If the sheer number of documentaries, narrative features, TV series, and podcasts is any indication, our obsession with true crime isn’t going anywhere. From white-collar scandals and political conspiracies to murders, heists, and criminal empires, there’s no shortage of films inspired by real events. With so many options, we narrowed the field down to a shortlist of the best true crime movies of all time.
What are the best true crime movies of all time?
We could have limited this list to murder-focused stories, but we wanted to highlight a variety of crimes. Our picks include classic mob films, audacious cons, daring heists, investigative journalism, and historical crimes that were once swept under the rug.
Honorable mentions go to other favorites, like Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), Fritz Lang’s M (1931), and Small Things Like These (2024), based on Claire Keegan’s novel. While M and Small Things Like These are more indirectly inspired by real events than directly dramatized, we’d still consider them true-crime-adjacent.
Some of our selections stick closely to documented events, while others function more on reinterpretation or dramatization. In all cases, each film draws on historical source material.
The French Connection (1971)
The French Connection may not be the first title that comes to mind when you think of true crime, but consider this your sign to fix that, especially if you see yourself as a cinephile. It’s also often cited as one of the greatest New York films ever made, which is just another reason to queue it up sooner rather than later.
Nominated for eight Academy Awards and winner of Best Picture and Best Director, the film is loosely based on a true story, adapted from Robin Moore’s non-fiction book about a major international drug-trafficking scheme. Directed by William Friedkin (The Exorcist), it follows New York City detectives Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle (Gene Hackman) and Buddy Russo as they investigate a heroin smuggling operation connected to a French supplier.
As the case develops, Doyle becomes increasingly fixated on tracking down the source of the drugs, leading to a pursuit that stretches from New York to Marseille. As another movie-lover bonus, The French Connection is known for one of the most famous car chases in film history.
Badlands (1973)
Terrence Malick’s debut feature is loosely inspired by the 1958 killing spree of Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate. Rather than a straightforward true-crime adaptation in the vein of Monster, Malick takes a more impressionistic approach to the story. This might be considered more crime-adjacent than true-crime, but we consider it good enough of a film to earn a spot on our list.
Set in 1959, the film follows 15-year-old Holly (Sissy Spacek), who lives with her father in a dead-end South Dakota town. She becomes involved with Kit, a 25-year-old garbage collector played by Martin Sheen. When Holly’s father punishes Holly for the relationship, Kit kills him, and the two flee, heading toward freedom in Canada. Narrated by Holly, their journey becomes a quiet but chilling killing spree as they drift across the Midwest. Despite the violence, Badlands is strikingly beautiful in a way only Malick can achieve. With sweeping landscapes, detached narration, and a dreamlike tone, the film transforms a brutal true story into something you might find surprisingly (and oddly) poetic.
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
One of the greatest true-crime films ever made and easily one of the defining movies of the 1970s, Dog Day Afternoon gives us Al Pacino at his peak. Directed by Sidney Lumet, the film dramatizes the real-life 1972 robbery and hostage standoff at a First Brooklyn Savings Bank, led by inexperienced criminal Sonny Wortzik. Joined by his anxious accomplices, Sal Naturile and Stevie, Sonny attempts to keep control of the situation as the poorly planned heist quickly unravels.
What begins as a simple robbery turns into chaos as police surround the bank, the FBI becomes involved, and a swarm of media turns the standoff into a national spectacle. The film slowly reveals the deeply personal, unexpected motivation behind Sonny’s desperate actions, leading us to a tumultuous conclusion.
Goodfellas (1990)
Martin Scorsese could take up nearly this entire shortlist, so we narrowed his true crime output down to our favorites. Of course, The Irishman, Casino, Killers of the Flower Moon, and The Wolf of Wall Street all deserve a mention. For this list, though, we’re sticking with the one that could easily be called his best. Based on Nicholas Pileggi’s nonfiction book Wiseguy, Goodfellas chronicles the epic rise and fall of mob associate Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) within the Lucchese crime family.
The movie begins with Henry’s youth in the 1950s and barrels through the chaos of the 1980s. As the saying goes, the higher you climb, the harder you fall. This movie is a testament to that, and a reminder of what a lot of cocaine can do to your face. It’s endlessly entertaining, with standout performances from Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino, Frank Sivero, and plenty of cameos from some of the greats.
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
While this might raise a few eyebrows, we couldn’t have a true crime list without a film that makes crime look like a lot of fun. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as the ultra-charismatic, clever con artist Frank Abagnale Jr. Directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, Catch Me If You Can is adapted from Abagnale’s autobiography, chronicling his life as he posed as a doctor, lawyer, and airline pilot while forging millions of dollars in checks.
Tom Hanks stars as FBI agent Carl Hanratty, who is hot on Abagnale’s trail but always seems to be just one step behind. As well as being a great true crime movie, Catch Me If You Can is one of those movies that’s endlessly rewatchable. While the pace moves quickly, it’s got so much audacity, wit, and charm that it’s fun to watch just about any time.
Monster (2003)
The biographical crime drama that firmly redefined Charlize Theron as one of the most transformative actors of her generation, Monster tells the story of real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a former sex worker convicted of murdering several men in Florida. At first glance, this might look like a cut-and-dry serial killer film, but it’s so much more complex than that. As much as it’s a fantastic character study, it’s equally as tragic and heartbreaking, and beautifully handles some of the more complicated themes of the material, including the incidents that led Wuornos to the actions. Monster shows us Patty Jenkins’s ability as a filmmaker to tell a truly fantastic story. It’s also shocking considering this was Jenkin’s feature debut.
Theron stars as Wuornos opposite Christina Ricci as Selby, a fictionalized version of her girlfriend. The film traces Wuornos’ descent into violence, framing the killings through her claims of self-defense while also confronting the cycles of abuse, poverty, and isolation that shaped her life.
Zodiac (2007)
Kicking things off with what may be the greatest true crime film ever made about a serial killer, Zodiac takes us into the obsessive hunt for the Zodiac Killer, who terrorized San Francisco throughout the late 1960s and 1970s. Directed by David Fincher and based on Robert Graysmith’s nonfiction book Zodiac, the film meticulously chronicles the investigation from multiple perspectives.
The cast is stacked, with Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr. playing reporters at the San Francisco Chronicle, while Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Edwards portray the detectives tasked with stopping the killer. As the investigation drags on for years, the team is taunted as the killer sends cryptic ciphers, letters, and bloodstained evidence, all while more lives are lost. Like the real cast, we aren’t left with a satisfying resolution. If the ending leaves you wanting more, Netflix’s recent documentary This Is the Zodiac Speaking is a fitting follow-up.
Spotlight (2015)
Winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture, Spotlight takes us inside the world of investigative journalism as reporters at The Boston Globe begin to crack open a shocking story of systemic abuse within the Catholic Church.
Directed by Tom McCarthy, the film follows the Globe’s “Spotlight” team, a small unit focused on long-form investigations. This dedicated team uncovers a pattern of child abuse by priests in Boston, and a widespread cover-up that allowed it to continue for decades. With outstanding performances from Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, and Rachel McAdams, the film carefully and strategically functions through process. While it’s certainly intentional from a writing standpoint, the refusal of spectacle is also considered widely done to give great care to the subject matter. It also takes the approach to show us what happens behind the scenes in these journalistic investigations. While the public is often only privy to breaking news reports and headlines, Spotlight takes us behind the scenes and shows the painstaking work it takes to pursue justice through journalism.
BlacKkKlansman (2018)
BlacKkKlansman is one of the most audacious true-crime adaptations of the 21st century. Like a few of our other true crime picks, it feels less like a straight crime thriller and more like an action-comedy satire, done in a way only Spike Lee could pull off. Based on real events told in Ron Stallworth’s book Black Klansman, the film follows Ron Stallworth, the first Black detective in the Colorado Springs Police Department, who sets out to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s.
Stallworth poses as a white man over the phone, while his Jewish partner Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) attends Klan meetings in person, pretending to be Stallworth. It’s an absolutely ridiculous premise, and one that would be nearly impossible to believe without the source material. The undeniable humor and style are paired perfectly with the heaviness of the film’s themes. BlacKkKlansman was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and ultimately took home Best Adapted Screenplay — Lee’s first competitive Oscar win.
Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
Daniel Kaluuya’s performance in Judas and the Black Messiah shouldn’t be as under the radar as it is. Unfortunately, this film was one of those released during COVID, and it took a big hit in terms of profits and press coverage. The movie grossed only $7 million against its $21 million budget. Fortunately, the film did receive six Oscar nominations. Kaluuya did bring home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
The 2021 movie is a biographical crime thriller that tells the story of FBI informant William O’Neal (LaKeith Stanfield) ‘s betrayal of Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya), the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in the 1960s. While there’s plenty here to lean into historical drama, the film focuses on the plans of the betrayal that led to Hampton’s assassination in 1969.
How we picked the best true crime movies of all time
We did our best to narrow down the movies from across the subgenres. Though there are plenty of fantastic true-crime or true-crime adjacent films out there, we opted for the movies that have left an impact on filmmaking, are critically acclaimed, and are fan favorites.
