The 50 best Police and Crime Movies
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- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsJodie FosterAnthony HopkinsScott GlennA young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsPeter LorreEllen WidmannInge LandgutWhen the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsAl PacinoRobert De NiroVal KilmerA group of high-end professional thieves start to feel the heat from the LAPD when they unknowingly leave a verbal clue at their latest heist.
- DirectorPeter YatesStarsSteve McQueenJacqueline BissetRobert VaughnA nonconformist San Francisco cop is determined to find the underworld kingpin who killed the witness under his protection.
- 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.
- DirectorLuc BessonStarsJean RenoGary OldmanNatalie Portman12-year-old Mathilda is reluctantly taken in by Léon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. An unusual relationship forms as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.
- DirectorMathieu KassovitzStarsJean RenoVincent CasselNadia FarèsA murder detective must follow the footsteps of a brutal killer within the secrets of a classist college.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsGene HackmanRoy ScheiderFernando ReyA pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.
- DirectorF. Gary GrayStarsSamuel L. JacksonKevin SpaceyDavid MorseIn a desperate attempt to prove his innocence, a skilled police negotiator accused of corruption and murder takes hostages in a government office to gain the time he needs to find the truth.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsAl PacinoRobin WilliamsHilary SwankTwo Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen.
- DirectorChris NahonStarsJean RenoArly JoverJocelyn QuivrinA disgraced policeman helps a young detective to hunt down a serial killer who targets Turkish women in Paris.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsAl PacinoJohn RandolphJack KehoeAn honest New York cop named Frank Serpico blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.
- DirectorSean PennStarsJack NicholsonBenicio Del ToroPatricia ClarksonA retiring police detective pledges to catch the killer of a young child.
- DirectorAlbert HughesAllen HughesStarsJohnny DeppHeather GrahamIan HolmAfter five ritualistic murders are committed in 1888 London, Inspector Abberline's assignment is to investigate the "Jack the Ripper" murders. Along with a string of mutilated prostitutes, he uncovers a conspiracy involving the government.
- DirectorPaul HaggisStarsTommy Lee JonesCharlize TheronJonathan TuckerA retired military investigator works with a police detective to uncover the truth behind his son's disappearance following his return from a tour of duty in Iraq.
- DirectorPeter HyamsStarsSean ConneryMark HarmonMeg RyanA San Francisco civilian police detective is forced to work on a series of murders with his former enemy commanding officer while dating his daughter.
- DirectorRichard FleischerWilliam Cameron MenziesStarsCharles McGrawMarie WindsorJacqueline WhiteA woman planning to testify against the mob must be protected against potential assassins on the train trip from Chicago to Los Angeles.
- DirectorLee TamahoriStarsMorgan FreemanMichael WincottMonica PotterWhen a senator's daughter under Secret Service protection is kidnapped from a private school, detective Alex Cross investigates the case even though he's recovering from the loss of his partner.
- DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsDenzel WashingtonAngelina JolieQueen LatifahA quadriplegic ex-homicide detective and his partner try to track down a serial killer who is terrorizing New York City.
- DirectorNicholas RayIda LupinoStarsIda LupinoRobert RyanWard BondRough city cop Jim Wilson is disciplined by his captain and is sent upstate, to a snowy mountain town, to help the local sheriff solve a murder case.
- DirectorAlan J. PakulaStarsHarrison FordBrad PittMargaret ColinA police officer uncovers the real identity of his house-guest, an I.R.A. terrorist in hiding.
- DirectorBarbet SchroederStarsSandra BullockBen ChaplinRyan GoslingTwo gifted high school students execute a perfect murder - then become engaged in an intellectual contest with a seasoned homicide detective.
- DirectorLee TamahoriStarsNick NolteMelanie GriffithJennifer ConnellyIn 1950's Los Angeles, a special crime squad of the LAPD investigates the murder of a young woman.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsGlenn FordLee RemickStefanie PowersA man with an asthmatic voice telephones and assaults clerk Kelly Sherwood at home and coerces her into helping him steal a large sum from her bank.
- DirectorHenri VerneuilStarsJean GabinAlain DelonLino VenturaAn ambitious young mobster plans an elaborate diamond heist while seducing the daughter of a ruthless mob patriarch as a determined police commissioner closes in on all of them.
- DirectorDario ArgentoStarsAsia ArgentoThomas KretschmannMarco LeonardiA young policewoman slowly goes insane while tracking down an elusive serial rapist/killer through Italy when she herself becomes a victim of the brutal man's obsession.
- DirectorChris GerolmoStarsStephen ReaDonald SutherlandMax von SydowDuring the 1980s, Soviet authorities hunt for a serial killer who picks his victims in railway stations and commuter trains and lures them into the woods.
- DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsGeorge C. ScottMarlon BrandoMarthe KellerThe synthetic fuel production formula, invented by the Nazis at the end of World War II, is sought after by some who aim to sell it, and by others who wish to destroy it.
- DirectorBasil DeardenStarsJack WarnerDirk BogardeJimmy HanleyThe daily routine of two London Policemen is interrupted by a killer.
- DirectorGordon DouglasStarsFrank SinatraLee RemickRalph MeekerWhile grappling with his wife's infidelity, an NYPD detective investigates the murder of a gay man, which he discovers is linked to official corruption involving sex and drugs.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioMatt DamonJack NicholsonAn undercover cop and a mole in the police attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsKevin CostnerClint EastwoodLaura DernA kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor, an escaped convict on the run from the law, while the search for him continues.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsDenzel WashingtonRussell CroweChiwetel EjioforAn outcast New York City cop is charged with bringing down Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas, whose real life inspired this partly biographical film.
- DirectorStuart BairdStarsTommy Lee JonesWesley SnipesRobert Downey Jr.U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard and his team of Marshals are assigned to track down Sheridan, who has been accused of a double-murder.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsMichael DouglasAndy GarciaKen TakakuraTwo NYC cops arrest a Yakuza member and must escort him when he's extradited to Japan.
- DirectorGregory HoblitStarsDenzel WashingtonJohn GoodmanDonald SutherlandHomicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution, the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese's style.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsDenzel WashingtonPaula PattonJim CaviezelAfter a ferry is bombed in New Orleans, an A.T.F. agent joins a unique investigation using experimental surveillance technology to find the bomber, but soon finds himself becoming obsessed with one of the victims.
- DirectorJean-François RichetStarsVincent CasselCécile de FranceGérard DepardieuThe story of the notorious French gangster Jacques Mesrine, with the focus on his life before the early 1970s and the events that led to him being declared Public Enemy No. 1 in France.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsKevin CostnerSean ConneryRobert De NiroDuring Prohibition, Treasury agent Eliot Ness sets out to stop ruthless Chicago gangster Al Capone, and assembles a small, incorruptible team to help him.
- DirectorAntoine FuquaStarsDenzel WashingtonEthan HawkeScott GlennA rookie cop spends his first day as a Los Angeles narcotics officer with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears to be.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsAngelina JolieColm FeoreAmy RyanAfter Christine's son goes missing, she reaches out to the LAPD to find him. But when they try to pass off an impostor as her son to quieten public protests, she refuses to accept him or give up hope.
- DirectorDennis HopperStarsSean PennRobert DuvallMaria Conchita AlonsoAn experienced cop and his rookie partner patrol the streets of East Los Angeles while trying to keep the gang violence under control.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsSean PennTim RobbinsKevin BaconThe tragic murder of a 19-year-old girl reunites three childhood friends still living in Boston--the victim's gangster father, a detective, and the disturbed man they both suspect of killing her.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioEmily MortimerMark RuffaloTeddy Daniels and Chuck Aule, two US marshals, are sent to an asylum on a remote island in order to investigate the disappearance of a patient, where Teddy uncovers a shocking truth about the place.
- DirectorJules DassinStarsBarry FitzgeraldHoward DuffDorothy HartA step-by-step look at a murder investigation on the streets of New York.
- DirectorMichael CiminoStarsMickey RourkeJohn LoneArianeA police detective cracks down on organized crime in Chinatown after the murders of Triad and Mafia leaders.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsDon JohnsonPenelope Ann MillerWilliam ForsytheA man kills a storekeeper and a cop. LASD homicide detective Jerry Beck gets the case. His murder suspect is connected to a heavily armed white supremacy group.
- DirectorFrank DarabontStarsTom HanksMichael Clarke DuncanDavid MorseA tale set on death row, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the lead guard, Paul Edgecombe, recognizes John's gift, he tries to help stave off the condemned man's execution.
- DirectorCarl FranklinStarsDenzel WashingtonSanaa LathanEva MendesA Florida police chief must solve a vicious double homicide before he himself falls under suspicion.
- DirectorMartin CampbellStarsMel GibsonRay WinstoneDanny HustonAs homicide detective Thomas Craven investigates the murder of his activist daughter, he uncovers a corporate cover-up and government conspiracy that attracts an agent tasked with cleaning up the evidence.