Great spy films & tv-series
by Ctrl-Alt-DL | created - 14 Jul 2012 | updated - 19 Feb 2021 | Public- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. The Good Shepherd (2006)
R | 167 min | Drama, History, Thriller
The tumultuous early history of the Central Intelligence Agency is viewed through the prism of one man's life.
Director: Robert De Niro | Stars: Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Robert De Niro, Alec Baldwin
Votes: 108,545 | Gross: $59.95M
2. Charlie Wilson's War (2007)
R | 102 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A drama based on a Texas congressman Charlie Wilson's covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets have some unforeseen and long-reaching effects.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams
Votes: 124,852 | Gross: $66.66M
3. The Company (2007)
TV-14 | 48 min | Drama, History, Romance
Real-life figures from the Cold War-era mix with a fictional story based on a group of C.I.A. operatives and their counterparts in the K.G.B., MI6, and the Mossad.
Stars: Chris O'Donnell, Alfred Molina, Michael Keaton, Rory Cochrane
Votes: 4,963
4. Spy Game (2001)
R | 126 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Retiring CIA agent Nathan Muir recalls his training of Tom Bishop while working against agency politics to free him from his Chinese captors.
Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, Catherine McCormack, Stephen Dillane
Votes: 167,002 | Gross: $0.03M
5. The Recruit (2003)
PG-13 | 115 min | Action, Thriller
A brilliant young CIA trainee is asked by his mentor to help find a mole in the Agency.
Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Al Pacino, Colin Farrell, Bridget Moynahan, Gabriel Macht
Votes: 142,203 | Gross: $52.80M
6. Cambridge Spies (2003)
235 min | Drama, History
The true story of a group of Cambridge University Students who are recruited to spy for the Soviet Union in the early 1930s.
Stars: Tom Hollander, Toby Stephens, Rupert Penry-Jones, Samuel West
Votes: 2,205
7. The Conversation (1974)
PG | 113 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Frederic Forrest
Votes: 121,780 | Gross: $4.42M
8. Enemy of the State (1998)
R | 132 min | Action, Thriller
A lawyer becomes targeted by a corrupt politician and his N.S.A. goons when he accidentally receives key evidence to a politically motivated crime.
Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Lisa Bonet
Votes: 258,841 | Gross: $111.55M
9. A Beautiful Mind (2001)
PG-13 | 135 min | Biography, Drama, Mystery
A mathematical genius, John Nash made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a harrowing journey of self-discovery.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer
Votes: 986,501 | Gross: $170.74M
10. The Sum of All Fears (2002)
PG-13 | 124 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
CIA analyst Jack Ryan must stop the plans of a Neo-Nazi faction that threatens to induce a catastrophic conflict between the United States and Russia's President by detonating a nuclear weapon at a football game in Baltimore, Maryland.
Director: Phil Alden Robinson | Stars: Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman, Ian Mongrain, Russell Bobbitt
Votes: 124,371 | Gross: $118.91M
11. Sneakers (1992)
PG-13 | 126 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A security pro finds his past returning to haunt him when he and his unique team are tasked with retrieving a particularly important item.
Director: Phil Alden Robinson | Stars: Robert Redford, Dan Aykroyd, Sidney Poitier, Jo Marr
Votes: 62,506 | Gross: $51.43M
12. Fair Game (I) (2010)
PG-13 | 108 min | Biography, Drama, Thriller
CIA operative Valerie Plame discovers her identity is allegedly leaked by the government as payback for an op-ed article her husband wrote criticizing the Bush administration.
Director: Doug Liman | Stars: Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, Sonya Davison, Vanessa Chong
Votes: 51,042 | Gross: $9.53M
13. Three Days of the Condor (1975)
R | 117 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
A bookish CIA researcher in Manhattan finds all his co-workers dead, and must outwit those responsible until he figures out who he can really trust.
Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson, Max von Sydow
Votes: 62,492 | Gross: $41.51M
14. Salt (2010)
PG-13 | 100 min | Action, Thriller
A CIA agent goes on the run after a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy.
Director: Phillip Noyce | Stars: Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daniel Olbrychski
Votes: 330,024 | Gross: $118.31M
15. Thirteen Days (2000)
PG-13 | 145 min | Drama, History, Thriller
In October 1962, the Kennedy administration struggles to contain the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Shawn Driscoll, Drake Cook
Votes: 62,669 | Gross: $34.59M
I know it's not realy a spy movie but it tells the story of the Cuban missile crisis and I like it :)
16. Conspiracy Theory (1997)
R | 135 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
A taxi driver with a penchant for conspiracy theories becomes a target after one of these theories turns out to be true. Unfortunately, to save himself, he has to figure out which theory it is.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts, Patrick Stewart, Cylk Cozart
Votes: 107,192 | Gross: $75.98M
17. Body of Lies (2008)
R | 128 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A CIA agent on the ground in Jordan hunts down a powerful terrorist leader while being caught between the unclear intentions of his American supervisors and Jordan Intelligence.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong, Golshifteh Farahani
Votes: 239,339 | Gross: $39.39M
18. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)
R | 113 min | Biography, Comedy, Crime
An adaptation of the cult memoir of game show impresario Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell), in which he purports to have been a C.I.A. hitman.
Director: George Clooney | Stars: Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, George Clooney, Julia Roberts
Votes: 91,973 | Gross: $16.00M
19. The Hunt for Red October (1990)
PG | 135 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
In November 1984, the Soviet Union's best submarine captain violates orders and heads for the U.S. in a new undetectable sub. The American CIA and military must quickly determine: Is he trying to defect or to start a war?
Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Sam Neill
Votes: 214,642 | Gross: $122.01M
20. Burn After Reading (2008)
R | 96 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A disk containing mysterious information from a CIA agent ends up in the hands of two unscrupulous and daft gym employees who attempt to sell it.
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen | Stars: Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, George Clooney, John Malkovich
Votes: 353,101 | Gross: $60.36M
21. Nothing But the Truth (I) (2008)
R | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In Washington, D.C., a reporter faces a possible jail sentence for outing a CIA agent and refusing to reveal her source.
Director: Rod Lurie | Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Vera Farmiga, Angela Bassett
Votes: 39,842 | Gross: $0.00M
22. Clear and Present Danger (1994)
PG-13 | 141 min | Action, Crime, Drama
CIA Analyst Jack Ryan is drawn into an illegal war fought by the US government against a Colombian drug cartel.
Director: Phillip Noyce | Stars: Harrison Ford, Willem Dafoe, Anne Archer, Joaquim de Almeida
Votes: 107,855 | Gross: $122.19M
23. Breach (2007)
PG-13 | 110 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
FBI upstart Eric O'Neill enters into a power game with his boss, Robert Hanssen, an agent who was put on trial for selling secrets to the Soviet Union.
Director: Billy Ray | Stars: Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe, Dennis Haysbert, Laura Linney
Votes: 61,753 | Gross: $33.23M
24. North by Northwest (1959)
Approved | 136 min | Action, Adventure, Mystery
A New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Jessie Royce Landis
Votes: 345,989 | Gross: $13.28M
25. No Way Out (1987)
R | 114 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A coverup and witchhunt occur after a politician accidentally kills his mistress.
Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, Sean Young, Will Patton
Votes: 45,908 | Gross: $35.51M
26. The Double (I) (2011)
PG-13 | 98 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
A retired CIA operative is paired with a young FBI agent to unravel the mystery of a senator's murder, with all signs pointing to a Soviet assassin.
Director: Michael Brandt | Stars: Richard Gere, Topher Grace, Martin Sheen, Tamer Hassan
Votes: 31,536
27. MI-5 (2002–2011)
TV-14 | 60 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The missions of MI-5, the UK's domestic intelligence organization.
Stars: Peter Firth, Hugh Simon, Nicola Walker, Rupert Penry-Jones
Votes: 18,366
28. The Agency (2001–2003)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama, Thriller
A look at the inner workings of the CIA.
Stars: Rocky Carroll, Paige Turco, David Clennon, Will Patton
Votes: 2,890
29. The Numbers Station (2013)
R | 89 min | Action, Thriller
A disgraced black ops agent is dispatched to a remote CIA broadcast station to protect a code operator. Soon, they find themselves in a life-or-death struggle to stop a deadly plot before it's too late.
Director: Kasper Barfoed | Stars: John Cusack, Malin Akerman, Liam Cunningham, Richard Brake
Votes: 20,852
30. Page Eight (2011 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 99 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Johnny works for MI5. His neighbor Nancy approaches him. When his best friend and boss suddenly dies, Johnny's left to sort out things about the PM, MI5 and US.
Director: David Hare | Stars: Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, Tom Hughes, Michael Gambon
Votes: 19,629
31. Closed Circuit (2013)
R | 96 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A high-profile terrorism case unexpectedly binds together two ex-lovers on the defense team - testing the limits of their loyalties and placing their lives in jeopardy.
Director: John Crowley | Stars: Eric Bana, Rebecca Hall, Jim Broadbent, Ciarán Hinds
Votes: 23,280 | Gross: $5.73M
32. The Assets (2014)
60 min | Thriller
CIA counter-intelligence officer Sandy Grimes works to save Soviet intelligence officers from being exposed by a mole inside her organization.
Stars: Jodie Whittaker, Paul Rhys, Harriet Walter, Ralph Brown
Votes: 2,359
33. A Most Wanted Man (2014)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A Chechen Muslim illegally immigrates to Hamburg, where he gets caught in the international war on terror.
Director: Anton Corbijn | Stars: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams, Daniel Brühl, Robin Wright
Votes: 80,141 | Gross: $17.24M
34. The Falcon and the Snowman (1985)
R | 131 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The true story of a disillusioned military contractor employee and his drug pusher childhood friend who became walk-in spies for the Soviet Union.
Director: John Schlesinger | Stars: Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn, Pat Hingle, Joyce Van Patten
Votes: 12,671 | Gross: $17.10M
35. Turks & Caicos (2014 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 95 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
Worricker is a retired spy living in the Caribbean. He realizes he is in trouble when four "businessmen" show up. They look like mob bosses, but one actually works for the CIA. He gets help from two former MI5 colleagues back in London.
Director: David Hare | Stars: Winona Ryder, Christopher Walken, Bill Nighy, Hansel Piper
Votes: 7,134
36. Salting the Battlefield (2014 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 93 min | Action, Crime, Drama
MI5 officer Johnny Worricker and Margot Tyrell are on the run together across Europe. But Worricker knows his only chance of resolving his problems is to return home and confront his nemesis, the prime minister.
Director: David Hare | Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Shazad Latif, Felicity Jones, James McArdle
Votes: 4,590
37. Restless (2012 TV Movie)
180 min | Drama, Romance
A young woman finds out that her mother worked as a spy for the British Secret Service during World War II and has been on the run ever since.
Director: Edward Hall | Stars: Michelle Dockery, Michael Peter Willis, Charlotte Rampling, Hayley Atwell
Votes: 3,650
Tell Your Friends