Gritty 80s Crime Films
by LukeofURL | created - 14 Nov 2018 | updated - 14 Nov 2018 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. 8 Million Ways to Die (1986)
R | 115 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A former police detective, still recovering from his alcohol addiction, is seemingly drawn into L.A's criminal underworld after stumbling upon a local drug ring.
Director: Hal Ashby | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Rosanna Arquette, Alexandra Paul, Randy Brooks
Votes: 5,951 | Gross: $1.31M
2. To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)
R | 116 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A fearless Secret Service agent will stop at nothing to bring down the counterfeiter who killed his partner.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: William Petersen, Willem Dafoe, Jane Leeves, Cherise Bates
Votes: 39,387 | Gross: $17.31M
3. Thief (1981)
R | 123 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An ace safe cracker wants to do one last big heist for the mob before going straight.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson, Jim Belushi
Votes: 39,058 | Gross: $11.49M
4. Year of the Dragon (1985)
R | 134 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A police detective cracks down on organized crime in Chinatown after the murders of Triad and Mafia leaders.
Director: Michael Cimino | Stars: Mickey Rourke, John Lone, Ariane, Leonard Termo
Votes: 17,732 | Gross: $18.70M
5. Black Rain (1989)
R | 125 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Two NYC cops arrest a Yakuza member and must escort him when he's extradited to Japan.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Michael Douglas, Andy Garcia, Ken Takakura, Kate Capshaw
Votes: 59,721 | Gross: $46.21M
6. Cobra (1986)
R | 87 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A tough-on-crime street cop must protect the only surviving witness to a strange murderous cult with far-reaching plans.
Director: George P. Cosmatos | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Brigitte Nielsen, Reni Santoni, Andrew Robinson
Votes: 79,654 | Gross: $49.04M
7. 48 Hrs. (1982)
R | 96 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A hard-nosed cop reluctantly teams up with a wise-cracking criminal temporarily paroled to him in order to track down a killer.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, Annette O'Toole, Frank McRae
Votes: 85,327 | Gross: $78.87M
8. Red Heat (1988)
R | 104 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A tough Russian policeman is forced to partner up with a cocky Chicago police detective when he is sent to Chicago to apprehend a Georgian drug lord who killed his partner and fled the country.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Belushi, Peter Boyle, Ed O'Ross
Votes: 76,101 | Gross: $34.99M
9. Johnny Handsome (1989)
R | 94 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After being double crossed and thrown in jail, a deformed gangster gets a new face and rehabilitation, but his desire for revenge looms.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, Elizabeth McGovern, Morgan Freeman
Votes: 11,014 | Gross: $7.24M
10. Cruising (1980)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A police officer goes undercover in the underground S&M gay subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer who is preying on gay men.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino, Karen Allen, Richard Cox
Votes: 28,071 | Gross: $19.80M
11. The Exterminator (1980)
R | 104 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A man's best friend is killed on the streets of New York City. The man (Robert Ginty) then transforms into a violent killer, turning New York City into a great war zone, and Christopher George is the only one to stop him.
Director: James Glickenhaus | Stars: Robert Ginty, Samantha Eggar, Christopher George, Steve James
Votes: 6,565
12. Extreme Prejudice (1987)
R | 105 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A Texas Ranger and a ruthless narcotics kingpin - they were childhood friends, now they are adversaries...
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe, Michael Ironside, Maria Conchita Alonso
Votes: 8,768 | Gross: $11.31M
13. Vigilante (1982)
R | 90 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After his wife and son got brutalized by a street gang, and a corrupt criminal justice system puts the perpetrators back on the street, a NYC factory worker teams up with a vigilante group to find some measure of bloody justice.
Director: William Lustig | Stars: Robert Forster, Fred Williamson, Richard Bright, Rutanya Alda
Votes: 4,541
14. Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989)
R | 102 min | Drama
Set in Brooklyn during the 1950s against a backdrop of union corruption and violence. A prostitute falls in love with one of her customers. Also a disturbed man discovers that he is homosexual.
Director: Uli Edel | Stars: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Stephen Lang, Burt Young, Peter Dobson
Votes: 6,959 | Gross: $1.73M
15. 52 Pick-Up (1986)
R | 110 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A secret fling between a man and his mistress leads to blackmail and murder.
Director: John Frankenheimer | Stars: Roy Scheider, Ann-Margret, Vanity, John Glover
Votes: 7,019 | Gross: $5.19M
16. Prince of the City (1981)
R | 167 min | Crime, Drama
A New York City narcotics detective reluctantly agrees to cooperate with a special commission investigating police corruption, and soon realises he's in over his head, and nobody can be trusted.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Treat Williams, Jerry Orbach, Richard Foronjy, Don Billett
Votes: 9,526 | Gross: $8.12M
17. Band of the Hand (1986)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Five juvenile lost causes are sent to the Everglades where a war veteran tries to reform them using survival tactics. Their new skills and resolve are tested when a Miami drug lord targets them for trying to clean up their neighborhood.
Director: Paul Michael Glaser | Stars: Stephen Lang, Michael Carmine, Lauren Holly, John Cameron Mitchell
Votes: 3,244 | Gross: $4.87M
18. Fort Apache the Bronx (1981)
R | 125 min | Crime, Drama
In New York City, South Bronx's main police precinct is nicknamed Fort Apache by its employees who feel like troopers surrounded by hostiles in a wild west isolated outpost.
Director: Daniel Petrie | Stars: Paul Newman, Edward Asner, Ken Wahl, Danny Aiello
Votes: 6,989 | Gross: $29.20M
19. Night of the Juggler (1980)
R | 101 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A tough, New York City ex-cop relentlessly searches for his kidnapped teenage daughter whom is held by a twisted psycho after mistaking her for the daughter of a wealthy businessman.
Directors: Robert Butler, Sidney J. Furie | Stars: James Brolin, Cliff Gorman, Richard S. Castellano, Linda Miller
Votes: 1,076
20. Ms .45 (1981)
R | 80 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A timid and mute seamstress goes insane after being attacked and raped twice in one day, in which she takes to the streets of New York City after dark and randomly shoots men with a .45 caliber pistol.
Director: Abel Ferrara | Stars: Zoë Lund, Bogey, Albert Sinkys, Darlene Stuto
Votes: 12,566
21. Nighthawks (1981)
R | 99 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
When one of Europe's most lethal terrorists shows up in New York, an elite undercover cop is assigned to take him down by any means necessary.
Directors: Bruce Malmuth, Gary Nelson | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Rutger Hauer, Billy Dee Williams, Lindsay Wagner
Votes: 21,739 | Gross: $14.91M
22. Alphabet City (1984)
R | 85 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A New York City drug dealer decides to get out of the business, but has to flee from mobsters.
Director: Amos Poe | Stars: Vincent Spano, Michael Winslow, Kate Vernon, Jami Gertz
Votes: 1,134
23. Fear City (1984)
R | 95 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Strippers in Manhattan are being stalked and maimed by a psycho-killer. A conflicted ex-boxer-turned-talent-manager and his business partner and friend, who represent some of the girls, set out to find him before he strikes again.
Director: Abel Ferrara | Stars: Tom Berenger, Billy Dee Williams, Jack Scalia, Melanie Griffith
Votes: 4,330
24. Cutter's Way (1981)
R | 109 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Richard spots a man dumping a body, and decides to expose the man he thinks is the culprit with his friend Alex Cutter.
Director: Ivan Passer | Stars: Jeff Bridges, John Heard, Lisa Eichhorn, Ann Dusenberry
Votes: 7,640 | Gross: $1.73M
25. Street Smart (1987)
R | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A New York journalist lies when his fake story about a pimp describes a real pimp up for murder.
Director: Jerry Schatzberg | Stars: Christopher Reeve, Kathy Baker, Mimi Rogers, Jay Patterson
Votes: 3,813 | Gross: $1.12M
26. Relentless (1989)
R | 92 min | Crime, Thriller
Two Los Angeles police detectives, cynical veteran Malloy and cocky rookie Dietz, hunt for a serial killer, an ex-cop named Taylor, who randomly chooses his victims from a phone directory.
Director: William Lustig | Stars: Judd Nelson, Robert Loggia, Leo Rossi, Meg Foster
Votes: 1,861 | Gross: $6.99M
27. Vice Squad (1982)
R | 97 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A single mother prostitute, who goes by the name Princess, finds herself forced to work undercover for the police in order to apprehend a homicidal, misogynistic pimp named Ramrod, who will do anything not to get arrested.
Director: Gary Sherman | Stars: Season Hubley, Gary Swanson, Wings Hauser, Pepe Serna
Votes: 2,908 | Gross: $13.25M
28. Miami Connection (1987)
R | 87 min | Action, Crime, Music
A martial arts rock band goes up against a band of motorcycle ninjas who have tightened their grip on Florida's narcotics trade.
Directors: Woo-sang Park, Y.K. Kim | Stars: Y.K. Kim, Vincent Hirsch, Joseph Diamand, Maurice Smith
Votes: 6,608
29. Manhunter (1986)
R | 120 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Former FBI profiler Will Graham returns to service to pursue a deranged serial killer dubbed "the Tooth Fairy" by the media.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: William Petersen, Kim Greist, Joan Allen, Brian Cox
Votes: 80,980 | Gross: $8.62M
30. Murphy's Law (1986)
R | 100 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Framed for his ex-wife's murder by a parolee he once put behind bars, Los Angeles cop Jack Murphy escapes from custody to capture the killer, but he is now handcuffed to a foul-mouthed thief he had only just arrested.
Director: J. Lee Thompson | Stars: Charles Bronson, Kathleen Wilhoite, Carrie Snodgress, Robert F. Lyons
Votes: 6,454 | Gross: $9.95M
31. 10 to Midnight (1983)
R | 101 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
An LAPD detective and his rookie partner are on the trail of a psychopathic young man who is murdering young women.
Director: J. Lee Thompson | Stars: Charles Bronson, Lisa Eilbacher, Andrew Stevens, Gene Davis
Votes: 9,362 | Gross: $7.10M
32. Fighting Back (I) (1982)
R | 98 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A Philadelphia shop owner forms a civilian patrol to stop neighborhood crime. The patrol's actions are seen as racially discriminatory, leading to escalating conflict.
Director: Lewis Teague | Stars: Tom Skerritt, Patti LuPone, Michael Sarrazin, Yaphet Kotto
Votes: 771 | Gross: $3.34M
33. Death Wish II (1982)
R | 89 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Architect Paul Kersey once again becomes a vigilante when he tries to find the five street punks who murdered his daughter and housekeeper, this time on the dark streets of Los Angeles.
Director: Michael Winner | Stars: Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Vincent Gardenia, J.D. Cannon
Votes: 18,155 | Gross: $16.10M
34. The Long Good Friday (1980)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An up-and-coming gangster is tested by the insurgence of an unknown, very powerful threat.
Director: John Mackenzie | Stars: Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Paul Freeman, Leo Dolan
Votes: 25,633
35. Vice Academy (1989)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Crime
Students at the police vice academy go out on the streets of L.A. and accumulate graduation points by trying to make small arrests.
Director: Rick Sloane | Stars: Linnea Quigley, Ginger Lynn, Karen Russell, Jayne Hamil
Votes: 947
36. Raw Deal (1986)
R | 106 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A former FBI agent turned small-town sheriff agrees to help the FBI chief infiltrate the Chicago mafia when the FBI chief's son is killed by them.
Director: John Irvin | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kathryn Harrold, Sam Wanamaker, Paul Shenar
Votes: 37,651 | Gross: $16.21M
37. Tightrope (1984)
R | 114 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
New Orleans single dad and cop Wes Block goes after a serial rapist-killer, but when he gets too close the hunter suddenly becomes the hunted.
Directors: Richard Tuggle, Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Geneviève Bujold, Dan Hedaya, Alison Eastwood
Votes: 19,193 | Gross: $48.14M
38. The Dead Pool (1988)
R | 91 min | Action, Crime, Mystery
Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan must stop a sick secret contest to murder various San Francisco celebrities, with himself being one of the targets.
Director: Buddy Van Horn | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Liam Neeson, Patricia Clarkson, Evan C. Kim
Votes: 48,990 | Gross: $37.90M
39. Sudden Impact (1983)
R | 117 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
When a woman exacts deadly revenge on the aggressors who raped her and her sister ten years earlier, Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan is assigned to the case.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, Bradford Dillman
Votes: 48,676 | Gross: $67.64M
40. Wanted: Dead or Alive (1986)
R | 106 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Bounty hunter Nick Randall (Rutger Hauer) is offered two hundred fifty thousand dollars by the C.I.A. to get the terrorist behind the bombing of a Los Angeles, California movie theater. Nick quit the C.I.A. because he couldn't trust them. Can they be trusted now, and can he stop the terrorists?
Director: Gary Sherman | Stars: Rutger Hauer, Gene Simmons, Robert Guillaume, Mel Harris
Votes: 5,998 | Gross: $7.56M
41. Black Moon Rising (1986)
R | 100 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A thief, Quint, is hired by the Justice Department to steal incriminating tapes from a corrupt corporation. The tapes vanish when Quint hides them in the back of a hydrodynamic powered racing car that is stolen by a hot car ring.
Director: Harley Cokeliss | Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Hamilton, Robert Vaughn, Richard Jaeckel
Votes: 6,625 | Gross: $6.64M
42. Angel Heart (1987)
X | 113 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A private investigator is hired by a man who calls himself Louis Cyphre to track down a singer named Johnny Favorite. But the investigation takes an unexpected and somber turn.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, Charlotte Rampling
Votes: 95,869 | Gross: $17.19M
43. Barfly (1987)
R | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Based on the life of successful poet Charles Bukowski and his exploits in Hollywood during the 60s, 70s, and 80s.
Director: Barbet Schroeder | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Faye Dunaway, Alice Krige, Jack Nance
Votes: 21,987 | Gross: $3.22M
44. Body Heat (1981)
R | 113 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
During an extreme heatwave, a beautiful Florida woman and a seedy lawyer engage in an affair while plotting the murder of her rich husband.
Director: Lawrence Kasdan | Stars: William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Ted Danson
Votes: 40,155 | Gross: $24.06M
45. I, the Jury (1982)
R | 111 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A PI investigates the murder of his one-armed friend, a PI working on a case. Clues lead to a sex clinic. Bodies pile up.
Director: Richard T. Heffron | Stars: Armand Assante, Barbara Carrera, Laurene Landon, Alan King
Votes: 1,821 | Gross: $1.52M
46. The Punisher (1989)
R | 89 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
When Frank Castle's family is murdered by criminals, he wages war on crime as a vigilante assassin known only as The Punisher.
Director: Mark Goldblatt | Stars: Dolph Lundgren, Louis Gossett Jr., Jeroen Krabbé, Kim Miyori
Votes: 25,821
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