left behind.


Bullets Over Broadway

1323. Bullets Over Broadway

Comedy Crime
7.4

19941h 38min

United States

Director: Woody Allen

After young playwright, David Shayne obtains funding for his play from gangster Nick Valenti, Nick's girlfriend Olive miraculously lands the role of a psychiatrist—but not only is she a bimbo who could never pass for a psychiatrist—she's a dreadful actress. David puts up with the leading man who is a compulsive eater, the grand dame who wants her part jazzed up, and Olive's interfering hitman/bodyguard—but, eventually he must decide whether art or life is more important.


The Shawshank Redemption

1324. The Shawshank Redemption

Drama Crime Psychological Drama Prison Crime
9.3

19942h 22min

United States

Director: Frank Darabont

Imprisoned in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.

Themes

Hope under confinement, Institutional corruption, Money laundering scheme, Inmate loyalty and friendship, Abuse of authority, Parole and reintegration

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Peacock Premium
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Léon: The Professional

1325. Léon: The Professional

Crime Drama Action Organized Crime Tragic Drama
8.5

19941h 51min

France

Director: Luc Besson

Léon, the top hit man in New York, has earned a rep as an effective "cleaner". But when his next-door neighbors are wiped out by a loose-cannon DEA agent, he becomes the unwilling custodian of 12-year-old Mathilda. Before long, Mathilda's thoughts turn to revenge, and she considers following in Léon's footsteps.

Themes

Loneliness and found family, Urban corruption and violence, Mentorship through danger, Power dynamics and coercion, Revenge as survival, Immigrant vulnerability in crime

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
fuboTV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Pulp Fiction

1326. Pulp Fiction

Thriller Crime Comedy
8.8

19942h 34min

United States

Director: Quentin Tarantino

A burger-loving hit man, his philosophical partner, a drug-addled gangster's moll and a washed-up boxer converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that ingeniously trip back and forth in time.


Swimming with Sharks

1327. Swimming with Sharks

Crime Comedy
7.0

19941h 33min

United States

Director: George Huang

Guy is a young film executive who's willing to do whatever it takes to make it in Hollywood. He begins working for famed producer Buddy Ackerman, a domineering, manipulative, coldhearted boss. When Guy also finds out that his cynical girlfriend, Dawn, has been using sex as a career move, he reaches his limit. Guy decides to exact revenge on Buddy by kidnapping him and subjecting him to cruel and unusual punishment.


Natural Born Killers

1328. Natural Born Killers

Crime Thriller Drama
7.2

19941h 59min

United States

Director: Oliver Stone

Two victims of traumatized childhoods become lovers and serial murderers irresponsibly glorified by the mass media.


Amateur

1329. Amateur

Crime Comedy Drama
6.8

19941h 45min

France, United Kingdom

Director: Hal Hartley

A man wakes up in an alley, bleeding and with no memory of who he is. He stumbles into a coffee shop and is befriended by a charitable ex-nun who is failing in her attempts to write marketable pornography.


Airheads

1330. Airheads

Comedy Crime Music
6.2

19941h 32min

United States

Director: Michael Lehmann

The Lone Rangers have heavy-metal dreams and a single demo tape they can't get anyone to play. The solution: Hijack an FM rock radio station and hold the deejays hostage until they agree to broadcast the band's tape.