Best crime from the 80s
The catalogue's crime films from 1980–1989, ranked by audience score. We bias against the cinephile-canonical picks (Letterboxd top-250) — if you've already seen the obvious entries, scroll past the first row.
Once Upon a Time in America
bittersweetepicslow burn
Scarface
gut punchneon soakedpitch black
Stand by Me
bittersweettender
The Blues Brothers
comfort cultneon soakedsurreal
The Thin Blue Line
cerebralparanoidslow burn
Damnation
foreign gembittersweetdread
A Short Film About Killing
foreign gemcerebraldread
Time of the Gypsies
foreign gembittersweetsurreal
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
neon soakedplayfulsurreal
Police Story
foreign gemcozyplayful
Shuffle
foreign gem3am cultmindfuck
Running on Empty
bittersweetrawtender
Crimes and Misdemeanors
bittersweetcerebraloutsider
A Better Tomorrow
foreign gembittersweetraw
Blow Out
cerebralparanoidslow burn
Down by Law
bittersweetplayfulslow burn
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
bittersweetrawsexy
The Last Witness
foreign gemslow burndread
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
pitch blackplayfulunhinged
Blood Simple
neon soakedparanoidpitch black
Batman
neon soakedoutsiderunhinged
Violent Cop
foreign gemoutsiderpitch black
A Fish Called Wanda
pitch blackplayful
Clue
comfort cult3am cultbittersweet
Thief
bittersweetneon soakedraw
The Outsiders
outsiderbittersweettender
Midnight Run
cozyplayful
The Long Good Friday
gut punchparanoidraw
The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie
3am cultplayful
Miracles: The Canton Godfather
cozyplayful