Best 1980s Crime Movies

Looking for the best 1980s Crime movies? These are the 48 highest-rated 1980s Crime titles in our catalogue, led by Liberty & Bash, The Untouchables and Mississippi Burning. The list is ranked by audience score; open any title for its cast, trailer and legal places to watch.

1. Liberty & Bash (1989)

★ 10.0/10

Liberty, Bash, and their friend Jesse served together in a war in Central America. Now Liberty and Bash work with youths, helping them stay out of crime and becoming a positive part of the community. But Jesse has…
2. The Untouchables (1987)

★ 7.8/10

Elliot Ness, an ambitious prohibition agent, is determined to take down Al Capone. In order to achieve this goal, he forms a group given the nickname “The Untouchables”.
3. Mississippi Burning (1988)

★ 7.7/10

Two FBI agents investigating the murder of civil rights workers during the 60s seek to breach the conspiracy of silence in a small Southern town where segregation divides black and white. The younger agent trained in…
4. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

★ 7.5/10

'Toon star Roger is worried that his wife Jessica is playing pattycake with someone else, so the studio hires detective Eddie Valiant to snoop on her. But the stakes are quickly raised when Marvin Acme is found dead…
5. Lethal Weapon (1987)

★ 7.3/10

A veteran cop and an unstable detective become partners who must put their differences aside in order to bring down a heroin-smuggling ring run by ex-Special Forces.
6. Heathers (1988)

★ 7.3/10

A girl who halfheartedly tries to be part of the "in crowd" of her school meets a rebel who teaches her a more devious way to play social politics: by killing the popular kids.
7. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)

★ 7.3/10

When the bumbling Lieutenant Frank Drebin investigates events following the shooting of his partner, he stumbles upon an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II.
8. School on Fire (1988)

★ 7.3/10

A young schoolgirl, Yuen Fong becomes caught in a tragic stranglehold of triad activity after she testifies in court over a triad beating. When this news reaches the triad leader Brother Smart, Yuen Fong must pay him…
9. Batman (1989)

★ 7.2/10

Having witnessed his parents' brutal murder as a child, millionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne fights crime in Gotham City disguised as Batman, a costumed hero who strikes fear into the hearts of villains. But when a…
10. A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

★ 7.2/10

While a diamond advocate attempts to steal a collection of diamonds, troubles arise when he realises he’s not the only one after the collection.
11. Midnight Run (1988)

★ 7.2/10

A bounty hunter pursues a former Mafia accountant who is also being chased by a rival bounty hunter, the F.B.I., and his old mob boss after jumping bail.
12. Wall Street (1987)

★ 7.2/10

A young and impatient stockbroker is willing to do anything to get to the top, including trading on illegal inside information taken through a ruthless and greedy corporate raider, whom takes the youth under his wing.
13. Raising Arizona (1987)

★ 7.1/10

When a childless couple--an ex-con and an ex-cop--decide to help themselves to one of another family's quintuplets, their lives become more complicated than they anticipated.
14. Ariel (1988)

★ 7.1/10

A Finnish man goes to the city to find a job after the mine where he worked is closed and his father commits suicide.
15. Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)

★ 7.0/10

Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.
16. Lock Up (1989)

★ 6.8/10

Frank Leone is nearing the end of his prison term for a relatively minor crime. Just before he is paroled, however, Warden Drumgoole takes charge. Drumgoole was assigned to a hell-hole prison after his administration…
17. Assa (1987)

★ 6.8/10

ASSA is set in Crimea during the winter in the mid eighties. A young musician (Bananan) falls for mobster's (Krymov) young mistress (Alika). The parallel story line involves an 18th century assassination plot.
18. Frantic (1988)

★ 6.7/10

The wife of an American doctor suddenly vanishes in Paris. To find her, he navigates a puzzling web of language, locale, laissez-faire cops, triplicate-form filling bureaucrats and a defiant, mysterious waif who knows…
19. Mack the Knife (1989)

★ 6.6/10

In 19th century London, a young girl falls for a womanizing criminal and they decide to wed. Her family strongly disapproves so her father, 'the king of thieves', gets the gangster arrested.
20. Iron Angels (1987)

★ 6.6/10

Yeung’s poppy fields are torched by a law enforcement task force, she retaliates by ordering police officials assassinated. The Angels break into Yeung’s corporate offices, eventually tracing her headquarters. After…
21. Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)

★ 6.5/10

Axel Foley returns to the land of sunshine and palm trees to investigate the near-fatal shooting of police Captain Andrew Bogomil. With the help of Sgt. Taggart and Det. Rosewood, they soon uncover that the shooting is…
22. Tango & Cash (1989)

★ 6.5/10

Ray Tango and Gabriel Cash are two successful narcotics detectives who can't stand each other. Crime lord Yves Perret, furious at the loss of income they have caused him, plots an elaborate revenge against them.
23. Turner & Hooch (1989)

★ 6.3/10

Detective Scott Turner has three days left in the local police department before he moves to a bigger city to get some 'real' cases—not just misdemeanors. When Amos Reed is murdered, Scott sets himself on the case, but…
24. Tridev (1989)

★ 6.3/10

A honest but disgraced Police Inspector's attempts to clear his name pits him against terrorists and the brother of his sweetheart. Starring: Naseeruddin Shah, Sunny Deol, Jackie Shroff, Madhuri Dixit, Sangeeta…
25. A Caribbean Mystery (1983)

★ 6.2/10

Aging Major Palgrave, an idiosyncratic but charming mystery writer, reveals to Miss Jane Marple that one of the guests at a luxurious Caribbean resort they're staying at is a Bluebeard-type wife murderer…
26. K-9 (1989)

★ 6.2/10

The extravagant cop Michael Dooley needs some help to fight a drug dealer who has tried to kill him. A "friend" gives him a dog named Jerry Lee (Officer Lewis), who has been trained to smell drugs. With his help…
27. Red Heat (1988)

★ 6.2/10

A tough Russian policeman is forced to partner up with a cocky Chicago police detective when he is sent to Chicago to apprehend a Georgian drug lord who killed his partner and fled the country.
28. American Gigolo (1980)

★ 6.2/10

Julian makes a lucrative living as an escort to older women in the Los Angeles area. He begins a relationship with Michelle, a local politician's wife, without expecting any pay. One of his clients is murdered and…
29. Iron Angels 2 (1988)

★ 6.2/10

Mona, Billy and Elaine are a tough trio known as the "Angels." While they are on vacation in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), they find out that one of Billy's school-chums is now a gun-runner plotting a revolution in Malaysia…
30. The Package (1989)

★ 6.1/10

Experienced Green Beret sergeant Johnny Gallagher is escorting a prisoner, Airborne Ranger Thomas Boyette, back to the US, but Boyette escapes and Gallagher must risk life and limb to catch him.
31. Sparkling Cyanide (1983)

★ 6.0/10

The beautiful but unfaithful wife of a successful lawyer meets her untimely end at their anniversary dinner. After a suicide note is found soon after her death, it seems more likely that she was murdered, as all the…
32. Iron Angels 3 (1989)

★ 5.9/10

A gang of crime-fighting martial-arts beauties battle a terrorist organization based in Thailand led by a religious fanatic.
33. Broken Mirrors (1984)

★ 5.9/10

Diane and Dora are two prostitutes who begin to rebel against their lot in life. Meanwhile, in another part of town, a murderer is at large.
34. The Punisher (1989)

★ 5.8/10

The avenging angel of Marvel Comics fame comes brilliantly to life in this searing action-adventure thriller! Dolph Lundgren stars as Frank Castle, a veteran cop who loses his entire family to a mafia car bomb. His…
35. Widow's Walk (1987)

★ 5.7/10

Molinat is assigned to the case of a man found with a bullet in his ear on the shore of a little Atlantic coast resort he knows well. Indeed, he used to live there before his wife disappeared at sea, never to be found…
36. Honeymoon Academy (1989)

★ 5.4/10

A honeymooning couple become entangled in a plot to recover plates for counterfeiting US dollars. SHE thinks she's just retired from a government 'dirty jobs' department, but her superiors have other ideas. HE thinks…
37. The Hunters of the Golden Cobra (1982)

★ 5.3/10

An American soldier and a British intelligence agent try to track down an ancient relic called the Golden Cobra, rumored to have supernatural powers. An early Raiders rip-off directed Antonio Margheriti.
38. The Wild Pair (1987)

★ 5.3/10

A strait-laced FBI agent and a hulking, big-hearted narcotics cop team up to track down a drug lord associated with a militant hate group.
39. Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach (1988)

★ 5.2/10

The Police Academy misfits travel to Miami Beach for Commandant Lassard to be honored with a prestigious lifetime award pending his retirement. Things take a turn when Lassard unknowingly ends up in possession of…
40. Erotic Passion (1981)

★ 5.2/10

Since her parents' death, 19-year old Della lives with her aunt Marsha and Andrew, her old husband. One morning Marsha has sex with Alex, her husband's doctor. Right afterwords, Della seduces him at the beach while…
41. The Empty Beach (1985)

★ 4.9/10

Before shady businessman John Singer disappeared off Bondi Beach, his name meant money--big and small, clean and dirty--a man absorbed in a world of greed and dishonesty. Singer's widow, Marion, believes he's still…
42. Escape from Hell (1980)

★ 4.7/10

A women's prison camp is located deep in the tropical rain forest. Sadistic guards and a warden from hell make life almost unbearable for the inmates, and any infraction of the rules is dealt with swiftly and savagely…
43. Blackout (1986)

★ 4.5/10

Werner is a private investigator. One day, the rich and attractive Stella Hvidsteen visits him in his weary office. She says that her sister Evy has disappeared, asks him to find her, and adds that her sister has red…
44. Born to Be Sold (1981)

★ 3.8/10

A social worker tries to break up a ring of crooks who buy newborn babies from teenaged mothers and sell them to couples who can't obtain them through legal adoption channels.
45. Belles, blondes et bronzées (1981)

★ 3.6/10

Mistaken for bank robbers, two friends stumble into a group of beautiful girls and follow them to Morocco for a dance show.
46. Psycho Woman (1988)

★ 3.5/10

Ahmet is a young, handsome, and successful lawyer. He lives a happy married life with his beautiful wife Nevin and their young daughter. Ahmet has taken Tülay, a journalist who wrote false reports about his client, to…
47. Tank Malling (1989)

★ 3.0/10

Tank is an investigative reporter and jailbird, framed on scant evidence supplied by the London mob. Helen is the sensuous call-girl who offers Tank ammunition and retribution. But, retaliation is swift and brutal, in…
48. Savage Sadists (1983)

★ 2.8/10

A duo of hoodlums hold a pornographer and his wife hostage, forcing them into acts of debauchery.