The god-daddy of them all. A high-gloss family saga with body count to match.

2. GOODFELLAS (1990)

Martin Scorsese’s masterpiece. The Mob has never been more believable, ruthless or seductive.

3. THAT SINKING FEELING (1980)

Glasgow’s answer to The Italian Job as loveable teens gang up for a heist.

4. THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)

Humphrey Bogart helps to define “noir” in this sublime John Huston classic, based on Dashiell Hammett’s novel.

5. THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY 1980

Or Scarface in London, as ballistic gang boss Bob Hoskins finds himself with no hiding place.

6. GET CARTER (1971)

The other contender for Greatest English Crime Film. Michael Caine was never cooler nor more menacing.

7. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)

Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler mine gold from James M. Cain’s novel of amoral LA. Has a movie femme ever been more fatale than Barbara Stanwyck?

8. RIFIFI (1955)

Some like it heist in this French classic, as a gang falls apart after a robbery. May have been watched by a young Quentin Tarantino.

9. CHINATOWN (1974)

Robert Towne won an Oscar for a screenplay which reined in Jack Nicholson just enough. The director, Roman Polanski, got to to snick his star’s nose. What’s not to like?

10. THE LADY VANISHES (1938)

Does what it says on the tin, but with humour, an engaging cast and Hitchcock at the controls.

Explore Film

• Film Reviews

• Trailers

• DVD

• Oscars

• Cannes

Editor's choice

• U2 at Nou Camp Stadium, Barcelona
• The 50 Best Movie Villains
• The 15 golden rules of theatre etiquette