American Gang Movies
by nathanm96 | created - 17 Jul 2015 | updated - 1 month ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Menace II Society (1993)
R | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.
Directors: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes | Stars: Tyrin Turner, Larenz Tate, June Kyoto Lu, Toshi Toda
Votes: 64,428 | Gross: $27.90M
2. Boyz n the Hood (1991)
R | 112 min | Crime, Drama
Follows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships, violence, and future prospects.
Director: John Singleton | Stars: Cuba Gooding Jr., Laurence Fishburne, Hudhail Al-Amir, Lloyd Avery II
Votes: 154,529 | Gross: $57.50M
3. Juice (1992)
R | 95 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Four inner-city teenagers get caught up in the pursuit of power and happiness, which they refer to as "the juice".
Director: Ernest R. Dickerson | Stars: Omar Epps, Tupac Shakur, Jermaine Hopkins, Khalil Kain
Votes: 30,344 | Gross: $20.15M
4. Paid in Full (2002)
R | 97 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A young man from Harlem, forced to cope with the 1980s drug scene, builds an illegal empire, only to have a crisis of conscience.
Director: Charles Stone III | Stars: Mekhi Phifer, Wood Harris, Chi McBride, Kevin Carroll
Votes: 14,221 | Gross: $3.04M
5. Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005)
R | 117 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A tale of an inner city drug dealer who turns away from a life of crime to pursue his passion of rap music.
Director: Jim Sheridan | Stars: 50 Cent, Joy Bryant, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Omar Benson Miller
Votes: 50,141 | Gross: $30.98M
6. South Central (1992)
R | 98 min | Crime, Drama
A former gangster fresh out of prison wants to change his life for the better and must save his 10 year old son who has already chosen a gang life.
Director: Stephen Milburn Anderson | Stars: Glenn Plummer, Byron Minns, Lexie Bigham, Vincent Craig Dupree
Votes: 6,708 | Gross: $1.37M
7. 8 Mile (2002)
R | 110 min | Drama, Music
Follows a young rapper in the Detroit area, struggling with every aspect of his life; he wants to make it big but his friends and foes make this odyssey of rap harder than it may seem.
Director: Curtis Hanson | Stars: Eminem, Brittany Murphy, Kim Basinger, Mekhi Phifer
Votes: 320,665 | Gross: $116.72M
8. New Jack City (1991)
R | 97 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A crime lord ascends to power and becomes megalomaniacal while a maverick police detective vows to stop him.
Director: Mario Van Peebles | Stars: Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Allen Payne, Chris Rock
Votes: 38,805 | Gross: $47.62M
9. Notorious (2009)
R | 122 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The life and death story of The Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Christopher Wallace), who came straight out of Brooklyn to take the world of rap music by storm.
Director: George Tillman Jr. | Stars: Jamal Woolard, Anthony Mackie, Derek Luke, Momo Dione
Votes: 46,047 | Gross: $36.84M
10. Coach Carter (2005)
PG-13 | 136 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Controversy surrounds high school basketball coach Ken Carter after he benches his entire team for breaking their academic contract with him.
Director: Thomas Carter | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Rick Gonzalez, Robert Ri'chard, Rob Brown
Votes: 171,838 | Gross: $67.26M
11. Gridiron Gang (2006)
PG-13 | 125 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Teenagers at a juvenile detention center, under the leadership of their counselor, gain self-esteem by playing football together.
Director: Phil Joanou | Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Xzibit, L. Scott Caldwell, Leon Rippy
Votes: 80,651 | Gross: $38.43M
12. Fruitvale Station (2013)
R | 85 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The story of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008.
Director: Ryan Coogler | Stars: Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz, Octavia Spencer, Kevin Durand
Votes: 85,858 | Gross: $16.10M
13. Above the Rim (1994)
R | 96 min | Crime, Drama, Sport
Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
Director: Jeff Pollack | Stars: Duane Martin, Tupac Shakur, Leon, David Bailey
Votes: 17,084 | Gross: $16.04M
14. Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996)
R | 89 min | Comedy, Crime
A parody of several U.S. films about being in the 'Hood', for instance Boyz n the Hood (1991), South Central (1992), Menace II Society (1993), Higher Learning (1995) and Juice (1992).
Director: Paris Barclay | Stars: Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Tracey Cherelle Jones
Votes: 61,471 | Gross: $20.11M
15. Step Up (2006)
PG-13 | 104 min | Crime, Drama, Music
Tyler Gage receives the opportunity of a lifetime after vandalizing a performing arts school, gaining him the chance to earn a scholarship and dance with an up and coming dancer, Nora.
Director: Anne Fletcher | Stars: Channing Tatum, Jenna Dewan, Damaine Radcliff, De'Shawn Washington
Votes: 126,769 | Gross: $65.33M
16. Straight Outta Compton (2015)
R | 147 min | Biography, Drama, History
The rap group NWA emerges from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1980s and revolutionizes Hip Hop culture with their music and tales about life in the hood.
Director: F. Gary Gray | Stars: O'Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown Jr.
Votes: 218,397 | Gross: $161.20M
17. He Got Game (1998)
R | 136 min | Drama, Sport
A basketball player's father must try to convince him to go to a college so he can get a shorter sentence.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Denzel Washington, Milla Jovovich, Ray Allen, Rosario Dawson
Votes: 51,432 | Gross: $21.55M
18. Lockdown (2000)
R | 105 min | Drama, Thriller
Avery (Jones) returns to college as a competitive swimmer after getting his life back on track. But his life takes another unexpected turn when he and his two friends (Bonds, Casseus) are wrongly accused of murder and end up in prison.
Director: John Luessenhop | Stars: Richard T. Jones, De'aundre Bonds, Gabriel Casseus, Master P
Votes: 2,734 | Gross: $0.45M
19. CB4 (1993)
R | 89 min | Comedy, Music
A guy makes a documentary of the rap band CB4 by following them. CB4 got popular by stealing Gusto's name, background and image. He wants them dead.
Director: Tamra Davis | Stars: Chris Rock, Allen Payne, Deezer D, Chris Elliott
Votes: 10,419 | Gross: $17.95M
20. Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004 TV Movie)
R | 120 min | Drama, Crime
The story of Stan "Tookie" Williams, the former leader of the "Crips" gang. Stan wrote award-winning children's books, brokered peace treaties between warring gangs, and won a Nobel Peace Prize nomination before he was executed.
Director: Vondie Curtis-Hall | Stars: Jamie Foxx, Lynn Whitfield, Lee Thompson Young, Brenden Jefferson
Votes: 3,219
21. How High (2001)
R | 93 min | Comedy, Fantasy
Two guys by the name of Silas and Jamal decided to one day smoke something magical, which eventually helps them to ace their college entrance exam.
Director: Jesse Dylan | Stars: Method Man, Redman, Obba Babatundé, Mike Epps
Votes: 61,759 | Gross: $31.16M
22. Squeeze (1997)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama
Three boys challenged by pressures of drugs and gangs decide to fight back.
Director: Robert Patton-Spruill | Stars: Tyrone Burton, Eddie Cutanda, Phuong Duong, Geoffrey Rhue
Votes: 348 | Gross: $0.01M
23. Jacked (2001)
R | 96 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Dre gets caught up gang activity and accidentally murders an innocent person. Plagued by a guilty conscience, he does everything he can to make things right--and avoid falling back in with the gang.
Director: Timothy Wayne Folsome | Stars: RonReaco Lee, Alexis Fields, Anna Maria Horsford, Bizzy Bone
Votes: 244
24. Gang Tapes (2001)
R | 91 min | Crime, Drama
When a brutal carjacking yields a videocamera, a teenage boy decides to document his life and the lives of his fellow gangbangers.
Director: Adam Ripp | Stars: Darris Love, Darontay McClendon, Don Cambell, Six Reasons
Votes: 1,132
25. Before I Self Destruct (2009 Video)
R | 79 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A coming of age story about an inner-city youth raised by a hardworking single mother. When his dream of becoming a basketball player fails to materialize, he finds himself employed in a ... See full summary »
Directors: 50 Cent, J. Jesses Smith | Stars: 50 Cent, Clifton Powell, Elijah Williams, Sasha Del Valle
Votes: 1,757
26. Straight Out of Brooklyn (1991)
R | 91 min | Crime, Drama
A young man living in poverty makes a plan to rob a drug dealer and change the life of his family.
Director: Matty Rich | Stars: George T. Odom, Ann D. Sanders, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., Barbara Sanon
Votes: 667
27. State Property (2002)
R | 88 min | Drama, Crime, Action
Beans decides that the only way to grasp the American Dream is to take it. State Property follows Beans and his crew, as they take over the city creating mayhem as their empire builds.
Director: Abdul Malik Abbott | Stars: Beanie Sigel, Omillio Sparks, Memphis Bleek, Damon Dash
Votes: 2,245 | Gross: $2.10M
28. State Property 2 (2005)
R | 94 min | Musical, Action, Crime
Three Philadelphia-based gangstas -- Beans, Dame and Loco -- are on a collision course with one another for turf. Alliances are forged and broken and lifelong friendships end in violence as each crime lord schemes to get the upper hand.
Director: Damon Dash | Stars: Beanie Sigel, N.O.R.E., Damon Dash, Michael Bentt
Votes: 1,540 | Gross: $1.68M
29. Colors (1988)
R | 120 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An experienced cop and his rookie partner patrol the streets of East Los Angeles while trying to keep the gang violence under control.
Director: Dennis Hopper | Stars: Sean Penn, Robert Duvall, Maria Conchita Alonso, Randy Brooks
Votes: 29,814 | Gross: $46.62M
30. Imperial Dreams (2014)
TV-MA | 87 min | Drama
A 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.
Director: Malik Vitthal | Stars: John Boyega, Rotimi, Glenn Plummer, De'aundre Bonds
Votes: 4,796
31. All Eyez on Me (2017)
R | 139 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Tells the true and untold story of prolific rapper, actor, poet and activist Tupac Shakur.
Director: Benny Boom | Stars: Demetrius Shipp Jr., Danai Gurira, Kat Graham, Annie Ilonzeh
Votes: 24,721 | Gross: $44.92M
32. Brotherly Love (III) (2015)
R | 89 min | Drama
Set on the backdrop of Philadelphia's famed Overbrook High School, we track the lives of the nations number one high school basketball player Sergio Taylor as he deals with the early pressures of hood fame.
Director: Jamal Hill | Stars: Keke Palmer, Cory Hardrict, Romeo Miller, Eric D. Hill Jr.
Votes: 2,106 | Gross: $0.44M
33. Streets (I) (2011)
Not Rated | 88 min | Drama
A musical talented young woman hangs out with a tough crew and gets caught up in a murder investigated by her mom.
Director: Jamal Hill | Stars: Nafessa Williams, Meek Mill, Marvin Warner, Chico Benymon
Votes: 396
34. Kicks (II) (2016)
R | 80 min | Adventure, Drama
Brandon is a 15 year old whose dream is a pair of fresh Air Jordans. Soon after he gets his hands on them, they're stolen by a local hood, causing Brandon and his two friends to go on a dangerous mission through Oakland to retrieve them.
Director: Justin Tipping | Stars: Jahking Guillory, Christopher Meyer, Christopher Jordan Wallace, Kyndall
Votes: 4,516 | Gross: $0.15M
35. Roxanne Roxanne (2017)
TV-MA | 100 min | Biography, Drama, Music
In the late 80s/ early 1990s, the most feared battle MC in Queens, New York, was a fierce teenage girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders. At the age of 14, Lolita "Roxanne ... See full summary »
Director: Michael Larnell | Stars: Chanté Adams, Nia Long, Mahershala Ali, Germar Terrell Gardner
Votes: 3,659
36. New Jersey Drive (1995)
R | 98 min | Crime, Drama
Jason and Midget are two young, black teenagers living in Newark,New Jersey, the unofficial car theft capital of the world. Their favourite pastime is that of everybody in their ... See full summary »
Director: Nick Gomez | Stars: Shar-Ron Corley, Gabriel Casseus, Saul Stein, Gwen McGee
Votes: 3,451 | Gross: $3.57M
37. All Day and a Night (2020)
R | 121 min | Drama
A young man who committed a homicide deals with the repercussions of his action.
Director: Joe Robert Cole | Stars: Ashton Sanders, Jeffrey Wright, Isaiah John, Kelly Jenrette
Votes: 4,293
38. Training Day (2001)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A rookie cop spends his first day as a Los Angeles narcotics officer with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears to be.
Director: Antoine Fuqua | Stars: Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn, Tom Berenger
Votes: 472,594 | Gross: $76.63M
39. American Gangster (2007)
R | 157 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
An outcast New York City cop is charged with bringing down Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas, whose real life inspired this partly biographical film.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Josh Brolin
Votes: 452,348 | Gross: $130.16M
40. Moonlight (I) (2016)
R | 111 min | Drama
A young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood.
Director: Barry Jenkins | Stars: Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Trevante Rhodes, Alex R. Hibbert
Votes: 331,668 | Gross: $27.85M
41. Belly (1998)
R | 96 min | Crime, Drama
Two young friends involved in organized crime and drug dealing find that their priorities differ.
Director: Hype Williams | Stars: Nas, DMX, Taral Hicks, Tionne 'T-Boz' Watkins
Votes: 12,620 | Gross: $9.63M
42. Dope (2015)
R | 103 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
Life changes for Malcolm, a geek who's surviving life in a tough neighborhood, after a chance invitation to an underground party leads him and his friends into a Los Angeles adventure.
Director: Rick Famuyiwa | Stars: Shameik Moore, Tony Revolori, Kiersey Clemons, Kimberly Elise
Votes: 89,290 | Gross: $17.51M
43. Dangerous Minds (1995)
R | 99 min | Biography, Drama
LouAnne, a retired US marine, becomes a teacher in a Californian high school. But her mostly Latino and black students from an impoverished and racially segregated locality do not easily embrace her.
Director: John N. Smith | Stars: Michelle Pfeiffer, George Dzundza, Courtney B. Vance, Robin Bartlett
Votes: 57,049 | Gross: $84.92M
44. Freedom Writers (2007)
PG-13 | 123 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves and pursue education beyond high school.
Director: Richard LaGravenese | Stars: Hilary Swank, Imelda Staunton, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Glenn
Votes: 85,350 | Gross: $36.61M
45. Clockers (1995)
R | 128 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Young drug pushers in the projects of Brooklyn live hard dangerous lives, trapped between their drug bosses and the detectives out to stop them.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Harvey Keitel, John Turturro, Delroy Lindo, Mekhi Phifer
Votes: 23,517 | Gross: $13.04M
46. The Warriors (1979)
R | 93 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A street gang known as the Warriors must fight its way from the Bronx to its home turf on Coney Island when its members are falsely accused of assassinating a respected gang leader.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Michael Beck, James Remar, Dorsey Wright, Brian Tyler
Votes: 110,625 | Gross: $22.49M
47. City of Lies (2018)
R | 112 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Russell Poole and Jack Jackson investigate the murder of rapper Notorious B.I.G.
Director: Brad Furman | Stars: Johnny Depp, Forest Whitaker, Toby Huss, Dayton Callie
Votes: 19,026 | Gross: $0.57M
48. Dead Presidents (1995)
R | 119 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A Vietnam vet adjusts to life after the war while trying to support his family, but the chance of a better life may involve crime and bloodshed.
Directors: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes | Stars: Larenz Tate, Keith David, Chris Tucker, Freddy Rodríguez
Votes: 24,469 | Gross: $24.20M
49. The Basketball Diaries (1995)
R | 102 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A teenager finds his dreams of becoming a basketball star threatened after he free falls into the harrowing world of drug addiction.
Director: Scott Kalvert | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Lorraine Bracco, Marilyn Sokol, James Madio
Votes: 120,984 | Gross: $2.42M
50. Friday (1995)
R | 91 min | Comedy, Drama
It's Friday, and Craig and Smokey must come up with $200 they owe a local bully or there won't be a Saturday.
Director: F. Gary Gray | Stars: Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, Nia Long, Tom Lister Jr.
Votes: 124,492 | Gross: $27.47M
51. Shot Caller (2017)
R | 121 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A newly released prisoner is forced by the leaders of his gang to orchestrate a major crime with a brutal rival gang on the streets of Southern California.
Director: Ric Roman Waugh | Stars: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Omari Hardwick, Lake Bell, Jon Bernthal
Votes: 98,365
52. One Eight Seven (1997)
R | 119 min | Drama, Thriller
15 months after being stabbed 9 times by a student at work as a high school teacher in NYC, Mr. Garfield is working in LA as a substitute teacher come full-time. He refuses to be a victim anymore.
Director: Kevin Reynolds | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, John Heard, Kelly Rowan, Clifton Collins Jr.
Votes: 25,073 | Gross: $5.72M
53. Harsh Times (2005)
R | 116 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A tough-minded drama about two friends in South Central Los Angeles and the violence that comes between them.
Director: David Ayer | Stars: Christian Bale, Freddy Rodríguez, Eva Longoria, Chaka Forman
Votes: 68,563 | Gross: $3.34M
54. King of New York (1990)
R | 103 min | Crime, Thriller
A drug kingpin is released from prison and seeks to take total control of the criminal underworld in order to give back to the community.
Director: Abel Ferrara | Stars: Christopher Walken, David Caruso, Laurence Fishburne, Victor Argo
Votes: 42,073 | Gross: $2.55M
55. Fresh (1994)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Death and violence anger a twelve-year-old drug courier, who sets his employers against each other.
Director: Boaz Yakin | Stars: Sean Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, Samuel L. Jackson, N'Bushe Wright
Votes: 14,575 | Gross: $8.09M
56. Strapped (1993 TV Movie)
R | 104 min | Action, Drama
Ex-con attempting to go straight runs accross serious problems. His girlfriend gets arrested for dealing crack to an undercover police officer. In a desperate attempt to get the charges ... See full summary »
Director: Forest Whitaker | Stars: William James Stiggers Jr., Chi Ali, Bokeem Woodbine, Starletta DuPois
Votes: 1,157
57. Dirty (2005)
R | 97 min | Crime, Thriller
Two gangbangers-turned-cops try and cover up a scandal within the LAPD.
Director: Chris Fisher | Stars: Frank Alvarez, Clifton Collins Jr., Brittany Daniel, Keith David
Votes: 5,869 | Gross: $0.27M
58. Four Brothers (2005)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Drama
When their adoptive mother is gunned down in a store robbery, four brothers decide to investigate the murder and find the killers themselves, but not all is what it seems.
Director: John Singleton | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, André 3000, Garrett Hedlund
Votes: 156,491 | Gross: $74.49M
59. First Match (2018)
TV-MA | 102 min | Drama, Sport
Hardened by years in foster care, a teenage girl from Brooklyn's Brownsville neighborhood decides that joining the boys' wrestling team is the only way back to her estranged father.
Director: Olivia Newman | Stars: Elvire Emanuelle, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Colman Domingo, Jharrel Jerome
Votes: 2,533
60. Save the Last Dance (2001)
PG-13 | 112 min | Drama, Music, Romance
A white midwestern girl moves to Chicago, where her new boyfriend is a black teen from the South Side with a rough, semi-criminal past.
Director: Thomas Carter | Stars: Julia Stiles, Sean Patrick Thomas, Kerry Washington, Fredro Starr
Votes: 65,954 | Gross: $91.06M
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