The 31 all-time heist movies of all time, ranked

Hell or High Water CBS Films

"Hell or High Water."
CBS Films
  • Insider looks into the heist genre and ranks the 31 all-time.
  • See where movies like "Reservoir Dogs," "Hell or High Water," and "Jackie Brown" land in the ranking equally the best ever.
  • Visit Insider'due south homepage for more stories.

At that place's something about a good heist movie that makes for a great nighttime of entertainment.

Whether information technology'southward the story's high stakes or the top-shelf actors and directors who seem to gravitate to the genre, heist movies are a staple of a reason. When that mix is pulled off the right way, it tin be a memorable experience.

We thought now is a better time than any to dive into the genre and pull out the meridian titles.

Here are the 31 best heist movies of all time, ranked:

31. "Die Hard"

Bruce Willis in "Die Hard."
20th Century Fox

Everyone loves to focus on this flick'southward activeness sequences and if it's a Christmas movie or non, but information technology besides has a neat heist element to it.

Villain Hans Gruber and his gang are made up to be a terrorist group when in fact they are (spoiler!) trying to nab $640 million in bearer bonds.

xxx. "American Animals"

A real heist is the focus of "American Animals."
The Orchard

In retelling the existent-life heist endeavour at a library in Lexington, Kentucky, director Bart Layton ("The Imposter") looks at the events through a mixture of actors and the real people who did the offense.

Occasionally, the actors and the real-life thieves interact with one another on-screen, which makes for a very memorable movie.

29. "A Fish Chosen Wanda"

Kevin Kline (R) earned an Oscar for his operation in "A Fish Chosen Wanda."
MGM

John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, and Michael Palin play a bumbling group who commit a robbery of very pricey diamonds and then try to con ane another out of the loot.

Cleese and Palin are at top form, and Kline's portrayal of a self American earned him an Oscar win for all-time supporting actor.

28. "Babe Driver"

Edgar Wright's "Baby Driver."
Sony Pictures

Edgar Wright's slick crime story is a standout because information technology puts the focus on the oftentimes-under-appreciated person in a heist: the getaway driver.

Ansel Elgort is fantastic equally a top-flight driver who is constantly listening to music.

27. "Mission: Impossible"

Tom Prowl in "Mission: Incommunicable."
Paramount Pictures

Though Tom Cruise's first time playing Ethan Chase showed off all of the fun spy aspects of the franchise, it as well had a very elaborate heist element. Hunt breaking into CIA headquarters to steal the "NOC" list is a highlight of the moving-picture show.

26. "Bottle Rocket"

Wes Anderson's "Bottle Rocket."
Sony

For Wes Anderson'due south directorial debut, he cast then-unknown brothers Luke and Owen Wilson as friends who programme the heist of a factory only for things to go horribly wrong.

25. "Sexy Fauna"

Ben Kingsley is terrifying in "Sexy Beast."
Fox Searchlight

The heist itself is on the back burner in this movie but information technology doesn't thing. This fantastic drama features Ben Kingsley playing a psychotic gangster who is tasked with getting Ray Winstone'south safecracker grapheme to come up out of retirement for one concluding chore.

24. "Iii Kings"

(L-R) Ice Cube, Mark Wahlberg, and George Clooney in "Three Kings."
Warner Bros.

George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, and Fasten Jonze play soldiers who set out for golden during the aftermath of the Persian Gulf State of war. Simply what they find instead are people who desperately need their assist.

23. "Kelly'southward Heroes"

(L-R) Donald Sutherland, Clint Eastwood, and Goggle box Savalas in "Kelly's Heroes."
MGM

Decades earlier "Three Kings," a similar movie was made. This time, the heist element is set up effectually the cease of World War II. Clint Eastwood, Donald Sutherland, Television set Savalas play a canaille grouping of GIs who get behind enemy lines to steal Nazi gold.

22. "Hell or Loftier H2o"

(L-R) Chris Pine and Ben Foster in "Hell or High H2o."
Hell or High Water

This fantastic modernistic-day Western follow Chris Pine and Ben Foster equally brothers who go along a string of depository financial institution robberies to save their family unit ranch. Jeff Bridges plays the Texas Ranger who is out to stop them. Everyone in this movie gives incredible performances.

21. "Dead Presidents"

Larenz Tate (L) in "Dead Presidents."
Buena Vista Pictures

Larenz Tate plays an African-American Vietnam vet who struggles to make a decent living after getting back from the war, leading to a life of offense.

The effort for a big score from an armored motorcar at the end of the movie is a thrillingly tragic commentary on the few options offered to veterans following the war.

20. "Out of Sight"

Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney in "Out of Sight."
Universal

Adapting the volume by legendary crime novelist Elmore Leonard, Steven Soderbergh shows off his distinct visual way in this noir love story starring George Clooney every bit a career criminal and Jennifer Lopez as a U.s. Marshal who is on his trail subsequently he escapes prison.

Their final meet-upward happens at the end during a very poorly planned heist of a rich ex-con'south home safe. Soderbergh proves he was born to make these kinds of movies.

19. "Logan Lucky"

(L-R) Adam Driver and Channing Tatum in "Logan Lucky."
Fingerprint Releasing

And correct on queue hither is Steven Soderbergh again. He went back to the heist genre after years after doing the "Bounding main's Eleven" franchise to evangelize another bully lighthearted criminal offense movie.

This fourth dimension, Channing Tatum, Adam Commuter, and Daniel Craig circular out the bandage and they are all perfect as they try to pull off a heist during a NASCAR race.

18. "Fast 5"

This vault gets quite a ride at the stop of "Fast Five."
Universal

Though well-nigh every "Fast and Furious" movie has a heist attribute to it, for this one, they really pull it off well.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson joins the cast every bit a cop who's out to rail downwardly Vin Diesel and Paul Walker's crew. And and then at that place's the exciting robbery at the finish which features a safe being dragged around Rio de Janeiro by two hot rod cars.

17. "Bonnie and Clyde"

Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty in "Bonnie and Clyde."
Warner Bros.-Seven Arts

One of the movies that led to darker, more than auteur-driven releases in Hollywood during the 1970s, the historical moving picture with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway as infamous banking company robbers Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker gave nascency to the on-screen antihero as we know it.

sixteen. "Inside Human being"

(L-R) Denzel Washington and Clive Owen in "Inside Human."
Universal Pictures

Though at times a little too clever for its own good, Spike Lee's heist/earnest movie is yet a fun caput-scratcher with Denzel Washington and Clive Owen delivering slap-up performances.

15. "Ronin"

Robert De Niro in "Ronin."
MGM

Though the automobile-chase scenes are more remembered than the heist itself, this picture show makes the list because information technology'southward one of the nigh original entries in the genre.

Robert De Niro equally a mercenary who is out to do a job or die trying gives one of the most under-appreciated performances of his career.

14. "Widows"

Viola Davis in "Widows."
20th Century Play a joke on

Manager Steve McQueen delivers a powerful piece of work in which the wives of slain criminals must pull off the job they were planning.

Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, and Cynthia Erivo brand up the swell cast.

xiii. "The Town"

(L-R) Ben Affleck and Jeremy Renner in "The Town."
Warner Bros.

If Ben Affleck directed this kind of movie for the rest of his career, we would have no complaints. Starring alongside Jeremy Renner (deservedly nominated for an Oscar), Jon Hamm, and Rebecca Hall, Affleck is part of a group of Boston thieves planning their last big score.

12. "The Usual Suspects"

Kevin Spacey in "The Usual Suspects."
Gramercy Pictures

The crime movie that outsmarted everyone with its twist ending is also filled with clever heists, including a final one that leads to the demise of the career thieves who thought they had seen it all.

11. "Inception"

Christopher Nolan's "Inception."
Warner Bros.

Christopher Nolan takes the heist premise and adds the man heed to create a trippy thriller that follows a team (led by Leonardo DiCaprio) that attempts to steal corporate secrets from the listen of a CEO without slipping into the black holes of their own brains.

10. "Ocean'southward Xi"

(L-R) George Clooney and Brad Pitt in "Body of water's 11."
Warner Bros.

Soderbergh is here again in the heist world. Following a crack squad tasked with hitting 3 of the major casinos in Vegas simultaneously leads to a neat finale that'southward capped by entertaining performances from George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon.

9. "Reservoir Dogs"

(50-R) Steve Buscemi and Harvey Keitel in "Reservoir Dogs."
Miramax

Quentin Tarantino'southward heist film is memorable considering it works tremendously fifty-fifty though nosotros never encounter the heist happen. Because the scenes before and subsequently the act are then strong, nosotros are more involved in what the characters are almost than where "the stones" are.

viii. "Thief"

James Caan in "Thief."
United Artists

On the complete opposite spectrum is director Michael Mann's look at a professional jewel thief, played by James Caan. Information technology's so rich in detail that you'd remember Mann got the genre out of his arrangement with this masterwork. Luckily for us, this would non be the only fourth dimension Isle of mann would delve into a heist story.

vii. "Point Break"

Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze in "Point Interruption."
Twentieth Century Fob

Kathryn Bigelow's mixture of the sexiest male stars of the era (Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze) with incredible bank-robbing activity sequences equals a classic film in the heist genre.

half-dozen. "Heist"

(50-R) Cistron Hackman and Danny DeVito in "Heist."
Warner Bros.

One of the smartest crime movies ever made, written and directed past David Mamet, this tale follows a career jewel thief doing one concluding score before hanging information technology up.

Starring Factor Hackman in one of his all-time roles, along with Danny DeVito, Delroy Lindo, and Sam Rockwell, the story's double-crosses come fast and furious, and the ending is perfect.

5. "Jackie Dark-brown"

Pam Grier in "Jackie Dark-brown."
Miramax

Tarantino takes on an Elmore Leonard novel in this 1997 flick that has pretty much been underrated since the day information technology came out.

Along with the sensational performances past Pam Grier, Robert Forster, and Samuel L. Jackson, the way Tarantino plays out the details of how Grier's character outdoes everyone is exceptional storytelling.

4. "The Killing"

Sterling Hayden in "The Killing."
Criterion

Stanley Kubrick's noir caper came at a fourth dimension when the legendary director was withal figuring out his arts and crafts, merely y'all can see glimpses of the greatness that was coming.

From the singled-out camera angles to the execution of the specifics of the racetrack robbery, the movie is a tease of what the legend, who went on to directly "The Shining" and "2001," was capable of.

3. "The Sting"

(L-R) Robert Redford and Paul Newman in "The Sting."
Universal

This classic set the standard for whatsoever American heist/con picture show that would follow.

Robert Redford and Paul Newman star as grifters who set up the well-nigh elaborate con you'll e'er see to take down a mob dominate.

2. "Heat"

Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in "Heat."
Warner Bros.

Told yous Michael Mann would be dorsum. "Oestrus" is arguably the greatest American heist film ever made.

Expanding what nosotros saw in "Thief" to explore the constabulary perspective also, "Heat," the director's masterpiece, creates an incredible force per unit area cooker that explodes when Robert De Niro and his gang rob a bank and Al Pacino and his team are hot on their tail.

1. Rififi"

Jules Dassin'southward "Rififi."
Pathe

Over in French republic, they lay merits to "Rififi." This classic 1955 noir follows a grouping of men who pull off the perfect criminal offence, only to find that the human element gets in the way. All of the great Hollywood heist movies, from "Mission: Impossible" to "Heat," accept taken an chemical element or ii from this masterpiece.

The movie also stands lone in the genre for its boldness. There's the heist scene that spans 30 minutes, in which not one word is uttered. Then (warning: spoiler!) there'southward the baroque decision, in which our (anti)hero races around Paris mortally wounded while the kid he saved in the seat next to him joyfully fools around with his toy gun.

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