Heist Movies Top 25
by Holger1974 | created - 13 Oct 2012 | updated - 27 Aug 2013 | PublicA heist film is a film that has an intricate plot woven around a group of people trying to steal something.
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1. Inception (2010)
PG-13 | 148 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O., but his tragic past may doom the project and his team to disaster.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Elliot Page, Ken Watanabe
Votes: 2,549,781 | Gross: $292.58M
Not only is Inception one of the best movies ever, but it's a highly original and intricate heist movie that warrants repeated viewings.
2. Where Eagles Dare (1968)
M | 158 min | Action, Adventure, War
Allied agents stage a daring raid on a castle where the Nazis are holding American brigadier general George Carnaby prisoner, but that's not all that's really going on.
Director: Brian G. Hutton | Stars: Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, Mary Ure, Patrick Wymark
Votes: 62,889
While technically a WWII movie, Where Eagles Dare has all the trademarks of a classic heist movie.
3. Heat (1995)
R | 170 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A group of high-end professional thieves start to feel the heat from the LAPD when they unknowingly leave a verbal clue at their latest heist.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight
Votes: 719,074 | Gross: $67.44M
According to actual bank robbers, Heat accurately captures the intensity of the real deal. It's a brilliant and gripping masterpiece by all accounts.
4. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
R | 99 min | Crime, Thriller
When a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn
Votes: 1,087,841 | Gross: $2.83M
5. A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
R | 108 min | Comedy, Crime
In London, four very different people team up on a jewel heist, then try to double-cross one another for the loot, complicated by their efforts to fool a very proper barrister.
Directors: Charles Crichton, John Cleese | Stars: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin
Votes: 153,876 | Gross: $63.49M
Rip-roaringly funny, but also exciting.
6. The Great Train Robbery (1978)
PG | 110 min | Adventure, Crime, Drama
England, 1850s. A master criminal aims to rob a train of a large sum of gold. Security is incredibly tight and the task seems an impossible one. However, he has a plan and just the right people to carry it out.
Director: Michael Crichton | Stars: Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland, Lesley-Anne Down, Alan Webb
Votes: 19,547 | Gross: $13.03M
A quaint movie with a charming and chauvinistic Sean Connery in the lead.
7. The Usual Suspects (1995)
R | 106 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The sole survivor of a pier shoot-out tells the story of how a notorious criminal influenced the events that began with five criminals meeting in a seemingly random police lineup.
Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin
Votes: 1,145,019 | Gross: $23.34M
8. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
R | 111 min | Action, Biography, Crime
Bored waitress Bonnie Parker falls in love with an ex-con named Clyde Barrow and together they start a violent crime spree through the country, stealing cars and robbing banks.
Director: Arthur Penn | Stars: Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard, Gene Hackman
Votes: 120,581
9. Point Break (1991)
R | 122 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
An F.B.I. Agent goes undercover to catch a gang of surfers who may be bank robbers.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Lori Petty
Votes: 202,162 | Gross: $43.22M
10. Time Bandits (1981)
PG | 110 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
A young boy accidentally joins a band of time travelling dwarves, as they jump from era to era looking for treasure to steal.
Director: Terry Gilliam | Stars: Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, John Cleese, Katherine Helmond
Votes: 68,326 | Gross: $42.37M
More of an adventure for kids of all ages than a true heist movie, but a band of time traveling dwarves out to plunder must make this list.
11. Snatch (2000)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Crime
Unscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookmakers, a Russian gangster, incompetent amateur robbers and supposedly Jewish jewelers fight to track down a priceless stolen diamond.
Director: Guy Ritchie | Stars: Jason Statham, Brad Pitt, Stephen Graham, Vinnie Jones
Votes: 910,549 | Gross: $30.33M
12. Ronin (1998)
R | 122 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A freelancing former U.S. Intelligence Agent tries to track down a mysterious package that is wanted by the Irish and the Russians.
Director: John Frankenheimer | Stars: Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgård
Votes: 195,079 | Gross: $41.62M
13. The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama
After his last crime has him looking at a long prison sentence for repeat offenses, a low level Boston gangster decides to snitch on his friends to avoid jail time.
Director: Peter Yates | Stars: Robert Mitchum, Peter Boyle, Richard Jordan, Steven Keats
Votes: 12,197
An understated Robert Mitchum and excellent character portraits drive this movie.
14. The Red Circle (1970)
Not Rated | 140 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After leaving prison, master thief Corey crosses paths with a notorious escapee and an alcoholic former policeman. The trio proceed to plot an elaborate heist.
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville | Stars: Alain Delon, Bourvil, Gian Maria Volontè, Yves Montand
Votes: 28,141 | Gross: $0.37M
15. Once a Thief (1991)
R | 108 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A romantic and action packed story of three best friends, a group of high end art thieves, who come into trouble when a love-triangle forms between them.
Director: John Woo | Stars: Leslie Cheung, Chow Yun-Fat, Cherie Chung, Kong Chu
Votes: 7,281
If you can stomach the Hong Kong humor, Once A Thief is an entertaining and stylish piece of cinema.
16. In China They Eat Dogs (1999)
Not Rated | 91 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Two brothers, one cold and ruthless, the other sensitive and reluctant, and their brutal misadventures.
Director: Lasse Spang Olsen | Stars: Kim Bodnia, Dejan Cukic, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Tomas Villum Jensen
Votes: 23,035
Contains what is probably both the most incongruous and funny ending to any movie.
17. Jackie Brown (1997)
R | 154 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A flight attendant with a criminal past gets nabbed by the ATF for smuggling. Under pressure to become an informant against the illegal arms dealer she works for, she must find a way to secure her future without getting killed.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Bridget Fonda
Votes: 374,853 | Gross: $39.67M
18. The Sting (1973)
PG | 129 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Two grifters team up to pull off the ultimate con.
Director: George Roy Hill | Stars: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning
Votes: 279,806 | Gross: $159.60M
19. The Town (2010)
R | 125 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A proficient group of thieves rob a bank and hold an assistant manager hostage. Things begin to get complicated when one of the crew members falls in love with her.
Director: Ben Affleck | Stars: Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner
Votes: 415,609 | Gross: $92.19M
20. The Saint (1997)
PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Romance
Simon "The Saint" Templar (Val Kilmer), is a thief for hire, whose latest job to steal the secret process for cold fusion puts him at odds with a traitor bent on toppling the Russian government, as well as the woman who holds its secret.
Director: Phillip Noyce | Stars: Val Kilmer, Elisabeth Shue, Rade Serbedzija, Valeriy Nikolaev
Votes: 72,237 | Gross: $61.36M
Cheesy as hell, but Val Kilmer manages to pull off this flick with his over-the-top charms.
21. The Killing (1956)
Approved | 84 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Crook Johnny Clay assembles a five-man team to plan and execute a daring racetrack robbery.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Vince Edwards, Jay C. Flippen
Votes: 97,446
22. The Bank Job (2008)
R | 111 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Martine offers Terry a lead on a foolproof bank hit on London's Baker Street. She targets a roomful of safe deposit boxes worth millions in cash and jewelry along with a treasure trove of dirty secrets.
Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, Stephen Campbell Moore, Daniel Mays
Votes: 189,147 | Gross: $30.06M
23. Ocean's Eleven (2001)
PG-13 | 116 min | Crime, Thriller
Danny Ocean and his ten accomplices plan to rob three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon
Votes: 618,931 | Gross: $183.42M
24. To Catch a Thief (1955)
PG | 106 min | Mystery, Romance, Thriller
A retired jewel thief sets out to prove his innocence after being suspected of returning to his former occupation.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Jessie Royce Landis, John Williams
Votes: 79,709 | Gross: $8.75M
25. Cypher (2002)
R | 95 min | Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
An unsuspecting, disenchanted man finds himself working as a spy in the dangerous, high-stakes world of corporate espionage. Quickly getting way over-his-head, he teams up with a mysterious femme fatale.
Director: Vincenzo Natali | Stars: Jeremy Northam, Lucy Liu, Nigel Bennett, Timothy Webber
Votes: 32,060
Included for the interesting plot and twists, not the production or cast.
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