Top 30 Crime Films of All Time
Article By: Dan Clark
With the recent release of Lawless it had me thinking about one of my favorite movie genres. I’m not sure what it is but the crime genre has produced some of the greatest films of all time. That made creating this list even more difficult. One thing I did do to ease my pain a little was I didn’t include Westerns. I figured I would save those for their own list. After much frustration I was finally able to break it down to the Top 30 Crime Films of All Time. I’m sure some of the list will surprise you while others choices will be far more obvious. Whatever you think feel free to sound off in the comment section below.
30. Snatch.
Directed By: Guy Ritchie
Written By: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Jason Statham, Brad Pitt, and Benico Del Toro
Synopsis: Turkish and his close friend/accomplice Tommy get pulled into the world of match fixing by the notorious Brick Top. Things get complicated when the boxer they had lined up gets the shit kicked out of him by Pitt, a ‘pikey’ ( slang for an Irish Gypsy)- who comes into the equation after Turkish, an unlicensed boxing promoter wants to buy a caravan off the Irish Gypsies. They then try to convince Pitt not only to fight for them, but to lose for them too. Whilst all this is going on, a huge diamond heist takes place, and a fistful of motley characters enter the story, including ‘Cousin Avi’, ‘Boris The Blade’, ‘Franky Four Fingers’ and ‘Bullet Tooth Tony’. Things go from bad to worse as it all becomes about the money, the guns, and the damned dog!
Quick Review: Snatch is full of fun and slightly controlled chaos. The film pumps up the adrenaline constantly coming at you with quick edits and sharp camera techniques. Guy Richie’s style can become tiresome, but when this was released it was still fresh and original.
29. Scarface
Directed By: Brian De Palma
Written By: Oliver Stone
Starring: Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Steven Bauer
Synopsis: Al Pacino stars as Tony Montana, an exiled Cuban criminal who goes to work for Miami drug lord Robert Loggia. Montana rises to the top of Florida’s crime chain, appropriating Loggia’s cokehead mistress (Michelle Pfeiffer) in the process. Howard Hawks’ “X Marks the Spot” motif in depicting the story line’s many murders is dispensed with in the 1983 Scarface; instead, we are inundated with blood by the bucketful, especially in the now-infamous buzz saw scene. One carry-over from the original Scarface is Tony Montana’s incestuous yearnings for his sister Gina
Quick Review: I am not as fond of Scareface as many others but I cannot deny its influence. I mean how many times have you heard someone scream the line, “Say Hello to my little Friend!”, often not knowing where it came from. Also you can see how big a staple it has become to our society by the many movies, TV shows, and video games that have attempted to emulate its style. It is easy to see why. The story progression is amazing as it starts off with a brutal rawness that develops into the brash indulgences of the over excess. When you have one of the greatest actors of all time, in Al Pacino, giving one of his greatest performances its hard not to have an instant classic.
28. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
Directed By: Joseph Sargent
Written By: John Godey, Peter Stone
Starring: Walter Matthau, Robert Shawn, and Marti Balsam
Synopsis: Deep in the bowels of New York City, a gang of men led by “Mr. Blue” (Robert Shaw) hijacks a subway car and radios the transit authority with a demand: Deliver $1 million in cash in the next hour, or they’ll shoot one passenger each minute. Now, it’s up to Lt. Zachary Garber (Walter Matthau) to keep a cool head, secure the money and deliver the ransom before time runs out. Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo and Earl Hindman round out Mr. Blue’s crew.
Quick Review: The original Taking of Pelham One Two Three is a film that does not nearly get the notoriety it deserves. Like the greatest of all heist films the premises is simple but the execution is complex. It clues you in to where it is going only to diverge from your final conclusion. Joesph Sargent created a situation where safety was never a guarantee. With that he allowed the tension to completely engulf the audience. Walter Matthau was also fanatic and made sure to bring his classic grumpy charm. When it was remade a few years ago it shined some light on this forgotten classic, and I am hoping with this list I can shine some more.
27. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Directed By: Robert Zemeckis
Written By: Gary K. Wolf, Jeffrey Price, and Peter S. Seaman
Starring: Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, and Joanna Cassidy
Synopsis: Director Robert Zemeckis seamlessly mixes live action with animation wizardry in this cinematic groundbreaker featuring Bob Hoskins as gruff gumshoe Eddie Valiant, who agrees to take the case of Roger Rabbit, a zany cartoon star framed for murder.
Quick Review: I know people don’t often think of Who Framed Roger Rabbit as a classic crime thriller but it really is. The concept of this film is pure genius. Combing all different worlds of classic cartons and placing them into a classic crime thriller just works. You can easily become memorized by this film on a technical level as the special effects still hold up to this day. I remember as a kid not being able to believe my eyes when Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny came on the screen at the same time. Perhaps more so than any other movie this created a world that just begs to be played in.
26. The Third Man
Directed By: Carol Reed
Written By: Graham Greene, Alexander Korda
Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotton, and Alida Valli
Synopsis: After arriving in post-World War II Vienna, unemployed pulp novelist Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) learns that his friend Harry (Orson Welles) has died in an accident. Compelled to investigate the death, Holly slowly uncovers startling revelations about Harry’s life. Based on a novel by Graham Greene, this classic film noir thriller earned an Academy Award nomination for director Carol Reed and won an Oscar for Best Cinematography.
Quick Review: If you are looking for films that create a blueprint for the genre of film noir you have to start that list off with The Third Man. It has the encompassing atmosphere you come to expect with noir themes. A huge importance is placed on the contrast of light against darkness to encourage mystery and anxiety. The cinematography utilizes an overall sense of gloom causing the film to have a mystifying tone. You get invested in the story, but at the same time you are never quite able to get a complete grasp of what is going on. This is truly a treat for any crime fan.
25. The Usual Suspects
Directed By: Bryan Singer
Written By: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, and Chazz Palminteri
Synopsis: When five unacquainted crooks are hauled into a police station to appear in a criminal lineup, they decide to pull off a heist together. The plan gets complicated, however, when they intermix with an underworld kingpin named Keyser Söze.
Quick Review: There are times when an amazing ending can cause us to over praise an otherwise mediocre film. That isn’t the case with The Usual Suspect. There is a downside when you are aware a movie is known for its surprise ending. You become prepared for it so when it comes it’s not a huge surprise. Luckily with The Usual Suspects even with that knowledge, and even if you are able to figure out the final twist, you can still find the same amount of enjoyment with the film. The script creates a layered story with quality characters that are all easy to get behind. This helped reinvigorate the crime genre when it was released. It allowed us to go back to those times of mystery and intrigue we often miss out on in today’s cinematic world.
24. Reservoir Dogs
Directed By: Quentin Tarantino
Written By: Quentin Tarantino, Roger Avary
Starring: Harvey Keitel, Time Roth, and Michael Madsen
Synopsis: Quentin Tarantino’s directorial debut is raw, violent, often mimicked — and unforgettable. A botched robbery indicates a police informant, and the pressure mounts in the aftermath at a warehouse. Crime begets violence as the survivors unravel.
Quick Review: Quentin Tarantino immediately made a name for himself with his debut film Reservoir Dogs. It showed that limited story telling can be effective with clever editing and sharp dialogue. Tarantino knows how to stage a scene to create tension to get you dialed-in right away. Tarrantino both rejuvenated and revolutionized gangster pictures for his day. There have been many attempts to capture what Tarantino does as it looks simple on paper, but it takes a mastermind to put it all together to create something more than a run of the mill crime film.
23. The Untouchables
Directed By: Brian De Palma
Written By: Oscar Fraley
Starring: Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, and Robert De Niro
Synopsis: G-Man Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) will stop at nothing to take down legendary gangster Al Capone (Robert De Niro) — even if it means bending some rules — in director Brian De Palma’s period crime drama written by playwright David Mamet and based on the 1959 television series. Sean Connery steals the show with his Oscar-winning performance as Jimmy Malone, a tough-as-nails Chicago street cop who shows Ness the ropes.
Quick Review: With a lot of the crimes films on this list the focus is most often on those committing the crimes. The Untouchables is one of the few films to look at the other side of the issue. The cast is strong and full of great performances. The drama is powerful as De Palma flawlessly used all his skills to tell this story of how Capone fell.
22. Dial M for Murder
Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock
Written By: Frederick Knott
Starring: Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, and Robert Cummings
Synopsis: Director Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece of double-cross and intrigue stars Ray Milland as former tennis champ Tony Wendice, who concocts a plan to kill his rich but unfaithful wife (Grace Kelly), who’s embroiled in a liaison with a writer (Robert Cummings). When Tony’s plans go awry, he improvises a second act of deceit, but the entire bloody affair turns out to be far messier than he expected. John Williams plays a sly Scotland Yard inspector.
Quick Review: There are few names that hold the power of a name like Hitchcock. He literally changed cinema forever, and without him the landscape of film would be a lot different. Hitchcock films could easily be considered modern day fairy tales. He presents a test of morality and we watch our characters struggle with that test. Of course aiding in their struggle is his marvelous filmmaking.
21. Le Samourai
Directed By: Jean-Pierre Melville
Written By: Jean-Pierre Melville, Georges Pellegrin
Starring: Alain Delon, Nathalie Delon, and Francois Perier
Synopsis: A little bit gangster film, a little bit samurai flick, this 1960s French masterpiece from Jean-Pierre Melville introduces the memorable anti-hero Jef Costello (Alain Delon), a contract killer with the instincts of a Japanese warrior and the features of Adonis. After offing a nightclub owner, Costello has two big problems: his double-crossing employer, who now wants him dead, and the dogged police investigator who’s determined to rein him in.
Quick Review: By combing the world of the samurai and gangsters director Jean-Pierre Melville created a film that was both familiar and unconventional. Similar to last year’s Drive the script is muted allowing the style and atmosphere to steal the show. We become intrigued about our protagonist due to the suspicious and mysterious manner he goes about his actions, as if he is aware of our own presence never wanting to give away too much. From the moment of its release Le Samurai changed what you could do in a crime film. Instead of having the plot drive the story the character was placed in the forefront making his actions the prime suspect.
20. The Maltese Falcon
Directed By: John Huston
Written By: John Huston, Dashiell Hammett
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, and Gladys George
Synopsis: Humphrey Bogart stars as private eye Sam Spade in this Oscar-nominated noir classic that finds the sultry Miss Wonderly (Mary Astor) seeking out protection from a man named Thursby. Spade’s partner (Jerome Cowan) takes the case — but he winds up dead, along with Thursby. Spade’s subsequent hunt for the killer leads him into a world of deception and double-crossing, as a trio of criminals searches for a priceless statue known as the Maltese Falcon.
Quick Review: What is the stuff that dreams are made of? If your dreams are full of fun cinematic masterpieces then that answer could include The Maltese Falcon. I have a very soft spot for this noir classic starring the fast talk legend himself Humphrey Bogart . Personally I could hear Bogart speak that classic noir lexicon all day and enjoy every minute of it. The story is quick and can change on a dime even for today’s standards. It plays with those taboo topics of murder, jealously, sex, and corruption with little to no regard. It mesmerizes us with the fantastic just to bring us back to reality with the scornful truth.
19. Chinatown
Directed By: Roman Polanski
Written By: Robert Towne
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston
Synopsis: With a suspicious, porcelain-skinned femme fatale (Faye Dunaway) bankrolling his snooping, private eye J.J. Gittes (Jack Nicholson) uncovers intricate dirty dealings in the Los Angeles waterworks and gets his nose slashed for his trouble. Meanwhile, his financier harbors a nasty family secret. Director Roman Polanski reimagines 1930s Los Angeles with an onionlike story that reveals itself one complex layer at a time in this classic neonoir.
Quick Review: Roman Polanski is the guru on conveying absolute dread to the audience. He gives us this complex story that becomes more and more decrypted as the fabric gets peeled back to reveal ultimate sleaze. Jack Nicholson is also fantastic in one of his most iconic roles. A great filmmaker, with a great actor, making a great film. Sometimes it is as simple as that.
18. Infernal Affairs
Directed By: Wai-keun Lau, Alan Mak
Written By: Alan Mak, Felix Chong
Starring: Any Lau, Tony Le
Synopsis: Chan Wing Yan, a young police officer, has been sent undercover as a mole in the local mafia. Lau Kin Ming, a young mafia member, infiltrates the police force. Years later, their older counterparts, Chen Wing Yan and Inspector Lau Kin Ming, respectively, race against time to expose the mole within their midst.
Quick Review: Much of the U.S. audience became aware of Infernal Affairs due to its America remake The Departed. While I love The Departed after watching Infernal Affairs I came to realize most of its best parts were taken straight from the original. With a genre so prominent as crime it is a challenge to come up with new and interesting ideas. The story of Infernal Affairs accomplished that nearly impossible task with a plot that is intricate and unique.
17. Dog Day Afternoon
Directed By: Sidney Lumet
Written By: P.K. Kluge, Thomas Moore
Starring: Al Pacino, John Cazale, and Penelope Allen
Synopsis: To get money for his gay lover’s sex-change operation, Sonny (Al Pacino) — who’s married with kids — teams up with Sal (John Cazale) to rob a New York bank on a scorching-hot summer day. The stickup goes awry when the press gets wind of the circus sideshow-esque story. Chris Sarandon, Charles Durning and James Broderick co-star in this classic Sidney Lumet-directed film based on an actual event from the 1970s.
Quick Review: No matter what time of year you watch Dog Day Afternoon it immediately becomes a hot summer day. The atmosphere and temperature grab you making you instantly feel what the characters are going through. What starts a normal bank robbery swerves into something a lot different and a lot darker. Though out of the darkness comes some great comedic moments. Al Pacino and John Cazale add in their own subtle touches that are increasingly genius. Both work well as bumbling fools that become kings for a day.
16. The Sting
Directed By: George Roy Hill
Written By: David S. Ward
Starring: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Robert Shaw
Synopsis: After rookie grifter Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford) tracks down veteran flim-flam man Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman) in 1930s Chicago, the duo plans to fleece a homicidal racketeer (Robert Shaw) through a phony racetrack scam involving a string of double and triple crosses. The Sting picked up seven Academy Awards, including Oscars for Best Picture, Best Directing (George Roy Hill) and Best Original Screenplay (David S. Ward).
Quick Review: Paul Newman and Robert Redford are one of the greatest acting duos of all time. Their careers just appeared to magically meet at the right spot. Redford was just about to take off and Newman was in the prime of his career, though his prime lasted for 40 years. The majority of crime films on this list have dark and dreary undertones that almost celebrate misery. The Sting is a lot more bright and lighthearted. Though the film is lighter it still maintains a deep meaning. It is a movie that has a little of everything, which makes it endlessly enjoyable.
15. The French Connection
Directed By: William Friedkin
Written By: Ernest Tidyman, Robin Moore
Starring: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey
Synopsis: William Friedkin’s gritty police drama portrays two tough New York City cops trying to intercept a huge heroin shipment coming from France. An interesting contrast is established between ‘Popeye’ Doyle, a short-tempered alcoholic bigot who is nevertheless a hard-working and dedicated police officer, and his nemesis Alain Charnier, a suave and urbane gentleman who is nevertheless a criminal and one of the largest drug suppliers of pure heroin to North America. During the surveillance and eventual bust, Friedkin provides one of the most gripping and memorable car chase sequences ever filmed.
Quick Review: When people talk about The French Connection a lot of the discussion is focused on iconic car chase. When you compare it to today’s standards for action it may not come off as all that fantastic, which is understandable because so many action sequences copied what they started. Luckily The French Connection is a great movie that happens to have a great action set piece. Even without the impact of that moment you are left with one fine film.
14. Strangers on a Train
Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock
Written By: Raymond Chandler, Czenzi Ormonde
Starring: Farley Granger, Robert Walker, and Ruth Roman
Synopsis: When Bruno meets tennis star Guy aboard a train, he confesses he wants his rich father dead, prompting Guy to reveal that he wants to divorce his shrewish wife — so Bruno suggests that they “trade” murders in this Alfred Hitchcock classic.
Quick Review: You didn’t think you were done with Hitchcock did you? Hitchcock shows his impeccable knack for creating thrilling set pieces with Strangers on a Train. He can use the obvious like an out of control carnival ride or the more subdued like a never ending tennis game to keep you on the edge of your seat. He constantly pushes his characters by presenting them a never ending amount of challenges to culminate to a final showdown. By the end the battle tested audience is relieved and astonished to see what happens when it’s all over.
13. Se7en
Directed By: David Fincher
Written By: Andrew Kevin Walker
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Brad Pit, and Kevin Spacey
Synopsis: A seasoned homicide detective and his new partner are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose gruesome crimes are based on the Seven Deadly Sins: greed, gluttony, sloth, lust, pride, envy and wrath.
Quick Review: Serial killers have appeared to fascinate the popular culture in the last few years. Shows like Criminal Minds can trace their origins back to films like Se7en. Se7en set a new bar for how brutal and gory a legitimate film can get. There are still moments and scenes that haunt me as of this day. Fincher walks the line of artful and exploitative but never teeters too far over to the ladder. Every shocking moment has a purpose as we delve deeper into the mind of a madman.
12. The Killing
Directed By: Stanley Kubrick
Written By: Stanley Kurbrick, Jim Thompson
Starring: Sterling Hayde, Coleen Gray, and Vince Edwards
Synopsis: Before settling down to a respectable life, career criminal Johnny Clay teams with a group of pitiful two-bit crooks to pull off one final, elaborate heist at a racetrack in this classic noir thriller directed by Stanley Kubrick.
Quick Review: I mentioned earlier the gravitas a name like Hitchcock brings, and another name that brings a similar weight is a name like Kubrick. Kubrick and Hitchcock don’t have much in common with their film styles. Their careers prove that true cinematic achievement can be met through a multitude of different techniques. For Kubrick The Killing is rather straightforward narrative, but that narrative is carried out brilliantly. The heist plays like a song hitting every beat. Like you would expect even the most rehearsed heist can hit a snag or two.
11. Heat
Directed By: Michael Mann
Written By: Michael Mann
Starring: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Val Kimer
Synopsis: As two driven professionals — an illustrious detective (Al Pacino) and a sophisticated thief (Robert De Niro) — face off, they learn how much they need each other, and that the line between cop and criminal isn’t always well-defined. Brilliantly directed by Michael Mann, Heat is a hyperkinetic crime drama about two men on opposite sides of the law who approach life in much the same way. Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore and Jon Voight co-star.
Quick Review: Michael Mann’s Heat is a triumph of acting heavyweights. Watching Al Pacino and Robert De Niro go toe to toe is a joy to watch. It has happened again a few times after this film, but those moments weren’t nearly as poignant. For the last decade they both have been going through the motions, but this was made when they were still on their game. It is fitting that in a movie full of shoot outs and bank heists most memorable scene is two people talking in a diner.
10. No Country for Old Men
Directed By: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Written By: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, and Cormac McCarthy
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin
Synopsis: Llewelyn Moss, a hunter, stumbles upon dead bodies, $2 million and a hoard of heroin in a Texas desert, but methodical killer Anton Chigurh comes looking for it, with local sheriff Ed Tom Bell hot on his trail.
Quick Review: There are many Coen brothers films that could have made this list; Fargo, Raising Arizona, or Blood Simple to name a few. The reason I went with No Country for Old Men, besides the fact that it is a great movie, is it is when the Coen’s grew up as directors. They lost a lot of the quirkiness and replaced it with a more mature attitude. It was as if this movie allowed Coens to unleash their power and cinematic prowess that was building up for decades. Plus Javier Bardem gave us one of the best villains in film in the last 20 years. Many argue the 2000’s was not a great decade for movies, but one movie many would point to as a crowning achievement was No Country for Old Men.
9. City of God
Directed By: Fernando Meirelles, Katia Lund
Written By: Paulo Lins, Braulio Mantovani
Starring: Alexandre Rodrigues, Matheus Nachtergaele, and Leandro Firmino
Synopsis: Buscapé (Alexandre Rodrigues) is frightened he’ll end up like the countless others around him — troubled, violent or dead. But his saving grace is his photographer’s eye, through which the stories of several people who live in his forsaken Cidade de Deus unfold. Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund direct this sobering look at life inside a Rio de Janeiro housing project, reputed to be one of the most dangerous parts of an otherwise magical city.
Quick Review: There are a lot of things that make City of God a great film. For one the style is original keeping us engaged to this epic story. The story is immense taking a multitude of storylines and fitting them into a tight package to allow us to relive what this world was like. Lastly it is evident that this movie comes from a very personal place. That personal desire is seen in the detail and effort that went in to make sure these people, this story, and this city were given the proper respect that they deserve.
8. Double Indemnity
Directed By: Billy Wilder
Written By: Biller Wilder Raymond Chandler
Starring: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson
Synopsis: Smitten insurance man Walter Neff plots the perfect murder with femme fatale client Phyllis Dietrichson: staging her husband’s “accidental” death to collect double indemnity on his life insurance and absconding with the loot.
Quick Review: Billy Wilder was the master at making small tales large. With Double Indemnity he follows that familiar context of creating the perfect crime that is impossible not to commit. The miscellaneous manner he allows the film to play out gives us this uncanny insight to our own personal paranoia. We mock the characters and their brash decisions not to realize we too have been fooled.
7. Bonnie and Clyde
Directed By: Arthur Penn
Written By: David Newman, Robert Benton
Starring: Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, and Michael J. Pollard
Synopsis: Serial bank robbers, sometime lovers and folkloric heroes Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway) and Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty) barrel across Depression-ravaged America on a shooting spree that ends in a deadly rain of bullets and tragedy. Directed by Arthur Penn, this stylish and sexy film shattered the mold when it came to crime pictures, layering comedy onto mayhem and youthful criminality. Gene Wilder makes his big-screen debut.
Quick Review: Bonnie and Clyde pushed the limits of censorship when it came to film. Its provocative story and wiliness to show what others would hide stunned and tantalized American audiences. Modern cinema went through a renaissance during the 1970’s and much of that origin began with Bonnie and Clyde. It put more power in the directors and writers hands allowing them to craft their own art. Bonnie and Clyde allowed Americans to become more grownup as moviegoers.
6. L.A. Confidential
Directed By: Curtis Hanson
Written By: James Ellroy, Brian Helgeland, and Curtis Hanson
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, and Guy Pearce
Synopsis: In 1950s Los Angeles, three wildly different cops form an uneasy alliance to ferret out deep-seated police corruption. But some people will do anything to land their faces in the pages of trashy Hollywood tabloids such as Hush-Hush magazine.
Quick Review: L.A. Confidential was able to keep the feel of a classic film noir, but still maintain modern sensibilities. I never would have imagined a film in color could capture the essences of a proper film noir. It uses its color wisely giving us a georgous view of the classic L.A. landscape. The stories is layered for days, but handles those layers with absolute fluidity. The acting talent is immense with every performer giving their all. It is nearly fantastic on every level.
5. Pulp Fiction
Directed By: Quentin Tarantino
Written By: Quentin Tarantino, Roger Avary,
Starring: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, and Samuel L. Jackson
Synopsis: A burger-loving hit man (John Travolta), his philosophical partner (Samuel L. Jackson), a drug-addled gangster’s moll (Uma Thurman) and a washed-up boxer (Bruce Willis) converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper.
Quick Review: With Pulp Fiction Quentin Tarantino took a myriad of elements that are common and molded them into something that is unparalleled in originality. He is the master of the homage peppering it in the make the movie stronger rather than making it a distraction. The editing of the nonlinear storytelling remains concise which allows it to take full advantage of the format. The dialogue is natural showing how a realistic conversation about cheeseburgers can define a character. No matter what country you are in Pulp Fiction is a great movie.
4.Godfather Part II
Directed By: Francis Ford Coppola
Written By: Francis Ford Coppola, Mario Puzo, and
Starring: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Robert Duvall
Synopsis: The Corleone family roots are explored, tracing Don Vito’s journey from Sicily to a life of organized crime in New York. In a parallel story, his grown son Michael extends operations to Cuba and contends with more betrayal and murder.
Quick Review: The Godfather II is the perfect sequel. It took what came before and built upon it to reach another level. It works perfectly in tandem making a viewing of Godfather even more powerful after seeing The Godfather II for the first time. It remained faithful never shunning what came before, but it wasn’t afraid to challenge the establishment of the first one. It wasn’t a rehash as it changed the perception of what came before. The subtle glorification of the crime family The Godfather created was adjusted to a grim reality of the certain tragedy that comes with that lifestyle.
3. The Silence of the Lambs
Directed By: Jonathan Demme
Written By: Thomas Harris, Ted Tally
Starring: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, and Lawrence A. Boney
Synopsis: In this adaptation of Thomas Harris’s novel, FBI trainee Clarice Starling ventures into a maximum-security asylum to pick the diseased brain of Hannibal Lecter, hoping the psychiatrist turned homicidal cannibal can help her catch a serial killer.
Quick Review: Sure when we think of The Silence of the Lambs the first thing that comes to mind is the legendary performance of Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter. Though he is only in a small amount of that movie he never really leaves. His presence is always there lurking in the shadows of our minds causing terror to remain only a few frames away. It is certain that Lecter is one of the greatest movie villains ever. Lecter is a big part of what makes Silence of the Lambs great, but he is not the only part. Jodie Foster holds her own as the perfect foible for Lecter. The filmmaking is also fantastic knowing how the use the story it’s given.
2. Goodfellas
Directed By: Martin Scorsese
Written By: Nicholas Pileggi, Martin Scorsese
Starring: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, and Joe Pesci
Synopsis: Director Martin Scorsese’s gripping gangster opus recounts three decades in the life of real-world mobster Henry Hill, who dreamed of becoming a big-time wise guy but landed in the Witness Protection Program instead.
Quick Review: There is an endless amount of praise I can throw at Goodfellas. The story is fantastic, the characters are great, and the direction of Scorsese is legendary. One thing Scorsese is fantastic at is using music to enhance your emotions. With a story that covers such a large time span he has a lot to play with and he didn’t waste a second. It takes a craftsmen to take such a large scope and make something so intimate.
1. The Godfather
Directed By: Francis Fod Coppola
Written By: Mario Puzo, Francis Fod Coppola
Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacno, and James Caan
Synopsis: When organized-crime family patriarch Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge in this Oscar-winning epic.
Quick Review: Putting The Godfather number one on any movie list is a comp out, and I have no issue confessing to that fact. I could have put a more clever choice that would shock the masses, or something that had more of an edge to it. Instead I went the obvious route. I don’t feel any apprehension at all because The Godfather is one damn fine movie. Since its inception any film that approached similar subject matter will forever be chasing the shadow of The Godfather
