My Top 40 Caper Films
by montez7679 | created - 11 Nov 2013 | updated - 29 Mar 2014 | PublicA list of what I think are the best caper/heist films of all time. Only real rules was that the bad guy had to be the predominant star of the film. Give it a read and let me know what you think.
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1. 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: 719,283 | Gross: $67.44M
2. Out of Sight (1998)
R | 123 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A career bank robber breaks out of jail, and shares a moment of mutual attraction with a U.S. Marshal he has kidnapped.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Ving Rhames, Steve Zahn
Votes: 99,289 | Gross: $37.56M
3. 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: 120,594
4. 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: 1,145,287 | Gross: $23.34M
5. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
R | 103 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
After being mistaken for an actor, a New York thief is sent to Hollywood to train under a private eye for a potential movie role, but the duo are thrown together with a struggling actress into a murder mystery.
Director: Shane Black | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, Corbin Bernsen
Votes: 237,388 | Gross: $4.24M
6. The Pink Panther (1963)
Approved | 115 min | Comedy, Crime, Romance
The bumbling Inspector Clouseau travels to Rome to catch a notorious jewel thief known as "The Phantom" before he conducts his most daring heist yet: a princess' priceless diamond with one slight imperfection, known as "The Pink Panther".
Director: Blake Edwards | Stars: David Niven, Peter Sellers, Robert Wagner, Capucine
Votes: 56,654 | Gross: $10.88M
7. 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: 619,112 | Gross: $183.42M
8. Quick Change (1990)
R | 89 min | Comedy, Crime
Three thieves successfully rob a New York City bank, but making the escape from the city proves to be almost impossible.
Directors: Howard Franklin, Bill Murray | Stars: Bill Murray, Geena Davis, Randy Quaid, Dale Grand
Votes: 22,200 | Gross: $15.26M
9. Pulp Fiction (1994)
R | 154 min | Crime, Drama
The lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis
Votes: 2,219,836 | Gross: $107.93M
10. 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: 910,780 | Gross: $30.33M
11. The Getaway (1972)
PG | 123 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A recently-released ex-con and his loyal wife go on the run after a heist goes awry.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Steve McQueen, Ali MacGraw, Ben Johnson, Sally Struthers
Votes: 35,687 | Gross: $36.73M
12. 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: 415,705 | Gross: $92.19M
13. 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: 19,553 | Gross: $13.03M
14. Safe Men (1998)
R | 88 min | Comedy, Crime
Two bad singers are mistaken for top safe-crackers at a bar; a gangster boss orders them to break into three safes or else.
Director: John Hamburg | Stars: Sam Rockwell, Steve Zahn, Michael Lerner, Paul Giamatti
Votes: 3,560 | Gross: $0.02M
15. 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: 1,088,084 | Gross: $2.83M
16. 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: 195,131 | Gross: $41.62M
17. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
R | 107 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Eddy persuades his three pals to pool money for a vital poker game against a powerful local mobster, Hatchet Harry. Eddy loses, after which Harry gives him a week to pay back 500,000 pounds.
Director: Guy Ritchie | Stars: Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Jason Statham
Votes: 616,254 | Gross: $3.90M
18. Inside Man (2006)
R | 129 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A police detective, a bank robber, and a high-power broker enter high-stakes negotiations after the criminal's brilliant heist spirals into a hostage situation.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer
Votes: 397,846 | Gross: $88.51M
19. Three Kings (1999)
R | 114 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
In the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, four soldiers set out to steal gold that was stolen from Kuwait, but they discover people who desperately need their help.
Director: David O. Russell | Stars: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, Spike Jonze
Votes: 180,451 | Gross: $60.65M
20. RocknRolla (2008)
R | 114 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
When a Russian mobster orchestrates a crooked land deal, millions of dollars are up for grabs, drawing in the entire London underworld into a feeding frenzy at a time when the old criminal regime is losing turf to a wealthy foreign mob.
Director: Guy Ritchie | Stars: Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Idris Elba, Thandiwe Newton
Votes: 265,004 | Gross: $5.69M
21. 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: 38,985 | Gross: $11.49M
22. 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: 62,528 | Gross: $51.43M
23. Drive (I) (2011)
R | 100 min | Action, Drama
A mysterious Hollywood action film stuntman gets in trouble with gangsters when he tries to help his neighbor's husband rob a pawn shop while serving as his getaway driver.
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks
Votes: 704,407 | Gross: $35.06M
24. Gone in 60 Seconds (1974)
PG | 98 min | Action, Crime, Drama
When a South American drug lord pays Pace to steal 48 cars for him, all but one is in the bag - thereby, the police precipitate in a desperate car chase against Pace and his Eleanor across Southern California.
Director: H.B. Halicki | Stars: H.B. Halicki, Marion Busia, Jerry Daugirda, James McIntyre
Votes: 9,952 | Gross: $0.47M
25. 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: 153,903 | Gross: $63.49M
26. The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)
R | 113 min | Crime, Romance, Thriller
A very rich and successful playboy amuses himself by stealing artwork, but may have met his match in a seductive detective.
Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Rene Russo, Denis Leary, Ben Gazzara
Votes: 100,533 | Gross: $69.30M
27. Heist (2001)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A career jewel thief finds himself at tense odds with his longtime partner, a crime boss who sends his nephew to keep watch.
Director: David Mamet | Stars: Gene Hackman, Rebecca Pidgeon, Danny DeVito, Delroy Lindo
Votes: 39,052 | Gross: $0.05M
28. Get Shorty (1995)
R | 105 min | Comedy, Crime, Thriller
A mobster travels to Hollywood to collect a debt, and discovers that the movie business is much the same as his current job.
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld | Stars: Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Danny DeVito, John Travolta
Votes: 89,106 | Gross: $72.08M
29. 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: 2,550,476 | Gross: $292.58M
30. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
R | 125 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Three amateur bank robbers plan to hold up a bank. A nice simple robbery: Walk in, take the money, and run. Unfortunately, the supposedly uncomplicated heist suddenly becomes a bizarre nightmare as everything that could go wrong does.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Al Pacino, John Cazale, Penelope Allen, Sully Boyar
Votes: 273,044 | Gross: $50.00M
31. Catch Me If You Can (2002)
PG-13 | 141 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Barely 17 yet, Frank is a skilled forger who has passed as a doctor, lawyer and pilot. FBI agent Carl becomes obsessed with tracking down the con man, who only revels in the pursuit.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen
Votes: 1,095,446 | Gross: $164.62M
32. 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: 79,735 | Gross: $8.75M
33. Bottle Rocket (1996)
R | 91 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Three friends plan to pull off a simple robbery and go on the run.
Director: Wes Anderson | Stars: Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Ned Dowd, Shea Fowler
Votes: 83,508 | Gross: $0.56M
34. 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: 202,240 | Gross: $43.22M
35. The Italian Job (2003)
PG-13 | 111 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After being betrayed and left for dead in Italy, Charlie Croker and his team plan an elaborate gold heist against their former ally.
Director: F. Gary Gray | Stars: Donald Sutherland, Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton, Charlize Theron
Votes: 388,464 | Gross: $106.13M
36. Killing Zoe (1993)
R | 96 min | Crime, Thriller
The cab driver sets American Zed up with Zoe in his Paris hotel. Despite FFR1000 charged, she's an art student with day jobs e.g. bank. Safecracker Zed meets his junkie friend after 11 years to rob a bank.
Director: Roger Avary | Stars: Eric Stoltz, Julie Delpy, Martin Raymond, Eric Pascal Chaltiel
Votes: 21,413 | Gross: $0.42M
37. The Grifters (1990)
R | 110 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A small-time conman has torn loyalties between his estranged mother and new girlfriend, both of whom are high-stakes grifters with their own angles to play.
Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, Annette Bening, Jan Munroe
Votes: 30,548 | Gross: $13.45M
38. Confidence (2003)
R | 97 min | Crime, Thriller
Jake Vig is a consummate grifter about to pull his biggest con yet, one set to avenge his friend's murder. But his last scam backfired, leaving him indebted to a mob boss and his enforcer.
Director: James Foley | Stars: Edward Burns, Dustin Hoffman, Rachel Weisz, Andy Garcia
Votes: 35,336 | Gross: $12.21M
39. 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: 374,939 | Gross: $39.67M
40. Layer Cake (2004)
R | 105 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A successful cocaine dealer gets two tough assignments from his boss on the eve of his planned early retirement.
Director: Matthew Vaughn | Stars: Daniel Craig, Sienna Miller, Michael Gambon, Tom Hardy
Votes: 195,569 | Gross: $2.34M
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