Top 5 Best Crime Movies of All Time + Their Incredible Poster Art
Crime movies have long fascinated audiences with their mix of danger, moral ambiguity, and unforgettable style. From shadowy noir classics to sprawling gangster epics, the genre has produced some of cinema’s most enduring masterpieces. These films not only broke box office records but also left their mark on design history through iconic posters that remain highly prized by collectors today.
In this curated list, we revisit ten of the best crime movies ever made—highlighting their directors, casts, storylines, awards, and the poster art that brought them to life. Along the way, we’ll share fascinating production anecdotes and collect insights that showcase why these titles continue to captivate audiences and collectors alike.
The Godfather (1972)
The Corleones are one of New York’s most powerful Mafia families. When patriarch Vito Corleone (Brando) passes control to his reluctant son Michael (Pacino), the transformation from outsider to ruthless leader becomes one of cinema’s greatest character arcs.
Director & Cast
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, and Diane Keaton.
Critical Acclaim & Awards
“The Godfather” dominated the 45th Academy Awards:
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Best Picture
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Best Actor: Marlon Brando
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Best Adapted Screenplay: Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo
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Plus seven additional nominations, including Best Director and three for Best Supporting Actor
Behind the Scenes
To foster authenticity, Coppola had the main cast sit down for rehearsal dinners in character. These unscripted meals helped shape the film’s believable family dynamics, giving The Godfather its lived-in sense of intimacy.
The Poster as Art
Designed by Saul Bass, the stark black poster, featuring puppet strings and bold typography, is a masterclass in simplicity and symbolism. The imagery encapsulates the film’s themes of power and control, making it one of the most iconic movie posters of all time. Vintage originals regularly command thousands at auction, with their value rising in proportion to condition, rarity, and provenance.
Read more about the iconic gangster film and its most collectible poster art →
“Goodfellas” (1990)
Martin Scorsese’s electrifying look at mob life turned the gangster film into a kinetic, street-level experience. With its voiceover narration, pop-fueled soundtrack, and unflinching violence, “Goodfellas” captures both the glamour and the brutality of organized crime — and sets the tone for an entire generation of crime dramas that followed.
Director & Cast
Directed by Martin Scorsese. Starring Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, and Paul Sorvino.
The Plot
Based on the true story of mob associate Henry Hill, the film follows his rise from a Brooklyn kid to a trusted member of the Lucchese crime family. His glamorous life of money, power, and violence eventually unravels in paranoia, betrayal, and survival.
Critical Acclaim & Awards
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1 Academy Award: Best Supporting Actor, Joe Pesci
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6 Academy Award Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography
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Winner of major critics’ prizes and regularly ranked among the greatest films of all time
Behind the Scenes
Scorsese tucked cinephile references throughout the film. One of the first shots — young Henry watching gangsters argue in the street — is lifted directly from Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho,” where Norman Bates spies on Marion Crane. It’s a subtle nod that connects Hitchcock’s psychological tension to Scorsese’s raw exploration of mob life.
The Poster as Art
The stark one-sheet for “Goodfellas” was designed by legendary poster artist Bill Gold, whose career stretched from “Casablanca” to Clint Eastwood’s “Mystic River.” Known for his “less is more” approach, Gold crafted an image that perfectly mirrored Scorsese’s vision: Liotta, De Niro, and Pesci’s faces looming above a darkened street, promising both character drama and inevitable violence. For collectors, original “Goodfellas” posters are prized not only for their sleek design but also for their connection to one of Gold’s final masterpieces.
“Chinatown” (1974)
Roman Polanski’s noir masterpiece is often described as flawless, weaving corruption, beauty, and tragedy into one of cinema’s most haunting stories. With Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in career-defining roles, Robert Towne’s acclaimed screenplay, and Jerry Goldsmith’s unforgettable score, “Chinatown” stands as both a reimagining of classic noir and a landmark of 1970s Hollywood.
Director & Cast
Directed by Roman Polanski. Starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, and Perry Lopez.
The Plot
Private detective Jake Gittes (Nicholson) takes on what appears to be a simple infidelity case, only to uncover a conspiracy tied to Los Angeles water rights, political corruption, and devastating family secrets. The film ends not with resolution but with a bleak recognition of systemic futility.
Critical Acclaim & Awards
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1 Academy Award: Best Original Screenplay, Robert Towne
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11 Academy Award Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Score, Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction, Best Sound, Best Film Editing
Behind the Scenes
The film’s bleak ending was not Robert Towne’s original vision. Polanski insisted on closing with despair — “Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.” That choice cemented the film’s haunting reputation and gave Hollywood one of its most enduring final lines.
The Poster as Art
Illustrated by Jim Pearsall, the Art Nouveau–inspired poster is considered one of the decade’s finest. Faye Dunaway’s pale, spectral face emerges from smoke-like swirls, while Nicholson’s fedora-clad detective anchors the image in classic noir archetypes. Subtle details — like Polanski’s profile hidden in the smoke — add layers of intrigue, making the poster as enigmatic as the film itself. Collectors prize original one-sheets, which frequently sell in the $1,000s.
“Pulp Fiction” (1994)
Quentin Tarantino’s nonlinear, pop-literate crime mosaic reshaped American independent cinema. Equal parts shocking and sly, it fused razor-sharp dialogue, needle-drop perfection, and a boldly playful structure, reigniting John Travolta’s career and setting the tone for a decade of imitators.
Director & Cast
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, and Harvey Keitel
The Plot
Interlocking tales of hitmen, a boxer on the run, a gangster’s wife, and a pair of small-time robbers spiral through Los Angeles. Out of chronological order, the stories collide with dark humor, sudden violence, and an oddly sincere sense of redemption.
Critical Acclaim & Awards
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Cannes Film Festival: Palme d’Or
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Academy Award: Best Original Screenplay, Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary
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7 Academy Award Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Film Editing
Behind the Scenes
Upon its release, critics and audiences instantly embraced the film, hailing it for its wit, originality, and rule-breaking confidence. It became the first indie to top $100M at the U.S. box office, sparked campus-culture ubiquity (dialogue quotes, twist contests, “Royale with Cheese”), and even teased a never-made prequel — “Double V Vega” — uniting Vincent and Vic Vega in Amsterdam.
The Poster as Art
Conceived by Miramax creative director James Verdesoto and shot by Firooz Zahedi, the one-sheet mimics a worn 1950s pulp paperback: a red banner, bold yellow title, distressed edges, and Uma Thurman’s Mia Wallace posed on a bed with a cigarette, pistol, and “paperback” props. Designed to evoke mood rather than plot, it became a dorm-room staple and a symbol of pop culture. Early prints featuring a visible Lucky Strike pack were recalled; those scarce originals can command premium prices.
“The French Connection” (1971)
Gritty, propulsive, and shot with a documentary edge, “The French Connection” redefined the cop thriller. William Friedkin’s breathless staging and Gene Hackman’s ferocious turn as Popeye Doyle make this a high-water mark for ’70s American cinema, especially its white-knuckle car-vs-train chase that still feels dangerously real.
Director & Cast
Director: William Friedkin
Starring: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey
The Plot
Two New York narcotics detectives, Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle and Buddy “Cloudy” Russo, stalk a heroin pipeline run by a suave French kingpin. The surveillance tightens, the bodies pile up, and an obsession pushes Doyle to a bleak, ambiguous end, one that underlines how little “closure” exists in the real world he polices.
Critical Acclaim & Awards
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Academy Awards Winner:
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Best Picture
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Best Director: William Friedkin
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Best Actor: Gene Hackman
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Best Adapted Screenplay
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Best Film Editing
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Academy Awards Nominations: Best Supporting Actor; Best Cinematography; Best Sound
Behind the Scenes
The movie is based on a real criminal case. Ernest Tidyman adapted Robin Moore’s nonfiction account of NYPD detectives Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso; both men advised on set and even appear in the film (Egan as Walt Simonson, Grosso as Clyde Klein).
The Poster as Art
Fox’s U.S. campaign for the “French Connection” movie poster leaned into grainy, hard-edged photography and blunt taglines, most famously, “Doyle is bad news — but a good cop,” paired with a kinetic image on the subway steps. Multiple variants circulated, including a striking, high-contrast Style B that visualizes the chase as a blurred burst of motion.
“Bonnie and Clyde” (1967)
Arthur Penn’s groundbreaking film shocked audiences with its mix of comedy, romance, and graphic violence—reshaping the American movie landscape overnight. By blending French New Wave influences with Depression-era Americana, “Bonnie and Clyde” created a template for modern crime cinema and inspired generations of outlaw stories to follow.
Director & Cast
Directed by Arthur Penn. Starring Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons, and Michael J. Pollard.
The Plot
During the Great Depression, small-town waitress Bonnie Parker falls in with drifter Clyde Barrow, and together they embark on a spree of robberies across the Midwest. Their fame grows, fueled by photographs and Bonnie’s own ballads, but so does the inevitability of their downfall in a hail of bullets.
Critical Acclaim & Awards
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Academy Award: Best Supporting Actress, Estelle Parsons
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Academy Award: Best Cinematography, Burnett Guffey
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10 Academy Award Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Costume Design, Best Sound, Best Film Editing
Behind the Scenes
The film’s journey to the screen was as dramatic as the story itself. Studio chief Jack Warner hated the first cut, and the film was nearly dumped in drive-ins before critics and audiences rallied to it. Its use of slow motion and graphic bloodshed in the final ambush changed how violence was portrayed in American cinema. It also launched the careers of Dunaway, Hackman, and Pollard, while Theodora Van Runkle’s costumes sparked a global fashion craze.
The Poster as Art
Designed in sepia tones with vintage lettering, the original “Bonnie and Clyde” movie poster emphasized authenticity and Depression-era grit. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway are styled as glamorous antiheroes, with typeface and composition recalling old newspaper clippings, perfectly underscoring the film’s themes of notoriety and myth-making. Original one-sheets remain popular among collectors, valued for their place in both cinema and design history.
Heat (1995)
Michael Mann’s Los Angeles crime saga is a sweeping duel between cop and criminal, elevated by the first on-screen face-off between Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. With its meticulous realism, sprawling ensemble cast, and legendary downtown shootout, “Heat” has become one of the most influential crime dramas of the modern era.
Director & Cast
Directed by Michael Mann. Starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, and Ashley Judd.
The Plot
Detective Vincent Hanna (Pacino) relentlessly pursues master thief Neil McCauley (De Niro), whose precision and discipline are unmatched. Their cat-and-mouse game culminates in an unforgettable heist sequence and a tense nighttime showdown on an airport tarmac.
Critical Acclaim & Awards
Though overlooked at the Oscars, “Heat” earned glowing critical reviews and has grown in stature as one of the most influential crime films of the 1990s. Its intricate character study and sweeping scope earned Mann widespread praise.
The Poster as Art
The original one-sheet captures the film’s duality: Pacino and De Niro’s faces loom against a cool-toned LA skyline, with Val Kilmer beneath them locked and loaded. The tagline “A Los Angeles Crime Saga” framed the film as an operatic vision of urban crime. Collectors value these posters not only for their bold design but also for the film’s historic pairing of Pacino and De Niro.
Behind the Scenes
“Heat” was inspired by a real-life cat-and-mouse story. In 1960s Chicago, detective Chuck Adamson tracked ex-Alcatraz convict Neil McCauley, who had returned to a life of heists. The two men even shared a tense coffee meeting — a moment recreated almost word-for-word in the film’s legendary diner scene. The parallels continued through to McCauley’s violent death in a police shootout, giving Mann’s crime epic an eerie grounding in actual events.
Film/Art Gallery: Explore Our Curated Collection of Original Movie Posters
From the doomed romance of “Bonnie and Clyde” to the operatic sweep of “The Godfather” and the raw grit of “The French Connection,” crime films have shaped cinema history and left behind some of its most striking imagery. Just as unforgettable as the films themselves are the posters that captured their spirit and drew audiences into theaters.
At Film/Art Gallery, we curate authentic, original movie posters spanning genres, eras, and design movements. Each piece is a cultural artifact, timeless art that celebrates the creativity and history of film.