10 Great Crime Thrillers From The 80s You Probably Haven’t Seen – Taste of Cinema – Classic Movie Reviews & Lists

The 80s were a great decade for crime cinema. Brian De Palma moved from his thrillers to the crime genre and made classics like “Scarface” and “The Untouchables”. Michael Mann and Abel Ferrara delivered great films in the genre, although they were still the indicator of even better films to come.

Still, the films from that decade were more action-oriented than old-fashioned crime fiction. People wanted to see more movies like “Lethal Weapon” now. Even critically acclaimed films like “At Close Range” feel underrated in retrospect, let alone titles that will make this list. But as usual, it was a decade full of very well-made stuff. Here are ten crime fiction films from the ‘80s that you may have missed for one reason or another, but they’re all worth watching for different reasons.

10. The Professor (1986)

Giuseppe Tornatore is perhaps best known for, well, his entire filmography except for this one. That’s understandable, as it was his feature film debut and he gained worldwide recognition for his second film “Cinema Paradiso”. He has made many popular films since then, but has never really returned to the genre in this way.

When we say underrated, we’re talking about Ben Gazzara. Cassavetes favorite whose credits include such wonderful films as Peter Bogdanovich’s, “Saint Jack,” he plays a character based on Raffaele Cutolo. For those who don’t know, Cutolo was an Italian crime boss and leader of a criminal organization that revived the Camorra, a criminal society that originated in the Campania region of Italy. It starts out as a poverty-stricken mafia story, but Tornatore is very careful not to glorify the lifestyle and instead creates an authentic and gritty look at the criminal world.

Gazzara’s performance is very effective, especially in the moments when his character starts to lose his mind. The film is long enough, which makes sense, because it was originally intended to be a five-hour television production. But the pace is so good that you don’t feel the length at all. For fans of mafia movies, this is a good film to watch.

9. True Confessions (1981)

The gruesome murder of Elizabeth Short, known as the “Black Dahlia”, is one of the oldest unsolved cases in Los Angeles County and one of the most famous of its kind that has had an enduring cultural intrigue. Many movies, books, songs, etc. were inspired by it. One of these was a noir novel by John Gregory Dunne that was later adapted into a film by Belgian-born director Ulu Grosbard, best known for directing another great crime film, “Straight Time”.

This film might have been better if Robert Duvall and Robert De Niro had reversed roles, but it’s satisfying to see these two acting legends together. This isn’t a film about who killed the Black Dahlia, but more of a character drama that focuses on relationships. Duvall plays the lieutenant in charge of the case, and De Niro is his brother with whom he’ll have to clash.

The movie works well because the script is complex enough and the main characters too. They are not innocent heroes or something, they all have their own bad sides and that is what makes the movie interesting. “True Confessions” is for those people who prefer to see a thoughtful, atmospheric character study than an exciting genre movie.

8. Choice of Weapons (1981)

French cinema lovers will probably never miss a film starring Yves Montand, Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu, but it is still important to remind them to watch it, because it is definitely an underrated film, or maybe “underrated” would be a better word. Depardieu plays an escaped convict who meets a former gangster and his wife. Things quickly spiral out of control. It is probably not the best way to describe the plot, but it is one of those films where it is best to know a lot about the plot now and let yourself be surprised by the incredibly well-staged film.

One of the many things that makes the film a rewarding experience is how well each character is written. There is no character that feels like a plot device or anything, they are fully realized and analyzed. It helps that Alain Corneau shines here as a director with such a personal style of filmmaking. It is also impressive how he handles a story that zigzags in all directions. This is not a film where you specifically root for a character, there are no good guys and bad guys per se. That is what makes the film so fascinating. The avoidance of typical genre structure may be off-putting to inexperienced viewers, but everyone else will appreciate it.

7. White Disaster (1987)

We already had a film about a famous unsolved murder case. “White Mischief” is one of those films that is about an unsolved murder. At least that was the case when it came out, but for more than half a century it has fascinated the nation and held national interest. The film is about a British aristocrat who is shot dead. That person was Josslyn Hay, the 22nd Earl of Erroll, a British nobleman and member of the British Union of Fascists.

The film is based on the investigative book about his 1941 murder case in Kenya and it was a very good one. The film follows the murder, where there were no witnesses and the physical evidence that seems incriminating is also circumstantial, but it mainly examines the people involved in the case with well written psychological analysis and witty dialogue. It helps that the film also has great cinematography and a great cast. The era where Greta Scacchi was more of a household name is definitely missed and look out for the performances from John Hurt and Hugh Grant.

The film also works well because it takes you into the lifestyle and social attitude of the British in the colonies before they gained their independence. Stylish crime film found its audience in the UK but deserved more recognition from international viewers.

6. Family Business (1989)

When we talk about great collaborations between actors and directors, we always have to mention Sean Connery and Sidney Lumet. “Murder on the Orient Express” was so much fun, but the other two “The Hill” and “The Offence” are perhaps the two absolute best performances Connery ever gave. Lumet knew how to handle it, he was very aware of his strengths as an actor and used them brilliantly. Their last collaboration, with Matthew Broderick and Dustin Hoffman, was unfortunately a flop. Some found the script unsatisfactory and others complained about the casting. That’s why it’s a little higher on the list than it perhaps should be, not because it’s better than many of the others here, but because I feel like the reactions to it were harsh.

There’s almost a charming, warm quality to the way the family dynamic works here. It’s fun to watch these three actors interact with each other or the rest of the cast. Sure, they don’t look much alike and Connery was only seven years older than Dustin, but that doesn’t matter. People probably had their expectations too high given the talent involved, but their negative reviews/disappointment caused many others to skip this movie, which is a very good movie about family royalty and a fun caper story as well.