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Best Crime Movies

of the 1970s

The 20 highest-rated crime movies released between 1970 and 1979, ranked by IMDb score.

1

The Godfather(1972)

9.2 IMDb97% RT100 Meta

Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his y

2

The Godfather Part II(1974)

9 IMDb96% RT90 Meta

In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone attempts to expand the family business into Las Vega

3

Gentlemen of Fortune(1971)

8.3 IMDb

Kindergarten teacher Evgeniy Ivanovich Troshkin is reluctantly sent undercover to take the place of an imprisoned thief who stole Alexander the Great's helmet. Evgeniy uses his striking resemblance to

4

Taxi Driver(1976)

8.2 IMDb89% RT94 Meta

Suffering from insomnia, disturbed loner Travis Bickle takes a job as a New York City cabbie, haunting the streets nightly, growing increasingly detached from reality as he dreams of cleaning up the f

5

The Sting(1973)

8.2 IMDb93% RT83 Meta

A novice con man teams up with an acknowledged master to avenge the murder of a mutual friend by pulling off the ultimate big con and swindling a fortune from a big-time mobster.

6

A Clockwork Orange(1971)

8.2 IMDb86% RT77 Meta

In a near-future Britain, young Alexander DeLarge and his pals get their kicks beating and raping anyone they please. When not destroying the lives of others, Alex swoons to the music of Beethoven. Th

7

Dog Day Afternoon(1975)

8 IMDb96% RT86 Meta

Based on the true story of would-be Brooklyn bank robbers John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturile. Sonny and Sal attempt a bank heist which quickly turns sour and escalates into a hostage situation and

8

Papillon(1973)

8 IMDb73% RT58 Meta

A man befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence on a dreadful prison island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.

9

Sleuth(1972)

7.9 IMDb89% RT

A man who loves games and theatre invites his wife's lover to meet, setting up a battle of wits with potentially deadly results.

10

The Conversation(1974)

7.7 IMDb94% RT88 Meta

A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.

11

Serpico(1973)

7.7 IMDb93% RT83 Meta

New York cop Frank Serpico blows the whistle on the rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.

12

Dirty Harry(1971)

7.7 IMDb89% RT87 Meta

When a madman dubbed 'Scorpio' terrorizes San Francisco, hard-nosed cop, Harry Callahan – famous for his take-no-prisoners approach to law enforcement – is tasked with hunting down the psychopath.

13

The French Connection(1971)

7.7 IMDb97% RT94 Meta

Tough narcotics detective 'Popeye' Doyle is in hot pursuit of a suave French drug dealer who may be the key to a huge heroin-smuggling operation.

14

The Castle of Cagliostro(1979)

7.6 IMDb95% RT72 Meta

After a successful robbery leaves famed thief Lupin the Third and his partner Jigen with nothing but a large amount of expertly crafted counterfeit bills, he decides to track down the forgers responsi

15

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three(1974)

7.6 IMDb98% RT68 Meta

In New York, armed men hijack a subway car and demand a ransom for the passengers. Even if it's paid, how could they get away?

16

Lady Snowblood(1973)

7.6 IMDb100% RT80 Meta

Yuki's family is nearly wiped out before she is born due to the machinations of a band of criminals. These criminals kidnap and brutalize her mother but leave her alive. Later her mother ends up in pr

17

Midnight Express(1978)

7.5 IMDb90% RT59 Meta

Billy Hayes is caught attempting to smuggle drugs out of Turkey. The Turkish courts decide to make an example of him, sentencing him to more than 30 years in prison. Hayes has two opportunities for re

18

Rabid Dogs(1974)

7.4 IMDb88% RT

Following a bungled robbery, three violent criminals take a young woman, a middle-aged man, and a child hostage and force them to drive them outside Rome to help them make a clean getaway.

19

Caliber 9(1972)

7.4 IMDb

Just out of prison, ex-con Ugo Piazza meets his former employer, a psychopathic gangster Rocco who enjoys sick violence and torture. Both the gangsters and the police believe Ugo has hidden $300,000 t

20

The Way of the Dragon(1972)

7.1 IMDb87% RT58 Meta

After a Chinese restaurant in Rome is threatened by the mafia, who will stop at nothing to acquire the property, the owner recruits a family friend in Hong Kong, kung fu expert Tang Lung, to help them

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