Best Crime Movies of the 1970s

1. 1
   The Godfather 1972

   Directed by Francis Ford Coppola · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential
   8.7

   8.7 · 24K votes
2. 2
   The Godfather Part II 1974

   Directed by Francis Ford Coppola · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential
   8.6

   8.6 · 15K votes
3. 3
   A Clockwork Orange 1971

   Directed by Stanley Kubrick · Streaming on HBO Max, Cinemax
   8.2

   8.2 · 14K votes
4. 4
   Taxi Driver 1976

   Directed by Martin Scorsese · Streaming on Apple TV, Tubi TV, Sony Pictures Core
   8.1

   8.1 · 14K votes
5. 5
   The Sting 1973

   Directed by George Roy Hill · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, YouTube TV
   8.0

   8.0 · 3.2K votes
6. 6
   Chinatown 1974

   Directed by Roman Polanski · Streaming on MGM Plus, Kanopy, Hoopla
   7.9

   7.9 · 4.5K votes
7. 7
   Dog Day Afternoon 1975

   Directed by Sidney Lumet · Streaming on Hoopla
   7.8

   7.9 · 3.6K votes
8. 8
   Papillon 1973

   Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner · Streaming on Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
   7.8

   7.8 · 2.2K votes
9. 9
   Paper Moon 1973

   Directed by Peter Bogdanovich · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Kanopy, TCM
   7.7

   7.9 · 884 votes
10. 10
    Sleuth 1972

    Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
    7.5

    7.7 · 754 votes
11. 11
    Serpico 1973

    Directed by Sidney Lumet · Streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla, YouTube Free
    7.5

    7.5 · 2.3K votes
12. 12
    Le Cercle Rouge 1970

    Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
    7.5

    7.6 · 763 votes
13. 13
    The French Connection 1971

    Directed by William Friedkin · Streaming on YouTube TV
    7.4

    7.5 · 2.2K votes
14. 14
    The Conversation 1974

    Directed by Francis Ford Coppola · Streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla, YouTube Free
    7.4

    7.5 · 2.1K votes
15. 15
    The Castle of Cagliostro 1979

    Directed by Hayao Miyazaki · Streaming on Hoopla, Tubi TV
    7.4

    7.5 · 1.2K votes
16. 16
    Dirty Harry 1971

    Directed by Don Siegel
    7.4

    7.5 · 2.9K votes
17. 17
    Gentlemen of Fortune 1971

    Directed by Aleksandr Sery
    7.4

    7.8 · 286 votes
18. 18
    Midnight Express 1978

    Directed by Alan Parker · Streaming on fuboTV, The Roku Channel, Fawesome
    7.4

    7.4 · 2K votes
19. 19
    Badlands 1973

    Directed by Terrence Malick · Streaming on YouTube Free, Plex, Plex Channel
    7.4

    7.5 · 1.4K votes
20. 20
    The Way of the Dragon 1972

    Directed by Bruce Lee · Streaming on Kanopy, YouTube Free, WeTV
    7.3

    7.4 · 1.4K votes
21. 21
    The Long Goodbye 1973

    Directed by Robert Altman · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Hoopla, Fandango at Home Free
    7.3

    7.4 · 832 votes
22. 22
    The Taking of Pelham One Two Three 1974

    Directed by Joseph Sargent · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Fandango at Home Free, YouTube Free
    7.3

    7.5 · 671 votes
23. 23
    Lady Snowblood 1973

    Directed by Toshiya Fujita · Streaming on HBO Max, Criterion Channel, YouTube Free
    7.3

    7.5 · 445 votes
24. 24
    Assault on Precinct 13 1976

    Directed by John Carpenter · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, The Roku Channel
    7.2

    7.3 · 1.3K votes
25. 25
    What's Up, Doc? 1972

    Directed by Peter Bogdanovich · Streaming on Kanopy, Plex Channel, Tubi TV
    7.2

    7.4 · 484 votes
26. 26
    Caliber 9 1972

    Directed by Fernando Di Leo · Streaming on Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
    7.2

    7.5 · 285 votes
27. 27
    I... for Icarus 1979

    Directed by Henri Verneuil · Streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla
    7.1

    7.6 · 180 votes
28. 28
    Marathon Man 1976

    Directed by John Schlesinger · Streaming on fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential
    7.1

    7.2 · 1.3K votes
29. 29
    12 Chairs 1971

    Directed by Leonid Gaidai
    7.1

    7.6 · 184 votes
30. 30
    The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed 1979

    Directed by Stanislav Govorukhin
    7.1

    8.1 · 90 votes
31. 31
    The Getaway 1972

    Directed by Sam Peckinpah · Streaming on Kanopy, YouTube TV, YouTube Free
    7.1

    7.2 · 703 votes
32. 32
    Charley Varrick 1973

    Directed by Don Siegel
    7.1

    7.4 · 302 votes
33. 33
    Magnum Force 1973

    Directed by Ted Post
    7.1

    7.1 · 1.3K votes
34. 34
    Murder by Death 1976

    Directed by Robert Moore · Streaming on The Roku Channel, YouTube Free, Fawesome
    7.0

    7.1 · 943 votes
35. 35
    The Driver 1978

    Directed by Walter Hill
    7.0

    7.2 · 547 votes
36. 36
    Straw Dogs 1971

    Directed by Sam Peckinpah
    7.0

    7.1 · 1.1K votes
37. 37
    Canoa: A Shameful Memory 1975

    Directed by Felipe Cazals
    7.0

    7.9 · 93 votes
38. 38
    Frenzy 1972

    Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
    7.0

    7.1 · 1.1K votes
39. 39
    Jo 1971

    Directed by Jean Girault
    7.0

    7.2 · 354 votes
40. 40
    Vengeance Is Mine 1979

    Directed by Shōhei Imamura · Streaming on Criterion Channel, Darkroom
    7.0

    7.5 · 161 votes
41. 41
    Mean Streets 1973

    Directed by Martin Scorsese · Streaming on Plex, Plex Channel, Tubi TV
    7.0

    7.0 · 2.4K votes
42. 42
    Vanishing Point 1971

    Directed by Richard C. Sarafian
    7.0

    7.1 · 552 votes
43. 43
    Blue Collar 1978

    Directed by Paul Schrader
    7.0

    7.3 · 217 votes
44. 44
    Serie Noire 1979

    Directed by Alain Corneau · Streaming on BFI Player
    6.9

    7.4 · 166 votes
45. 45
    The Night Caller 1975

    Directed by Henri Verneuil
    6.9

    7.2 · 290 votes
46. 46
    10 Rillington Place 1971

    Directed by Richard Fleischer · Streaming on IndieFlix, Plex, Plex Channel
    6.9

    7.3 · 227 votes
47. 47
    The American Friend 1977

    Directed by Wim Wenders
    6.9

    7.1 · 468 votes
48. 48
    Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia 1974

    Directed by Sam Peckinpah
    6.9

    7.1 · 446 votes
49. 49
    The Friends of Eddie Coyle 1973

    Directed by Peter Yates
    6.9

    7.2 · 222 votes
50. 50
    Soylent Green 1973

    Directed by Richard Fleischer
    6.9

    6.9 · 1.5K votes

Smart score = (votes × rating + 82 × 6.03) ÷ (votes + 82): the TMDB rating, pulled toward the catalog average as if every film had 82 extra average votes.

1. 1
   La Banda del Carro Rojo 1978

   Directed by Rubén Galindo · Streaming on The Roku Channel
   6.4

   7.7 · 27 votes
2. 2
   Proof of the Man 1977

   Directed by Junya Satō
   6.4

   7.8 · 21 votes
3. 3
   Hassanpoulia: The Avengers of Cyprus 1975

   Directed by Kostas Dimitriou
   6.3

   8.6 · 10 votes
4. 4
   Revenge 1978

   Directed by Sergiu Nicolaescu
   6.3

   8.2 · 12 votes
5. 5
   The Last Bullet 1973

   Directed by Sergiu Nicolaescu
   6.3

   7.9 · 14 votes
6. 6
   The Wolves 1971

   Directed by Hideo Gosha
   6.3

   7.4 · 24 votes
7. 7
   A Police Inspector Calls 1974

   Directed by Sergiu Nicolaescu
   6.3

   7.7 · 15 votes
8. 8
   With Clean Hands 1972

   Directed by Sergiu Nicolaescu
   6.3

   7.4 · 23 votes
9. 9
   The Wretches Are Still Singing 1979

   Directed by Nikos Nikolaidis
   6.3

   7.5 · 19 votes
10. 10
    Yusuf and Kenan 1979

    Directed by Ömer Kavur
    6.3

    7.4 · 23 votes