Saturday 15 April 2023

12 Classic Crime Movies That Came Out Before The 1980s

Everyone loves crime movies, though younger film fans today would do well to look backward. The post-World War II era remains the golden age for many movie genres, but crime films abound in this period.

The 70s, in particular, were rife with some of the greatest acting, writing, and directing in the 20th century. According to a recent online forum, people still love this golden age of crime films. Here are some you may like.

1. The Third Man (1949)

the third man 1949 movie
Image Credit: Selznick Releasing Organization.

Starring the great Orson Welles, this adaptation of a Graham Green novel follows a washed-up pulp-fiction novelist in post-war Vienna searching for his friend's killer. The Third Man laid the foundation for some of the greatest film noir detective dramas ever made.

2. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966)

the good the bad and the ugly
Image Credit: United Artists and MGM.

Clint Eastwood made a name for himself in Sergio Leone's spaghetti western cycle as the man with no name, a high desert drifter who picks fights with the worst outlaws in the land. Very few movies project the atmosphere of a Sergio Leone movie: the extreme eye close-ups, sweeping pans across the desert, and the primeval soundtrack by Ennio Morricone.

3. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

bonnie and clyde 1967
Image Credit: Warner Bros.-Seven Arts.

In Peter Biskind's book Easy Riders and Raging Bulls, Bonnie and Clyde are revered as one of the most important films in modern history. The graphic violence was out of step with the traditional studio system of big-budget, sword-and-sandals epics and glitzy musicals. This was raw, fly-on-the-wall-style cinematography.

4. The Italian Job (1969)

the italian job 1969
Image Credit: Paramount Pictures.

“I only told you to blow the bloody doors off,” comes Michael Caine's iconic one-liner in this British movie about a gold bullion heist in Turin. The movie's set pieces and memorable chase scene featuring three British minis make this a British comedy crime classic.

5. The French Connection (1971)

Scarecrow
Image Credit: Warner Bros.

Gene Hackman is one of the greatest actors of all time and stars in arguably the best cop movie ever. If anything, viewers need to watch this film for the eponymous car-chase scene, in which his character must thwart a train jacking.

6. Dirty Harry (1971)

dirty harry clint eastwood
Image Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures.

Spawning Clint Eastwood's most famous line: “Go ahead, punk. Make my day,” this was the first of five Dirty Harry movies. The story of a young detective taking retribution on a cold-blooded murderer is still the stuff of legend.

7. The Godfather (1972)

the godfather 1972
Image Credit: Paramount Pictures.

Francis Ford Coppola's magnum opus goes down as the generation's defacto favorite film. With posters adorning young men's walls everywhere for a decade, Marlon Brando's portrayal of Don Vito Corleone left a huge mark on cinematic history.

8. Superfly (1972)

superfly 1972
Image Credit: Warner Bros.

The greatest thing about Superfly is the gritty sense of realism. The movie transports us to inner-city Atlanta for cocaine baron Youngblood Priest's last score before leaving the game. This was an important part of the Blaxploitation noir-crime movie cycle of that decade, spawning one of the greatest soundtracks ever recorded.

9. The Sting (1973)

thesting1 e1677106924936
Photo Credit: Universal Pictures.

Robert Redford and Paul Newman teamed up again following Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid‘s success a few years prior. This incredible movie about two professional grifters playing high-roller poker sharks is a masterpiece.

10. Serpico (1973)

Serpico
Image Credit: Paramount Pictures.

Pacino was gold in the '70s, starring in some of the best crime movies ever made. Serpico is based on the biography of real detective Frank Serpico, who fought against New York Police Department corruption.

11. Chinatown (1974)

Chinatown 1974
Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures.

Someone once quoted Jack Nickolson as saying, “I don't make movies; I make classics.” He got that right with this movie. Chinatown follows the escapades of private eye Jake Gittes in a southern Californian water rights case. Chinatown's Oscar-winning screenplay from Robert Towne is worth reading alone.

12. Death Wish (1974)

death wish 1974
Image Credit: Paramount Pictures.

Charles Bronson owned the '70s detective revenge drama cycle. Bronson is the precursor to Liam Neeson, and most likely, he (or Chuck Norris — it is debatable) taught Neeson some of his particular skills. Death Wish is the story of an architect seeking furious retribution against those who murdered his wife.

READ MORE FROM WEALTH OF GEEKS:

13 Movies So Awful They Scored Zero on Rotten Tomatoes

Disney’s Live-Action ‘Pinocchio’ Dances To The Tune of a Corporate Cash Grab
Photo Credit: Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Receiving a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes is a sought-after accomplishment all directors and filmmakers hope to achieve. But do you ever wonder what happens when a movie is so bad that it totally tanks at the box office?

Perhaps more difficult are those movies so awful they reach a zero on the Tomatometer, meaning no critic liked a single aspect of the film. So instead, they watched each dire moment, waiting for something decent to occur, but it never did.

13 Movies That Achieved a Perfect Zero on Rotten Tomatoes

10 TV Shows That Should Have Quit While They Were Ahead

greys anatomy meridith grey
Image Credit: American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.

What TV show started great but ruined its reputation by staying entirely too far past its prime? I can think of a few, but I don't want to spoil the ending.

After being surveyed, the Internet responded with these television series that should have quit while they were ahead.

10 TV Shows That Should Have Quit While They Were Ahead

10 Surprising Movies That No One Cares About Anymore

the hobbit
Image Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Someone recently expressed they were searching for movies that exist but aren't a big deal anymore, despite a massive appeal and success initially.

They gave these examples, “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. The Bodyguard (two huge Kevin Costner films with enormous hit songs that no one has watched since 1997). The Revenant (Leo gets an Oscar, but can you remember anything besides the bear scene?). Seabiscuit. What else?” Here are the top responses.

10 Surprising Movies That No One Cares About Anymore

10 Most Hated Characters on The Big Bang Theory

big-bang-theory-the-hesitation-ramification
Image Credit: Warner Bros. Television Distribution.

Recently someone online asked, “Who do you consider the most unlikable on the show?” Do you think you know who took the number one spot on the list?

Here are the 10 top-voted responses from the show's fans.

10 Most Hated Characters on The Big Bang Theory

10 Awesome Obscure 80s Movies No One Seems To Remember

ladyhawke
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox

Are you tired of the same well-known films on every 80s movie list? You're not alone.

An online discussion inquires, “What obscure 80s movie did you love that no one else seems to remember?” Here are the top responses.

10 Awesome Obscure 80s Movies No One Seems To Remember

This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.



source https://wealthofgeeks.com/classic-crime-movies-before-1980s/

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