In the age of streaming and digital content, the popularity of the true crime genre has only continued to grow. As Netflix pumps out documentaries about global crimes, from Elize Matsunaga in Brazil to the trial of Aaron Hernandez in the United States, it has proven that viewers are smitten with content that investigates something horrific but true. The genre is also highly criticized. It can potentially mishandle information and force the victims to recollect the crime and its traumatizing impact.
In Hollywood and American cinema, crime has been a pervasive subject, one depicted on the screen since the birth of film. The first crime movie was the 1903 Western silent film The Great Train Robbery, initially thought to be the first Western film. The Great Train Robbery held moments of violence and action, things that weren’t depicted yet on this new medium, and so it set the standard for crime films. While these movies started with fictional plots, they now tackle sensational news, serial killers, and murders that rocked nations. Since then, the genre has evolved to meet contemporary standards while paying homage to its roots. Here are the best true-crime films.
Updated on September 12th, 2023, by Timothy Lindsey: This article has been updated with additional content to keep the discussion fresh and relevant with even more information and new entries.
13 House of Gucci (2021)
House of Gucci mixes fashion with crime and drama. While many bemoan Lady Gaga's accent in it, it offers glimpses into the tight fortress of the Gucci name, one marred by greed and tragedy. When Patrizia Reggiani marries Maurizio Gucci, a catastrophic series of events occurs with only a single road out -- murder.
While the Gucci family disapproves of the film, it still has managed to become a box office hit due to the chemistry between the actors and the flamboyant nature of the movie. It seems almost fitting that a film about Gucci would pivot between crime and high drama.
12 Catch Me If You Can (2002)
In the first of two DiCaprio films on this list, Catch Me If You Can (2002) was one of the best con movies of the last two decades. The film's screenplay is based on the semi-autobiographical book written by the film's main character Frank Abagnale Jr. Legendary director Steven Spielberg's choices for the cast were spot-on. Tom Hanks plays FBI agent Carl Hanratty, who goes after Abagnale.
Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Amy Adams, and James Brolin also have key roles in the movie. As the story goes, after running away from his parents, who are now divorced, Frank Abagnale Jr. turns to a life of making major scams to support himself. He impersonates an airline pilot, a lawyer, as well as a doctor to conceal his true identity. This all happens before he turns 18 years of age, and he is already one of the most successful robbers and thieves in American history. It is up to Hanratty to stop him. This film was given a score of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.
11 Zodiac (2007)
Zodiac is about the notorious Zodiac Killer who has remained unknown. The movie has an all-star cast of Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr. as three core individuals trying to crack the case. Zodiac is a film full of nuance and quiet moments.
The viewers only see glimpses of the murders, and the film instead chooses to focus on the detectives and individuals attempting to put together the puzzle pieces. This is an interesting choice for the film, as it pivots from the sensational, violent aspects of a crime to the fragmented decisions that come with the impacts. It mixes police work with journalism, thus relying on the tension created by the crime to propel the plot further.
10 Bonnie & Clyde (1967)
Bonnie and Clyde, when released in 1967, marked a new era of Hollywood movies. The Hays Code would end in 1968, and films would be allowed to shift away from the conservative ideologies imposed on the industry and delve into forbidden territory. And that’s what makes Bonnie and Clyde spectacular: it broke the norm. It created a scandal because of its direct depictions of violence and sexuality stripped from the cinema. The film retells the story of outlaws Bonnie and Clyde.
It’s fitting how hated this movie was because of how hated Bonnie and Clyde were. In the 1930s, those who didn’t fit the status quo of society were declared public enemies, but often these were individuals typically coming from marginalized and lower socioeconomic backgrounds. This movie coming out in 1967 marked something new in cinema and society, something more human.
9 The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) is quite possibly the most humorous true-crime film on this list. It is based on the 2007 memoir of the same name written by Jordan Belfort, the film's main protagonist played by Leonardo DiCaprio. The film tells the story of Belfort's rise and fall as a New York City stockbroker on Wall Street after he and his co-workers engage in corruption and fraud.
The movie ended up setting a Guinness World Record for most swears in a film. Also, the film contains plenty of drug use and some sexual content. The cast includes Jonah Hill, Jon Favreau, Matthew McConaughey, Margot Robbie, Kyle Chandler, and Rob Reiner. This particular Martin Scorsese film is hilarious, wacky, dramatic, and very profane. It also is coming up on its 10th anniversary.
8 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
The Texas Chainsaw series has been well-loved throughout the years, but nothing beats the original. It follows a family that has decided to visit their family’s homestead with some friends, but it begins to go awry when a mass murderer named Leatherface appears and begins to hunt them down.
The movie was inspired by murderer Ed Gein, who was also the inspiration for other films like Silence of the Lambs, starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins, and Hitchcock’s Psycho. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a classic horror film that originated many characteristics and staple images of the slasher genre. The franchise has even continued today; a new entry to the franchise came out in 2022.
7 American Gangster (2007)
American Gangster (2007) has to be one of Denzel Washington's most overlooked films. The film is based on career criminal Frank Lucas, whom Washington portrays, who gets caught smuggling heroin into America. The film is set in 1970s New York as hard-working police officer Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) is all-in on bringing Lucas to justice. Lucas is knowingly importing heroin through the coffins of returning Vietnam War veterans.
What also makes this film fascinating is the corruption within the NYPD. With a loaded cast that includes Idris Elba, Cuba Gooding Jr., Josh Brolin, Common, Chiwetel Ejiofor, T.I., and Carla Gugino, this movie has a fantastic combination of drama, quotes, and sketchy scenes that make it so gripping. On the film's opening weekend, it grossed nearly $43.6 million. At the time, that was the most for any opening weekend in the careers of both Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.
6 Memories of Murder (2003)
Bong Joon-ho has been a director loved globally for Parasite, but Memories of Murder was only his second film and still managed to be mind-blowing. Korea’s first serial killer was only recently caught, but when Memories of Murder was released, it could only speculate on who the murderer was.
Frequent Bong collaborator Song Kang-ho stars as a local detective who has never had a major case before. When women are murdered and raped, he is pushed to his limits trying to solve the crime. Memories of Murder is one of the greatest cop films because of how it has Bong’s signature sense of humor and satire all over it. It’s a slow burn that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats.
5 Badlands (1973)
Badlands came out in 1973, only five years after the release of Bonnie and Clyde. This is a film that lives in the same spirit of New Hollywood as Bonnie and Clyde. Badlands is classified as a neo-noir period crime drama set in South Dakota. Fifteen-year-old Holly is sick of her life in the small town she grew up in, and so when she gets together with a greaser with a tendency for violence, things quickly start to go south.
The couple begins to go on a murder spree inspired by the one conducted in real life by Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate. Badlands is particularly interesting when examining gender dynamics; the fifteen-year-old girl, Holly, is essentially trapped with two different men with penchants for mistreating others. And when she finally makes her own decision, she liberates herself.
4 The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) is one of the great psychological horror films of all time. Now, the film is not based on a true story. However, it is based on Thomas Harris's 1988 novel of the same name which was inspired by a group of real-life serial killers.
Again, murderer Ed Gein was also a huge inspiration for the film. In the film, FBI agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) must seek the help of a cannibalistic psychopath (Anthony Hopkins) in an attempt to catch a dangerous serial killer. It is one of the most spine-tingling movies ever made, which is why it won Academy Awards in all five of the major categories. The Silence of the Lambs was the fifth-highest-grossing film of 1991 ($272.1 million).
3 In Cold Blood (1967)
In Cold Blood was a nonfiction novel by Truman Capote, one controversial because Capote had altered the details of events to fit his literary agenda. Regardless, Capote’s novel is one of the most-sold nonfiction books. The movie adaptation is bone-chilling; the viewers know what has happened early in the film.
The two men, Dick and Perry, have murdered an entire family. But the critical details are left out, thus allowing the viewers to humanize these cold-hearted killers. Certain characteristics of the film also hit too close to home: the actual house the family was murdered in was the set. Robert Blake and Scott Wilson, who play the two main characters, embodied their roles perfectly, adding to the realism created by the movie.
2 The Untouchables
The Untouchables (1987) is based on the 1957 autobiographical memoir with the same title written by the film's main protagonist, Eliot Ness. The film stars Kevin Costner as the Prohibition agent in Ness, who works alongside Officer Jimmy Malone (Sean Connery), police recruit George Stone (Andy Garcia), and accountant Oscar Wallace (Charles Martin Smith).
Together, they must stop the sale of illegal alcohol in the city of Chicago by crime boss Al Capone (Robert De Niro) and put him in jail. Through the use of great shootouts, tension-filled one-liners, and overall suspenseful scenes, this film is one of the great true-crime films of all time. Connery won "Best Supporting Actor" at the following Academy Awards for his role as Malone.
1 Goodfellas (1990)
Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas is one of the best movies ever made. It chronicles the life of mob associate Henry Hill, who, as a young man living in Brooklyn, begins to work with the mob and progresses through the ranks. The film revolves around the lifestyle of those involved with organized crime; while other films may romanticize situations of violence and greed, Goodfellas boils it down and singles these men out as killers.
They chase danger and recklessness, longing for the exhilaration that comes with shooting a gun. The editing of the film itself reflects this attitude. It incorporates multiple fast cuts and narration that leans on excessive. And that’s what drives the film as well: it’s all a rush, fun, and games until things start to fall apart. Scorsese outdid himself with Goodfellas, forever changing the gangster genre by exposing it for what it is: a constructed depiction of mob life.