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It’s difficult enough to make a crime movie that’s great, but to make one that comes just about as close to perfection as cinema can possibly come? That’s a movie that’s bound to go down in history as one of the best of all time. Of course, perfection as it relates to a motion picture is a highly subjective matter, but there are a certain ten crime films so undeniably exceptional that it’s easier to make the case for their being flawless than to make a case against it.
These ten masterpieces of crime are truly flawless from their unforgettable first scene to their unforgettable last, and that’s why they’re often hailed as some of the greatest films of all time. From international modern classics like Memories of Murder to Golden-Age Hollywood landmarks like Double Indemnity, these are gems that demonstrate just how possible it is to make a film beyond reproach.
‘Memories of Murder’ (2003)
Bong Joon Ho has been making some of the greatest films of South Korea’s history since the start of his career, and one genre that he particularly excels at is the thriller. Case in point: Memories of Murder, a neo-noir crime film about the Hwaseong murders that terrified South Korea during the late ’80s. It’s one of the best murder mystery movies of the last 25 years, hailed by many as Bong’s best work to date.
The film’s opening and closing scenes mirror each other perfectly, a masterclass in how to bookend such a phenomenal motion picture. What makes Memories of Murder all the more powerful, and the contrast between its dark sense of humor and its grim story all the more effective, is that the Hwaseong case was actually unsolved at the time of the film’s release (the real killer wouldn’t confess until 2019). Impeccably constructed and harrowingly nihilistic, this South Korean gem has aged as one of the best crime films of the 21st century so far.
‘City of God’ (2002)
The Brazilian masterpiece City of God is the highest-rated movie of the 21st century on Letterboxd. This social drama by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund is no traditional crime film, but rather a consistently shocking and devastating coming-of-age that depicts life in the slums of Rio with as much raw authenticity as the genre has ever seen.
Even so, City of God‘s moments of shock value never feel gratuitous in the slightest, and that’s what makes it one of the most perfect movies of the last 40 years. From the frenetic, adrenaline-fueled chase scene that serves as its opening sequence, until the bittersweet yet devastatingly violent ending scene, City of God remains one of the most energetic and sociopolitically sharp crime films of the 2000s.
‘Double Indemnity’ (1944)
Billy Wilder was far and away one of the greatest filmmakers from Hollywood’s Golden Age, a true visionary who was never afraid to push boundaries and deliver movies that were far ahead of their time. One such masterpiece is Double Indemnity, one of the best and heaviest film noir movies of all time. Regarded by many as the peak of the genre, it’s far and away one of the most celebrated classics from the ’40s.
Double Indemnity has one of the most masterful in medias res opening scenes in history, as well as one of the most bittersweet and thematically meaningful finales in the history of noir cinema. Everything in between is absolutely perfect, too, a masterclass in morally ambiguous storytelling with the greatest femme fatale the genre ever saw during Hollywood’s Golden Age.
‘The Shawshank Redemption’ (1994)
The Shawshank Redemption has been the highest-rated film on IMDb for many years, and for good reason — plenty of them, in fact. Based on Stephen King‘s novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, this Frank Darabont masterpiece is one of the best crowd-pleasing drama movies ever made, a soul-stirring prison break film without equal.
Everything that follows the film’s dramatic opening scene, where the protagonist catches his wife having an affair, is one of the most beautifully complex stories about justice, redemption, and male friendship that the Seventh Art has ever seen. That leads us to one of the most life-affirming conclusions of any drama from the ’90s, a flawless example of a perfectly earned happy ending.
‘Pulp Fiction’ (1994)
Quentin Tarantino proved himself an immensely talented filmmaker from the moment his feature debut, Reservoir Dogs, hit big screens around the world. It was his Palme d’Or-winning sophomore feature, however, that really established him as an auteur to look out for going forward. As the years have passed, very few filmmakers have been able to make a crime movie better than Pulp Fiction.
It’s one of the best movie masterpieces of the last 60 years, a sprawling multi-story narrative with a masterful sense of structure, pacing, and suspense. It’s yet another example of a cinematic masterpiece perfectly bookended by a pair of exceptional scenes. The dinner robbery sequence is a brilliant subversion of the traditional three-act structure that Pulp Fiction refuses to stick to, and a perfect encapsulation of why the movie has remained timeless for decades.
‘Goodfellas’ (1990)
The 1990s were one of the best decades in cinema history, and that was largely thanks to the incredible work that Martin Scorsese delivered throughout those 10 years. He kicked off his ’90s filmography as strong as he possibly could have, with what many still consider his best movie to date: Goodfellas, a masterpiece unlike anything else the genre saw throughout the decade.
Full of iconic sequences, quotable dialogue, and fascinating characters, Goodfellas is a genius deconstruction of the gangster mythos. Its car scene and the beginning of its introductory narration are one of the greatest opening scenes in movie history, and the framing of Henry Hill as a pathetic suburban outcast that Scorsese chooses to close with is every bit as legendary. A masterpiece of structure, pacing, and crime genre storytelling, Goodfellas truly is one of history’s best.
‘The Godfather’ (1972)
Francis Ford Coppola was initially reluctant to direct The Godfather, finding the Mario Puzo novel it’s based on to be less than stellar. Every cinephile should be grateful that the circumstances of life eventually led him to agree to the project, however, because what he delivered is hailed by many as the single greatest film in the illustrious history of Hollywood.
It’s the start of one of the best R-rated movie trilogies in history, and what an absolutely perfect start it is. The “I believe in America” intro scene is one of the greatest openers in film history, in exactly the same way that the scene of Michael closing the door on Kay is one of the most iconic ending scenes of all time. Everything sandwiched in between is just as masterful, a scathing subversion and deconstruction of the American Dream, the likes of which only the crime genre could have possibly delivered.
‘High and Low’ (1963)
Only three crime movies are better than The Godfather, and who could possibly be responsible for one such film than a man praised by many as the greatest filmmaker in history? Indeed, though hyper-acclaimed Japanese auteur Akira Kurosawa is undoubtedly best-known for his work in the samurai genre, he was a hugely versatile artist who dipped his toes into many genres over the course of his career. Case in point: the crime mystery drama High and Low.
It’s an absolute masterclass in narrative escalation, evolving from a highly theatrical mystery thriller into a more traditional police procedural, and then into a semi-surrealist social drama. And throughout this entire progression, the film remains absolutely flawless, delivering a hard-hitting tale about class conflict and the tremendous wealth gap in rapidly-industrializing post-war Japan. Suspenseful, emotionally engaging, and thematically complex, it’s the highest-rated crime film in history on Letterboxd for a reason.
‘Chinatown’ (1974)
After the Golden-Age Hollywood era of film noir came the neo-noir genre, a subversion and reinvention of noir’s tropes that has evolved greatly with the passage of the years. One of the very first true neo-noirs ever made was Chinatown, and to this day, it may very well still be the best that the genre has ever produced. It is, at the very least, undoubtedly the best neo-noir mystery movie of all time.
What’s so exceptional about Chinatown is that, contrary to how most detective stories tend to evolve, this one starts with a simple enough mystery that gradually reveals itself to actually be a deadly conspiracy. The result is one of the darkest, most brutally nihilistic Hollywood dramas of the ’70s. From the voyeuristic, hard-boiled opening scene until what’s easily one of the bleakest endings of any film from the New Hollywood movement, Chinatown remains one of the most gripping detective tales ever told on the big screen.
‘The Godfather Part II’ (1974)
It’s no coincidence that one of very few films that some dare to say is a superior crime masterpiece to The Godfather is its own sequel, Coppola’s The Godfather Part II. Part sequel exploring the spiritual downfall of Michael Corleone, part prequel following the rise to power of young Vito, it’s a sprawling crime epic that’s fully deserving of being considered the greatest sequel in the history of Hollywood.
It’s one of those gangster movies worth watching over and over again, an absolute work of pure perfection. The opening sequence introduces us to a young Vito in a way that should instantly hook anyone‘s attention, while the final scene is perhaps the greatest flashback in the history of cinema. And through it all, The Godfather Part II remains a masterclass in how to make a meaningful sequel and prequel, further expanding the sociopolitical commentary of its predecessor while adding plenty of spice with its dual narrative.
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Diego Pineda Pacheco
Almontather Rassoul
