Heist Movies: Essential Films
The heist film has captivated audiences since The Asphalt Jungle nearly single-handedly popularized the genre for mainstream cinema in 1950. This watch list spans the genre's evolution from film noir roots through the influential French crime classics, the gritty 1970s, and into the slick modern era of elaborate ensemble pieces.
You'll find foundational works like Rififi with its legendary silent heist sequence, Kubrick's fractured-timeline The Killing, and the French masterworks of Melville. The list celebrates both serious crime dramas like Heat and Dog Day Afternoon alongside stylish entertainment like Ocean's Eleven and Baby Driver. From desperate bank jobs to impossible casino scores, these essential films showcase why the heist remains such an enduring and versatile genre.
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The Asphalt Jungle
A legendary burglar assembles a crew of veteran criminals for an ambitious jewel heist in this classic film noir about crime, loyalty, and the inevitable consequences of a life outside the law.

Rififi
After being released from prison, jewel thief Tony discovers his girlfriend has taken up with a gangster and decides to pull off an elaborate heist with his crew. Their seemingly perfect crime becomes complicated when their post-heist actions put everyone in danger.

The Killing
Career criminal Johnny Clay assembles a crew for one final heist at a racetrack before retiring, but the plan begins to unravel when one member's wife learns of the scheme.

Bob le Flambeur
In Paris, the charming and well-liked gambler Bob Montagne finds his legendary luck turning sour, leading him to plan a desperate heist of the Deauville casino during Grand Prix weekend when the vaults are at their fullest.

The League of Gentlemen
A retired colonel recruits seven disgruntled ex-servicemen to pull off a meticulously planned bank robbery using military precision and discipline. Each man brings specialized skills to the operation while harboring secrets from their past.

Topkapi
A small-time crook in Greece becomes entangled with a sophisticated gentleman thief planning an elaborate heist to steal a priceless emerald-encrusted dagger from Istanbul's famous Topkapi Museum.

The Italian Job
After his friend's failed heist attempt in Turin, Charlie assembles a crew to steal a fortune in gold using Mini Coopers and careful planning to create chaos in the Italian city. This classic British caper film follows their elaborate scheme to pull off the ultimate getaway.

Le Cercle Rouge
A recently released criminal teams up with an escaped murderer and a disgraced ex-cop to pull off an elaborate jewel heist, while a determined police commissioner pursues them in this stylish French crime thriller.

The Sting
A young grifter teams up with a legendary con artist to pull off an elaborate revenge scheme against the powerful mobster who killed their friend.

Dog Day Afternoon
Based on a true story, two men attempt to rob a Brooklyn bank but the heist quickly goes wrong, escalating into a tense hostage situation and media spectacle as police surround the building.

Thief
A professional safecracker specializing in diamond heists plans to retire from crime and build a legitimate life, but takes on one last big score with a dangerous gangster to accelerate his exit from the criminal world.

Heat
An obsessive master thief and his crew pull off daring heists across Los Angeles while being relentlessly pursued by a determined detective. The two men develop a mutual respect despite knowing their cat-and-mouse game may ultimately end in violence.

Mission: Impossible
When an elite espionage mission goes wrong, IMF agent Ethan Hunt finds himself framed as a mole and must go rogue to clear his name and uncover the real traitor within the CIA.

Set It Off
Four inner-city Black women, frustrated by their circumstances and determined to change their lives, decide to rob banks as their way out of poverty and struggle.

Entrapment
A seasoned art thief and an insurance investigator engage in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, but their professional rivalry becomes complicated when romance enters the equation.

Snatch
A priceless stolen diamond becomes the center of a chaotic web involving boxing promoters, gangsters, bookies, and bungling thieves in this darkly comic crime caper.

Ocean's Eleven
Charismatic thief Danny Ocean assembles a crew of specialists to pull off an ambitious heist, attempting to steal over $150 million from three Las Vegas casinos in a single night.

The Score
An aging master thief planning to retire is reluctantly drawn into one final high-stakes heist by a young and ambitious criminal.

Heist
When veteran thief Joe Moore gets caught on camera during a heist, he finds himself broke and betrayed by his fence. Forced into one last big job, Moore must navigate a web of double-crosses while planning the score that could either set him free or destroy him.

Femme Fatale
A woman who pulled off a million-dollar diamond heist and assumed a new identity as a diplomat's wife finds her carefully constructed life threatened when a photographer's picture exposes her location to dangerous enemies from her past.

The Italian Job
After being double-crossed during a major heist, Charlie Croker and his team plan an elaborate revenge scheme to steal back their loot. The operation leads to an intense chase through the streets of Los Angeles involving the team and their safecracker ally.

Inside Man
A seasoned detective must negotiate with a cunning bank robber and his crew who have taken hostages in a Manhattan bank, while dealing with his own corruption charges that threaten his career.

The Lookout
A former high school athlete whose life was derailed by a tragic accident works as a bank janitor and becomes entangled in a heist plot.

The Bank Job
A small-time car dealer is drawn into a dangerous bank robbery scheme by a beautiful model from his past, unaware that the heist will uncover far more than they bargained for.

Inception
A skilled thief who specializes in extracting secrets from people's subconscious minds is tasked with the seemingly impossible job of planting an idea instead of stealing one. This mind-bending heist takes place across multiple layers of dreams within dreams.

The Town
A longtime Boston bank robber looking to leave the criminal life behind becomes romantically involved with a bank manager his crew previously kidnapped, creating dangerous complications as an FBI agent closes in on them.

Fast Five
Former cop Brian O'Conner teams up with fugitive Dom Toretto and his crew for one final heist in Rio de Janeiro to secure their freedom from pursuing authorities.

Drive
A skilled Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver becomes entangled in a dangerous heist when he tries to help his neighbor and her family. When the job goes wrong, he must protect them from vengeful criminals while navigating Los Angeles' criminal underworld.

Now You See Me
A team of master illusionists called the Four Horsemen use their magic shows to pull off daring bank heists, distributing the stolen money to their audiences while staying one step ahead of the FBI and Interpol agents pursuing them.

Hell or High Water
Two brothers embark on a series of bank robberies across West Texas in a desperate attempt to save their family ranch from foreclosure.

Baby Driver
A young getaway driver with a passion for music finds himself caught up in a dangerous heist orchestrated by a crime boss.

Logan Lucky
Brothers Jimmy and Clyde Logan attempt an elaborate heist during a major NASCAR race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, hoping to reverse their family's streak of bad luck.

Widows
After their criminal husbands die in a failed heist, four widows in Chicago team up to pull off their own robbery to pay off the dangerous debts left behind.

Triple Frontier
Five former special ops soldiers reunite to pull off a dangerous heist, targeting millions of dollars from a South American drug lord's compound.
Related Film Series
Fast and Furious
Street racing saga that evolved into a globe-spanning action franchise centered on family and high-octane heists.
Mission: Impossible
Tom Cruise stars as IMF agent Ethan Hunt in this action-packed spy franchise known for elaborate stunts and impossible missions.
Now You See Me
A series following the Four Horsemen, a group of master illusionists who use their magical skills to pull off elaborate heists while staying one step ahead of law enforcement.
Ocean's
A heist franchise spanning from the Rat Pack era to modern ensemble capers.
Other Film Series
Ana de Armas
Cuban-born actress who transitioned from Spanish television to become a Hollywood star through acclaimed performances in Blade Runner 2049, Knives Out, and Blonde.
Christopher Nolan
Visionary British-American filmmaker renowned for his complex narratives, temporal experimentation, and spectacular practical filmmaking.
Death Wish
An architect turned vigilante seeks justice after criminals attack his family in this urban crime thriller series.
Dirty Harry
San Francisco Inspector Harry Callahan's uncompromising approach to justice across five iconic cop thrillers.
Infernal Affairs
A tightly connected Hong Kong crime trilogy exploring dual identities and betrayal through the parallel stories of two moles infiltrating opposite sides of the law.
Sylvester Stallone
An actor, writer, and director who became one of Hollywood's biggest action stars through iconic roles as Rocky Balboa and John Rambo.