50 Best Heist Movies To Get Caught Up In

1974 | 1 hour 44 minutes | Directed by Joseph Sargent
 
Starring Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam
 
It's an average day in New York City when four men decide to hijack a subway car. The gang's leader, Mr. Blue (Robert Shaw), is a cold-blooded military man with no active conflicts. He is accompanied by his old comrade-in-arms, Mr. Brown (Earl Hindman). Mr. Green, played by Martin Balsam, is a disgraced subway driver. Former mob hitman Mr. Grey (Hector Elizondo) is dumb and arrogant. The group intends to hold the 17 people inside the subway vehicle hostage until the city pays them $1 million. The aims of lieutenants Zachary Garber (Walter Matthau) and Rico Patrone (Jerry Stiller) of the New York City transit police are to protect the hostages and learn the hijackers' strategy. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is a gritty 1970s thriller with a cult following that centers on a band of violent miscreants who pull off a daring hijack on a New York subway train. It's easy to see why "Pelham" appealed to Quentin Tarantino and why he was heavily inspired by it when making Reservoir Dogs (1992). The acting is top-notch, the language is witty, and David Shire's music is loud, brassy, and badass. This kind of movie is what people mean when they say, "they don't create films like that anymore." Watch this movie to learn what that saying meant.

1951 | 1 hour 18 minutes | Directed by Charles Crichton
 
Starring Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway, Sidney James
 
The title of this movie sets the tone for its humor. The concept that Lavender Hill, a respectable middle-class neighborhood in London, is connected to a "mob," in the sense of a band of criminals, seems out of place. But this mob is not your typical one. In the movie, Alec Guinness plays a bank employee who comes up with a brilliant plan to rob the bank he works at with the help of Alfred Pendlebury (Stanley Holloway). The latter crafts paperweights in the form of the Eiffel Tower for living. The two decide they cannot rob the bank alone, so they recruit a few criminals to help them. It's Guinness and Holloway's chemistry that makes The Lavender Hill Mob so great. It's modest yet also so snarky, humorous, and heartfelt. Even if it necessitates a little bit of robbery, these two middle-aged men live the fantasy we'd all like to live in. This film isn't even a little bit outdated thanks to its fantastic storyline, hilarious cast, and brilliant twist at the end. Despite its modest budget and brief duration, The Lavender Hill Mob is a terrific comedy movie that nobody should miss.

1955 | 1 hour 31 minutes | Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
 
Starring Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, Cecil Parker
 
London, the year is 1955. Alex Guinness' character, Professor Marcus, plans to rob two armored cars with the assistance of a crew of criminals. The five men get together for the single heist despite never having met before. They meet up in the upstairs of a Victorian home owned by Mrs. Wilberforce (Katie Johnson). Mrs. Wilberforce is an eccentric older woman who believes Professor Marcus and his "friends" are members of an orchestra and gather daily to rehearse. This is where they conduct their strategic planning. As a result, Marcus has to spend more time keeping Mrs. Wilberforce off their backs than actually plotting the theft. This results in a movie full of misunderstandings, confusion, and foolish antics. The Ladykillers is one such movie that serves as a reminder of how great the comedy genre can be. The movie never lags and is entertaining from beginning to end. One of those films where every speech line, camera angle, and plot turn is rapturously flawless. An unmatched work of entertainment.

1988 | 1 hour 48 minutes | Directed by Charles Crichton and John Cleese
 
Starring John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline
 
A Fish Called Wanda goes all out to depict a heist gone wrong. The whole thing is just an excuse for a bunch of ridiculous situations. The story revolves around four thieves who steal a bunch of gems and then decide to turn on one another to keep the loot for themselves. The plot is directly lifted from the famous Ealing comedy era, which explains why it works so well. The group's only female, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, decides that becoming close to a British barrister Archie (John Cleese) would be the best way to get the loot. This is a timeless film in which every character is given at least one specific personality quirk, which is shamefully used to generate endless laughs. See A Fish Called Wanda for yourself; you'll wonder why you haven't watched it before (or, in many cases, even heard of it). You are in for a treat with this caper comedy classic.

1973 | 1 hour 42 minutes | Directed by Peter Yates
 
Starring Robert Mitchum, Peter Boyle, Richard Jordan
 
Although this is rather ominous and cruel, you can take solace in the fact that the victims and perpetrators are essentially the same. It is far too late to start making changes for those trapped in the whirlwind of making an easy buck. The Friends Of Eddie Coyle is a challenging picture and one of the few that, although filled with thieves and criminals, manages to be fair and moral throughout. The Friends of Eddie Coyle is based on the George V. Higgins novel of the same name. It takes pride in its accurate portrayal of 1970s Boston, where Irish mobsters organize truck hijackings and trade guns over restaurant tables. Robert Mitchum plays low-level criminal Eddie "Fingers" Coyle, who faces years in jail for a crime planned by Dillon, a bartender (Peter Boyle). A recommendation to the District Attorney's office, which might win him favor with the judge, is his only chance of escaping jail time. The Friends of Eddie Coyle is an underrated crime movie that stands out because it doesn't overburden us with melodrama or action. The film is interesting and worth watching because it is straightforward and unemotional. An exceptional ‘70s crime drama gem.

2016 | 1 hour 42 minutes | Directed by David Mackenzie
 
Starring Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Jeff Bridges
 
The plot of the film will come as no surprise. To salvage the family's ranch in West Texas, a divorced father and his older brother, an ex-con, devise a desperate plan. After their mother passed away, she left a huge debt. Tanner and Toby (played by Ben Foster and Chris Pine) plotted a plan to save their mother's ranch by robbing several banks in Texas and Oklahoma. The movie will keep you on the edge as everything unfolds. Nothing is held back, and people suddenly pass away. The tension buildup is so well worth it because it's incredibly realistic. It's more than a pleasant surprise just how incredibly fulfilling and outstanding this picture is, given the plot, the isolated setting, and the almost nostalgic atmosphere and ambiance of the movie.

1975 | 2 hours 5 minutes | Directed by Sidney Lumet
 
Starring Al Pacino, John Cazale, Penelope Allen
 
Dog Day Afternoon tells the true story of Sonny (Al Pacino) and Sal (John Cazale). In 1972, these two men entered a Brooklyn bank to rob it. What was initially supposed to be a quick five-minute "in and out" heist operation soon turned into a hostage situation. And then a media circus. Sonny planned a heist for his "wife's" surgery. However, the "wife" is actually Leon (Chris Sarandon), Sonny's gay lover who lacks the funds for a sex reassignment procedure. When things take an unexpected turn, Sonny is held up inside the bank, which drives him to become a media sensation and causes the police to stand outside the structure with their weapons drawn. Other than that, Sonny's sidekick Sal's biggest concern is that the media will portray him as a homosexual, providing comic relief. Based on actual events, Dog Day Afternoon is yet another outstanding winner from the 1970s, Hollywood's second Golden Age. A remarkable achievement in film.

1950 | 1 hour 52 minutes | Directed by John Huston
 
Starring Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen
 
In the plot, Erwin "Doc" Riedenschneider (Sam Jaffe) escapes from jail and rapidly assembles a crew to carry out a long-planned jewelry heist. However, the well-planned heist begins to unravel at the seams as suspicion is rampant and fate waits to intervene. The Asphalt Jungle was one of the first crime films to break with convention and tell the story from the actual side of the criminals. Under director John Huston's wily guidance, we have a study on crime that dares to empathize with a bunch of criminals, villains, and anti-heroes. As a group, the gang consists of very different characters, and yet they all have one thing in common. They each strive for a better life. To develop a picture as compelling and realistic about criminals as John Huston did in The Asphalt Jungle, it took more than 40 years until Goodfellas hit the screens. John Huston created such compelling characters that you can't help but root for them even though they are criminals. This is truly a crime classic.

1956 | 1 hour 38 minutes | Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
 
Starring Roger Duchesne, Isabelle Corey, Daniel Cauchy
 
As the title suggests, the protagonist is a man who can't stop gambling. He moves from one late-night backroom poker game to another, wagers most of his money on horse races, and depends on a sliver of hope to decide his diet. Ironically, he is a systematic man who sticks to the same schedule and hours, sometimes losing money and other times making a fortune. He used to be a conman and served time for a failed bank job 20 years ago, but now gambling is his only vice. He believes he is too old to continue a life of a criminal. However, when he learns that a casino will have a large amount of cash available for grabs, he resolves to attempt one last heist. While in terms of plot, it undoubtedly has The Asphalt Jungle (1950) to thank, Bob le Flambeur turned out to be a terrific movie that defies categorization. It's vibrant, clear, sensual, and simply delightful.

1970 | 2 hours 20 minutes | Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
 
Starring Alain Delon, Bourvil, Gian Maria Volontè
 
Corey, a French criminal, played by Alain Delon, vows never to return after being freed from prison. However, he is abruptly drawn back into the underground following a chance encounter with escaped killer Vogel (Gian Maria Volonte). They plan an intricate jewel heist with a former police officer and current drunkard, Jansen (Yves Montand). Simultaneously, Mattei (Bourvil), a Police Commissioner, who was the one to lose custody of Vogel, is on to him. The men in Le Cercle Rouge are always in charge and never display emotion. No dramatic outbursts. They live in an ethereal dream world where the values of the outer world are noticeably missing, and they follow their own mafia code. One of the best in the crime and thriller genres, Le Cercle Rouge, is another excellent heist film from French director Jean-Pierre Melville. Despite the 140-minute running time and lengthy silence-filled periods, the movie develops at an appropriate pace and never becomes tiresome. Although Melville takes his time telling the tale, it appears to be the ideal way to depict the bleak world in which these guys reside. In Melville's films, nothing is ever out of place. This one is no exception, with every small item appearing to be crucial to the plot and the development of the film.