Mafia and gangsters, mercenaries and killers, schemers and swindlers, cartels and gangsters - all these are the main characters of crime films filled with betrayal and friendship, money and gunfights. They all live among us, act, remaining in the shadows and not getting on the screens. However, it is films that show their lives that are known all over the world, repeatedly becoming masterpieces worthy of the highest awards. In this article, selected only the legendary films about crime, some of which are based on real events.
The Shawshank Redemption
- Year: 1994
- Genre: Drama, Crime
- Country: USA
- Cast: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, William Sadler, Bob Gunton and Clancy Brown
Probably, now it is impossible to surprise any spectator with a cunning and complicated prison escape plan, because any multiple passes are predictable and we expect their results. Why, then, does this film take the first place in the world among all the films made in the whole history of mankind? “Escape from the Shawshank” is a cult American crime film based on the book by Stephen King.The tragic fate of the protagonist begins in the courtroom, where he is sentenced to two life sentences for a double murder, but that's the trouble - he did not commit them and does not recognize his guilt. Nevertheless, the man was sent to the darkest prison in England. Here a man shows his best qualities and quickly becomes a respected person providing legal and financial advice. But which prisoner does not dream of freedom?
Godfather
- Year: 1972
- Genre: Crime, Drama
- Country: USA
- Cast: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, James Caan, and Richard S. Castellano
New York - one of the richest and most criminal cities in America, which has experienced a number of historical changes. Not so long ago, the main source of income for gangsters was gambling and prostitutes, but now they have been replaced by drugs and trafficking. The city is ruled by five families, but at one moment the Don changes in the most important of them. Vito Corleone retired, so his son Michael took his place. As it turned out, the man stayed away from the criminal world and family affairs, because he is a war hero. But life forced to reconsider their beliefs, so that Michael will become the most influential gangster of America.
Pulp Fiction
- Year: 1994
- Genre: Crime, Thriller, Comedy
- Country: USA
- Cast: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis and Wing Reims
Jules and Vincent are two gangster friends who lead philosophical conversations between the bloody squabbles and the tasks that their boss entrusts them with a well-known criminal authority named Wallace. Men demonstrate their intelligence and wisdom, because they are not alien to the statements and quotations from great works, the Bible or the great sages. At the same time, they kill people, demonstrating their ruthlessness and cruelty. Butch is a boxer who “laid down" for a round sum. Vincent escorts the boss's spouse to a restaurant, but here they are attacked by robbers who want to rob visitors. What happens next?
Good guys
- Year: 1990
- Genre: Crime, Drama
- Country: USA
- Cast: Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Ray Liotta, Paul Sorvino and Lorraine Bracco
Henry Hill - the main character who wants to become a great gangster. A man from childhood dreamed of becoming part of the mafia and join it, and then climb to the top. The story tells about the guy that began his journey from the bottom. He and two of his comrades commit a series of robberies, carrying out orders from the bosses. At the same time, they are ready to kill anyone who comes their way. Three faithful friends and allies will go through their entire life and criminal path from beginning to end in order to achieve their goals.
Green Mile
- Year: 1999
- Genre: Crime, Detective, Drama, Fantasy
- Country: USA
- Cast: Tom Hanks, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Clark Duncan and James Cromwell
The film is presented as a story that Paul Edgecomb tells - an elderly man from a nursing home. All the events that he describes happened 60 years ago at a time when he worked as a prison warden, performing his duties in a unit with suicide bombers. He was cynical and cold-blooded all his life until the moment when he met a convict for the murder of two children. As it turned out, John Coffey is not a cruel two-meter giant, but a huge child who has a unique talent and will not even hurt a fly. Did the warden protect and prove the innocence of black John?
Big Kush
- Year: 2000
- Genre: Crime, Comedy
- Country: United Kingdom
- Cast: Jason Statham, Brad Pitt, Stephen Graham, Benicio Del Toro and Alan Ford
The four-fingered Frank is a faithful servant who performs any task from his boss. Now he must complete the task of the criminal authority, delivering him a precious diamond. As you know, a man has an unwarranted passion for gambling, which is why he lost his finger. During his journey, he again decided to enter the fight club, making a bet on the winner. The man was in the center of events, because absolutely all of them began to hunt his cargo: two friends, robbers and a Russian gangster, a boxer, a traitor and others.
Mad Dogs
- Year: 1991
- Genre: Crime, Thriller
- Country: USA
- Cast: Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Tim Roth and Steve Buscemi
As you know, even a carefully planned and thought out to the smallest detail crime does not always go according to plan, since unforeseen circumstances are possible. Criminals realize that they can pay for any mistake with their freedom, but this does not stop anyone. Joe Cabot is a big boss who has gathered six of the best criminal figures from all over the country. Their task is to rob a jewelry store, in which there are diamonds, which cost tens of millions of dollars. During the crime, they fell into a classic ambush, because one of them turned out to be a police informer. Will they find the culprit, and will they be able to punish him?
Cards, money, two trunks
- Year: 1998
- Genre: Crime, Comedy
- Country: United Kingdom
- Cast: Jason Statham, Nick Moran, Dexter Fletcher, Jason Fleming and Vinnie Jones
Four friends living in London decided to abruptly become rich. The men collected one hundred thousand pounds so that one of them went to the card tournament and paid the entrance fee. The founder of the competition - criminal authority Ax. Friends were extremely disappointed when, instead of the expected wealth, they still owed the Ax half a million more. They know that this gangster is merciless and cruel to debtors, so the money must be returned and urgently. The only way out is to commit a daring robbery.
Brother
- Year: 1997
- Genre: Crime, Russian, Drama, Action
- Country Russia
- Cast: Sergey Bodrov (junior), Viktor Sukhorukov, Maria Zhukova, Svetlana Pisimichenko and Yury Kuznetsov
The events of the film unfold in the 90s, when Dina Baghorov, who left their armed forces after serving in Chechnya, returns home. Here, as in most years of Russia, everything is sad and dirty, and the occasional fight and the police department only darkens the already terrible picture. Mother sends her son to St. Petersburg to his older brother, because he succeeds there. Having gone to the metropolis, Danila quickly found his brother, but realized that they have different views on life, because the price of Victor’s success is human lives.
Blind man's buff
- Year: 2005
- Genre: Crime, Thriller, Comedy
- Country Russia
- Cast: Dmitry Dyuzhev, Alexey Panin, Sergey Makovetsky, Nikita Mikhalkov and Viktor Sukhorukov
The film is dedicated to all those who were able to survive in the dashing 90s, or rather not become a "blind man's buff" after finding out the relationship between the bandits of various stripes. The main characters are criminal personalities who can never become kings of the underworld. The authority sent two guys with a suitcase crammed with heroin to deliver a package to him, but they fail the task and lose the cargo. At the same time, the brothers, who took the suitcase, understand that they didn’t take what they needed, because they were counting on money, not drugs. Who will survive, and who will turn into a "blind man's buff"?
