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.

My Blue Heaven

1681. My Blue Heaven

Action Comedy Crime
6.2

19901h 37min

United States

Director: Herbert Ross

FBI agent Barney Coopersmith is assigned to protect former Mafia figure turned informant Vincent Antonelli. In the witness protection program one is supposed to keep a low profile, but that is something that Antonelli has trouble doing. Coopersmith certainly has his hands full keeping Antonelli away from the Mafia hitmen who want to stop him testifying, not to mention the nightclubs...


The Two Jakes

1682. The Two Jakes

Crime Drama Mystery Romance
6.1

19902h 17min

United States

Director: Jack Nicholson

Real estate developer Jake Berman hires private investigator and war veteran Jake Gittes for some run-of-the-mill matrimonial work. After Berman shoots his wife's lover, who happens to be his business partner, Gittes is drawn into a web of conspiracy and deceit involving the oil reserves beneath Los Angeles. While investigating, Gittes hears a voice from his past that causes him to revisit a traumatic case in Chinatown.


The Grifters

1683. The Grifters

Crime Drama
6.9

19901h 50min

Canada, United States

Director: Stephen Frears

A small-time conman has his loyalties torn between his estranged mother and his new girlfriend, both of whom are high-stakes grifters with their own angles to play.


Presumed Innocent

1684. Presumed Innocent

Mystery Crime Thriller
6.9

19902h 7min

United States

Director: Alan J. Pakula

Rusty Sabich is a deputy prosecutor engaged in an obsessive affair with a coworker who is murdered. Soon after, he's accused of the crime. And his fight to clear his name becomes a whirlpool of lies and hidden passions.


The Freshman

1685. The Freshman

Comedy Crime
6.5

19901h 42min

United States

Director: Andrew Bergman

After a film student gets his belongings stolen, he meets a mobster bearing a startling resemblance to a certain cinematic godfather. Soon, he finds himself caught up in a caper involving endangered species and fine dining.


King of New York

1686. King of New York

Thriller Crime
6.9

19901h 43min

Italy

Director: Abel Ferrara

A former drug lord returns from prison determined to wipe out all his competition and distribute the profits of his operations to New York's poor and lower classes in this stylish and ultra violent modern twist on Robin Hood.


Quick Change

1687. Quick Change

Comedy Crime
6.8

19901h 29min

United States

Director: Howard Franklin

With the aid of his girlfriend, Phyllis Potter, and best friend, Loomis, Grimm enters a Manhattan bank dressed as a clown, creates a hostage situation and executes a flawless robbery. The only thing left for the trio to do is make their getaway out of the city and to the airport. It sounds simple enough, but it seems that fate deserts them immediately after the bank heist. One mishap after another conspires to keep these robbers from reaching freedom.


The Adventures of Ford Fairlane

1688. The Adventures of Ford Fairlane

Action Comedy Thriller Crime Mystery
6.4

19901h 42min

United States

Director: Renny Harlin

To the Los Angeles elite, Ford Fairlane is known as "Mr. Rock 'n' Roll Detective." This loudmouthed ladies' man serves an exclusive rock star clientele, who depend on his keen eye and smug discretion. So when a heavy-metal musician dies mid-concert, Fairlane is on the case before the lights come up. But things turn shocking when radio personality Johnny Crunch hires Fairlane to find a missing groupie mere hours before he is electrocuted live on air.


Buried Alive

1689. Buried Alive

Thriller Crime Horror TV Movie
6.4

19901h 34min

United States

Director: Frank Darabont

A married woman and her lover plot to kill her husband to make off with the insurance money. However, their attempt to murder him using poisonous fish toxins backfires in surprising ways.


The Krays

1690. The Krays

Drama Crime History
6.6

19901h 55min

United Kingdom

Director: Peter Medak

Twins Ronnie and Reggie Kray are raised in east London, under the influence of their hateful but doting mother Violet. As they grow up, Ronnie's violent nature takes over, and Reggie follows his brother's lead. The two become notorious crime lords who rule over the East End club scene. But at the height of their power, the brothers veer into different lives, giving the older crime bosses a chance to reclaim what the Krays took from them.