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The Best True Crime Movies
From Bonnie & Clyde to The Untouchables, here are the best films based on true crime
It's fair to say that, over the past five years, true-crime documentaries have take precedence over dramatised adaptations. From Making a Murderer to Tiger King, there's an insatiable appetite for the genre on social media, where wannabe sleuths spend their days dissecting lurid criminal cases and parsing court proceedings. By the time Hollywood execs have decided who they want to play Joe Exotic (Danny McBride, obviously), interest has already waned.
But that's a shame, because true crime movies can offer something very different beyond found footage and talking heads. They can offer reflection, abstraction and art. And they can scare the living shit out of you, too. Here are our favourites from across the past century, from Bonnie and Clyde to Monster.
F for Fake (1973)
Inspired by the French New Wave and Dadaist directors, Orson Welles’s last movie is a postmodern docudrama. It delves into the life of professional art forger Elmyr de Hory, and raises fascinating questions about the nature of authorship and authenticity along the way. As much a film essay as it is a film itself.
The Untouchables (1987)
In this Brian De Palma masterpiece, prohibition agent Eliot Ness attempts to crack down on prolific mob boss Al Capone’s liquor operation and finally bring him to justice. Bob Hoskins rejected the role of Capone, and after De Niro signed on, De Palma sent Hoskins a $20,000 ‘thank you’ note. Hoskins responded by calling up the director and asking him if there were any more movies he didn't want him to be in.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Arguably the most important film to emerge from the Seventies grindhouse scene, Tobe Hooper’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre was loosely based on the murderous exploits of American killer and body snatcher Ed Gein. Despite earning mixed reviews from critics and being banned from many cinemas, it grossed over $30 million at the box office against a $140,000 production budget.
Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood
A controversial reimagining of the 1969 Manson Murders plays out in the background of Tarantino's latest tale, which tells the pitiable story of an alcoholic, jobbing TV actor (Leonardo DiCaprio) attempting to come to terms with his own diminishing relevance with the help of his out-of-work stuntman friend (Brad Pitt).
Badlands (1973)
Loosely based on spree killer Charles Starkweather and his girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate’s, murderous getaway across the Midwest, this 1973 neo-noir classic from Terrence Malick is often considered one of the most influential films of all time, despite being his directorial debut.
In Cold Blood (1967)
Richard Brooks classic neo noir, based on Truman Capote’s novel of the same name, blurred the lines between film and documentary upon its release in 1967 and has since been regarded as an important example of ‘new realism’. It follows the true life story of two men – Perry Smith and Richard 'Dick' Hickock – who go on the run after murdering a family of four in Holcomb, Kansas.
Munich (2005)
Steven Spielberg’s eye-opening and provocative retelling of Isreali spies’ revenge against Palestinian terrorists who murdered the country's Olympic athletes in 1972 is one of his worst performing films, despite the critical acclaim that surrounded it and the five Oscar nominations it received.
Spotlight (2015)
Not as visibly violent as many of the entrants on this list but no less grim in its subject matter, Best Picture-winning Spotlight tells the story of the Boston Globe’s attempts to investigate cases of widespread and systematic child sex abuse. The eventual series of stories won the team the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
1967’s Bonnie and Clyde changed the American film industry forever. Drawing inspiration from the real-life criminal couple who robbed and murdered their way around the Central US during the Great Depression, the movie – starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty – broke cinematic taboos, dabbled with countercultural ideas and ushered in the New Hollywood era.
Monster (2003)
Charlize Theron undertook a startling physical transformation to play prostitute-turned-serial killer Aileen Wuornos in director Patty Jenkins celebrated feature-length debut. Monster delves into Wuornos’ mental state – specifically her antisocial and borderline personality disorders – as she embarks on a life of ever more brutal murders, and legendary film critic Roger Ebert called Theron’s performance "one of the greatest […] in the history of the cinema".
M (1931)
This German-language film is widely considered to be director Fritz Lang’s masterpiece. It follows a manhunt for a child killer, and shines a light on ever-present social issues like vigilantism, poor parenting, political malfeasance and inept policing.
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
A masterfully acted take on author Lee Israel's confessional memoir, in which she confessed to forging literary letters to help out her failing writing career. Melissa McCarthy is brilliant as the misanthropic Lee, and Richard E Grant's performance as lounge lizard Jack Hock summons the memory of Withnail & I.
A Man Escaped (1956)
Based on the memoirs of André Devigny, this French 1956 classic by director Robert Bresson follows a member of the French Resistance who attempts to escape from a Nazi prison during World War II. A gripping, beautifully shot and subtly moving piece of work that continues to transcend the jailbreak genre.
Goodfellas (1990)
After a decade in which his commercial and professional clout began to dissipate, Martin Scorsese returned to the crime-laden streets of Little Italy for 1990’s Goodfellas. The result – a relentless, endlessly quote-able gangster epic with some exemplary performances from Joe Pesci et al – proved that Marty still had the magic.
In the Realm of the Senses (1976)
The subject of much censorship and controversy upon its release, the synopsis makes for grim reading. The film is based on a notorious Japanese Geisha and prostitute from the Thirties, called Sada Aba, who strangled her married employer during sex and severed his penis as a memento. A slow-moving, taboo-breaking and powerful piece of work that isn’t for everyone, naturally.
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