Crime films have been at the forefront of filmmaking since the earliest days of cinema. From Edwin S. Porter's silent western The Great Train Robbery (1903) to J. Stuart Blackton's The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1905), crime epics explore the sinister actions of criminals who operate outside of the law, supplying cinema with some of its greatest, grandest stories.
Nowadays, the likes of David Fincher, Quentin Tarantino, and Martin Scorsese conserve the craft of crime-moviemaking. As a result, many of the finest film noirs, gangster movies, police procedurals, and detective/mystery-thrillers have been made with the utmost cinematic care. IMDb's Top 250 chart includes plenty of crime epics, with some even sitting in the Top 10 highest-rated films of all time.
10 American History X (1998) Explores Indoctrinated Hatred & Intergenerational Racism – 8.5
Directed by Tony Kaye, American History X takes aim at white supremacy to tell a tale of intergenerational racism. Edward Norton stars as a neo-Nazi skinhead who, after serving three years in prison for voluntary manslaughter, tries to prevent his brother (Edward Furlong) from becoming further indoctrinated into the white power movement.
American History X portrays one man's journey to hell and back with uncompromising brutality and violence. Director Tony Kaye crafts a film that feels both visceral and emotionally provocative, giving weight to a gradual and organic telling of an intelligent kid seduced by horrible ideologies. With 1.1M user ratings on IMDb, American History X currently sits at a weighted average vote of 8.5/10.
9 The Departed (2006) Plays A Game Of Cat & Mouse – 8.5
Directed by Martin Scorsese, The Departed stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Billy Costigan, a South Boston cop who goes undercover to infiltrate the organization of a gangland chief, played by Jack Nicholson. Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Alec Baldwin, and Vera Farmiga star in supporting performances.
The Departed plays like an enthralling morality tale of cat-and-mouse. Nicholson steals the film in the set-up, but the second half belongs to DiCaprio and Damon, who battle it out in a psychologically taut game of wits and nerves. With 1.3M user ratings on IMDb, The Departed currently sits at a weighted average vote of 8.5/10.
8 Se7en (1995) Oozes Existential Dread – 8.6
Forced to work together, Detective David Mills and Lieutenant William Somerset, played by Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman respectively, track down the serial killer known as 'John Doe,' who uses the seven deadly sins as a motif in his murders. However, things take a turn for the worst when the case starts to affect Somerset and Mills' personal lives—crescendoing into what’s considered one of the greatest finales in all of film.
Directed by David Fincher, Se7en inflates the serial killer genre to macabre proportions with its stygian gloom and theatrical executions. The structure of its narrative is dense, but its beats are deliberate – where the egoism of a fictional character is laced not only through lavish works of literature but through religion, too. Se7en currently sits at a weighted average vote of 8.6/10 on IMDb, with 1.6M user ratings.
7 The Green Mile (1999) Marries Mystery With Magic – 8.6
Based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Stephen King, The Green Mile is adaptively written and directed by Frank Darabont. Set during the Great Depression in 1935, the film stars Tom Hanks as a death row prison guard who witnesses a series of supernatural events after an enigmatic convict, played by Michael Clarke Duncan, arrives at the facility.
Running over three hours in length, The Green Mile entrenches itself in a deeply affecting spell of powerful storytelling. Frank Darabont directs a near-masterpiece, with emotionally-moving performances from the entire cast. With 1.3M user ratings on IMDb, The Green Mile currently sits at a weighted average vote of 8.6/10.
6 City Of God (2002) Vindicates Christianity – 8.6
Directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, Cidade de Deus (known internationally as City of God) is a Brazilian crime epic adapted from Paulo Lins' 1997 novel of the same name. Set in the poverty-stricken favelas of 1970s Rio de Janeiro, the film follows the growth of organized crime, depicting the war between a drug dealer and a vigilante-turned-criminal.
City of God delivers a darkly skewed coming-of-age film that peerlessly utilizes an obscure setting with striking authenticity. It's difficult to watch and, at times, incredibly disturbing, but the film crafts a cold, hard look at reality from a specific point of view. With 743K user ratings on IMDb, City of God currently sits at a weighted average vote of 8.6/10.
5 Goodfellas (1990) Delivers A Non-Fiction Mafia Drama – 8.7
Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, and Robert De Niro make for a cinematic trifecta in Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas. Adapted from Nicholas Pileggi's 1985 non-fiction novel, the film follows the rise and fall of mob associate Henry Hill and his friends and family between the 1950s and 1970s.
Complex, volatile, hard-hitting, and stylish, Goodfellas is the arguable high point of Scorsese's career and one of the finest films of all time. The screenplay is nothing short of sublime, and the performances are superlative achievements in screen acting. Goodfellas currently sits at a weighted average vote of 8.7/10 on IMDb with 1.1M user ratings.
4 Pulp Fiction (1994) Modernizes Crime-Noir – 8.9
Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, Pulp Fiction follows Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield, played by John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson, respectively – hitmen with a penchant for philosophical discussions. Their storyline is interwoven with that of their boss, played by Ving Rhames, with supporting performances from Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, and Amanda Plummer.
Pulp Fiction is widely regarded as one of the most influential films of all time. Boasting groundbreaking screenwriting, direction, and cinematography, the film's violent intensity and genuine audaciousness capture an era of post-modern America, filled with magazines, drugs, sex, and swearing—tons of swearing. With 2M user ratings on IMDb, Pulp Fiction currently sits at a weighted average vote of 8.9/10.
3 The Godfather Part II (1974) Exceeds Expectations – 9.0
Directed and co-written by Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather Part II serves as both a prequel and a sequel to the 1972 original. The film follows Robert De Niro's Vito Corleone in 1917's Hell's Kitchen, contrasted with the story of Al Pacino's Michael Corleone in 1958.
Francis Ford Coppola fashions a fully-furnished gangster flick that stretches beyond the boundaries of its time to craft a film that sets new standards for sequels. Drawing on solid performances by Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, the film encompasses an epic vision of greed and corruption in America. The Godfather Part II currently sits at a weighted average vote of 9.0/10 on IMDb, with 1.2M user ratings.
2 The Dark Knight (2008) Hybridizes Several Genres – 9.0
Directed by Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight follows Bruce Wayne as he tries to keep a tight lid on crime in Gotham City while an anarchistic criminal menaces him. Christian Bale reprises his role as the Caped Crusader opposite Heath Ledger's turn as the Joker, with supporting performances from Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Morgan Freeman.
The Dark Knight succeeds as both a wildly entertaining comic book film and as a gripping, neo-noir crime thriller. Christopher Nolan captures something dark, complex, and genuinely unforgettable in Heath Ledger's performance, with equally-enigmatic work from Bale, Eckhart, and Oldman. Sitting at a weighted average vote of 9.0/10 with 2.6M user ratings, The Dark Knight is currently the second-highest-rated film of all time on IMDb.
1 The Godfather (1972) Is The Greatest Crime Epic Ever Made – 9.2
Based on Mario Puzo's 1969 novel of the same name, The Godfather is co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film focuses on the powerful Italian-American crime family of Don Vito Corleone, played by Marlon Brando. Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Richard Conte, Richard Castellano, and Diane Keaton star in supporting performances.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest films – if not, the greatest film – of all time, The Godfather is a cultural milestone in American cinema, delivering an emotionally complex metaphor about the American experience from the perspective of an immigrant. With a weighted average vote of 9.2/10, The Godfather is currently the highest-rated film on IMDb (shared with The Shawshank Redemption).