50 Offbeat Crime Films
Making interesting crime films is also an art. I took the liberty of choosing 50 films from the period 1970 until now that are somewhat different than regular action flicks. The common thread of these films is a dry, dark humor and a humanistic portrayal of characters. Purely violent crime films, biographies of famous criminals and too well known films (Lock Stock..., Pulp fiction, Out of sight, Ronin) are left out. This counts as well for the TV series (as this is a list of films), so I left out great series as The Wire, Bron/Broen and Engrenages. But I did include some serious Poliziotteschi because of their entertainment values.
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- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsAlain DelonBourvilGian Maria VolontèAfter leaving prison, master thief Corey crosses paths with a notorious escapee and an alcoholic former policeman. The trio proceed to plot an elaborate heist.
- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsAlain DelonRichard CrennaCatherine DeneuveAfter a shaky first heist, a group of thieves plan an even more elaborate and risky second heist.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoKayoko KishimotoRen ÔsugiNishi leaves the police in the face of harrowing personal and professional difficulties. Spiraling into depression, he makes questionable decisions.
- DirectorJan KounenStarsVincent CasselTchéky KaryoMonica BellucciDobermann is the world's most ruthless bank robber and with his gang rob bank after bank, now in Paris. What can the police do but to let the mad, morally bankrupt police commissioner loose on him?
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsElliott GouldNina van PallandtSterling HaydenPrivate investigator Philip Marlowe helps a friend out of a jam, but in doing so gets implicated in his wife's murder.
- DirectorJohn BoormanStarsLee MarvinAngie DickinsonKeenan WynnAfter being double-crossed and left for dead, a mysterious man named Walker single-mindedly tries to retrieve the money that was stolen from him.
- DirectorDamiano DamianiStarsGian Maria VolontèErland JosephsonMario AdorfJourney into the fears of the escort agent Graziano, guilty of knowing too much.
- DirectorSeijun SuzukiStarsJô ShishidoMisako WatanabeTamio KawajiA violent thug plays opposing yakuza bosses against each other.
- DirectorJohn CassavetesStarsBen GazzaraTimothy CareySeymour CasselA proud strip club owner is forced to come to terms with himself as a man when his gambling addiction gets him in hot water with the mob, who offer him only one alternative.
- DirectorSergiu NicolaescuStarsIlarion CiobanuAlexandru DobrescuSergiu NicolaescuSet in post war Romania, a communist who was tortured by the fascists during the war is now a police detective and sets about clearing his city of gangsters and black marketeers.
- DirectorAleksey BalabanovStarsAgniya KuznetsovaAleksey PoluyanLeonid GromovA young woman is taken hostage by a police officer gone mad.
- DirectorJacques AudiardStarsRomain DurisAure AtikaEmmanuelle DevosWill Thomas still lead a life of crime and cruelty, just like his thuggish father, or will he pursue his dream of becoming a pianist?
- DirectorAleksey BalabanovStarsSergey BodrovViktor SukhorukovSvetlana PismichenkoAn ex-soldier with a personal honor code enters the family crime business in St. Petersburg, Russia.
- DirectorLasse Spang OlsenStarsKim BodniaDejan CukicNikolaj Lie KaasTwo brothers, one cold and ruthless, the other sensitive and reluctant, and their brutal misadventures.
- DirectorKatsuhito IshiiStarsTadanobu AsanoSie KohinataShingo TsurumiIn dreamlike mountain scenery, Toshiko makes a daring escape from her sexually warped Uncle Sonezaki. Fortunately, she met Samehada as she runs for her life, which is also escaping from some slayers. What follows is a wild chase that leads the audience into a comically violent world.
- DirectorJohnnie ToStarsLouis KooHonglei SunYi HuangA drug cartel boss who is arrested in a raid is coerced into betraying his former accomplices as part of an undercover operation.
- DirectorClaude LelouchStarsMichèle MorganSerge ReggianiPhilippe LéotardA very unorthodox police inspector is assigned to investigate a millionaire's mysterious death.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoKippei ShînaRyô KaseThe boss of a major crime syndicate orders his lieutenant to bring a rogue gang of drug traffickers in line, a job that gets passed on to his long-suffering subordinate.
- DirectorMartin McDonaghStarsColin FarrellBrendan GleesonCiarán HindsAfter a job gone wrong, hitman Ray and his partner await orders from their ruthless boss in Bruges, Belgium, the last place in the world Ray wants to be.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoMaiko KawakamiMakoto AshikawaA violence prone police officer discovers that his colleague is trafficking drugs.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsKôji TsurutaTomisaburô WakayamaTsunehiko WataseA yakuza gang gets driven out of Yokohama by a big gang from Tokyo. They relocate to Okinawa to violently start over.
- DirectorLasse Spang OlsenStarsKim BodniaTorkel PeterssonTomas Villum JensenFresh out of a Danish prison, Harald bosses his old gang around, into visiting his hospitalized foster dad, who wants to see his bio son before dying. The son's in a Swedish prison. Then there's a money matter - robbing a bank.
- DirectorFernando Di LeoStarsGastone MoschinBarbara BouchetMario AdorfA former gangster is forced to resume his old lifestyle when his violent, jealous ex-colleagues and the police believe that he knows the location of a stolen cache of $300,000.
- DirectorDamiano DamianiStarsFranco NeroMartin BalsamMarilù ToloIn a city rife with corruption, a cynical police captain clashes with an idealistic district attorney as they attempt to nab an elusive Mafia boss.
- DirectorCédric KahnStarsStefano CassettiIsild Le BescoPatrick Dell'Isola'Kurt' claims to be a sales rep. He also claims to be English in spite of his heavy Italian accent. Kurt is an habitual liar and a dangerous driver, at the very least. In the south of France he meets Léa, age 16. Between his increasingly strange dates with Léa, Kurt engages in a number of armed robberies, some successful, some not... The police are perplexed by a series of crimes including disappearances and a murder. They conclude that they are dealing with a madman... After he proposes, Léa breaks up with Kurt. The attempt to find a new girlfriend leads to a shooting by Kurt, now calling himself André. Léa's information identifies Kurt/André as Roberto Succo, psychiatric patient and parental murderer. The police hunt for Roberto covers three countries.
- DirectorDejan ZecevicStarsNikola KojoDragan Petrovic-PeleBogdan DiklicA man awakens from a two-month-long coma with total amnesia and sets out to discover the truth about his identity.
- DirectorPhilip D'AntoniStarsRoy ScheiderTony Lo BiancoVictor ArnoldA tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.
- DirectorHamish RothwellStarsRobbie MagasivaPaolo RotondoScott WillsThree young men unwittingly become involved in an underground pool tournament.
- DirectorSang-Jin KimStarsLee Sung-jaeYu Oh-seongKang Seong-jinFour disaffected youths rob a gas station but find their plans complicated and sidetracked before the night is through.
- DirectorSabuStarsShin'ichi TsutsumiKeisuke HoribeRen ÔsugiA postman is mistaken for a dangerous criminal by the police.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsWarren OatesIsela VegaRobert WebberAn American barroom pianist and his prostitute girlfriend go on a trip through the Mexican underworld to collect the bounty on the head of a dead gigolo.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsTerence StampPeter FondaLesley Ann WarrenAn extremely volatile and dangerous Englishman goes to Los Angeles to find the man he considers responsible for his daughter's death.
- DirectorAleksandr SeryyStarsEvgeniy LeonovGeorgiy VitsinSaveliy KramarovIt so happens that peaceful kindergarten teacher is incredibly similar to the terrible villain who stole the helmet of Alexander the Great. And villain's accomplices are unexpectedly similar to children - they also need love and care.
- DirectorRichard RushStarsAlan ArkinJames CaanLoretta SwitSan Francisco police detectives Freebie and Bean are determined to bust local crime boss Red Meyers at any cost, even if this means destroying the whole city in the process.
- DirectorAleksey BalabanovStarsMikhail SkryabinYuriy MatveevAleksandr MosinThe film, set in the mid 1990s outside of St. Petersburg, tells the story of an ethnic Yakut, Major Skryabin, a shell-shocked veteran of the Afghan-Soviet War, who works as a stoker.
- DirectorJacques RivetteStarsMaria SchneiderJoe DallesandroDanièle GégauffElizabeth sends telegrams to her old boyfriend Ben in NYC and to her younger sister Leo in Rome to join her in Paris, where she is selling her dead father's estate. When Ben and Leo arrive, a mysterious adventure begins.
- DirectorSergio MartinoStarsClaudio CassinelliMel FerrerLia TanziWhile investigating the brutal murder of a young prostitute, a detective uncovers a sex-trafficking ring with connections to powerful people.
- DirectorAlain BerbérianFrédéric ForestierStarsGérard LanvinBenoît PoelvoordeJosé GarciaIt is the story of two types: Moltes a criminal in prison and Reggio one of the guards. Crazy adventures happen when following a winner ticket to Africa, they competes in a rally and are chased by the Turk, a sworn enemy of Moltes.
- DirectorMikkel NørgaardStarsNikolaj Lie KaasPer Scheel KrügerTroels LybyPolice inspector Carl Mørck is put in charge of a department of cold cases, joined only by his assistant Assad. They dig into a case about a missing woman.
- DirectorJosé PadilhaStarsWagner MouraAndré RamiroCaio JunqueiraIn 1997 Rio de Janeiro, Captain Nascimento has to find a substitute for his position while trying to take down drug dealers and criminals before the Pope visits.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsYûta SoneKimika YoshinoShohei HinoA yakuza enforcer is ordered to secretly drive his beloved colleague to be assassinated. But when the colleague unceremoniously disappears en route, the trip that follows is a twisted, surreal and horrifying experience.
- DirectorRobert SarkiesStarsWilla O'NeillNeill ReaAshleigh SeagarFive kiwi flatmates find something growing in their basement much to their delight, but when the rightful owner comes knocking and finds that they have appropriated the goods things start to go awry.
- DirectorJean-Jacques BeineixStarsWilhelmenia FernandezFrédéric AndréiRoland BertinTwo tapes, two Parisian mob killers, one corrupt policeman, an opera fan, a teenage thief, and the coolest philosopher ever filmed all twist their way through an intricate and stylish French-language thriller.
- DirectorKevin AllenStarsLlyr IfansRhys IfansDorien ThomasJulian and Jeremy, two brothers prefer to spend their time on drugs and joyriding. When their father, Fatty Lewis, they show up demanding compensation.
- DirectorÓskar Thór AxelssonStarsThorvaldur KristjanssonJóhannes Haukur JóhannessonDamon YoungerAfter being reacquainted with a childhood friend Stebbi joins the drug trade world in order to pay off his debt. Inspired by actual events.
- DirectorDavid MametStarsVal KilmerDerek LukeWilliam H. MacyThe investigation into a kidnapping of the daughter of a high-ranking US government official.
- DirectorErik CanuelStarsMichel BeaudryPatrice BélangerPierre BoudreauTwo Canadian detectives, one from Ontario and the other from Quebec, must work together when a murdered victim is found on the Ontario-Quebec border.
- DirectorChristopher McQuarrieStarsRyan PhillippeBenicio Del ToroJuliette LewisTwo criminal drifters without sympathy get more than they bargained for after kidnapping and holding for ransom the surrogate mother carrying a baby for a powerful, shady man.
- DirectorDavid CaesarStarsBen MendelsohnJeremy SimsJohn PolsonLooking for the fast track out of suburban hell, two natural born losers scheme an impossible heist. Two undercover cops and a highly strung speed dealer are not far behind.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsShin'ichi ChibaJanet HattaEiko MatsudaA tough-as-nails cop from Okinawa investigates a savage murder in Tokyo's nightlife district. Originally dismissed as a bumpkin, he soon proves more savvy than the local police.