5. Le Cercle Rouge (1970)
In this Jean-Pierre Melville classic, three men at the end of their ropes find their way into each other’s lives just in time to pull off a spectacular jewelry heist. The setup may seem familiar to fans of the genre, but Melville is less interested in subverting the genre than he is in gathering and sharing every ounce of cinematic majesty that can be mined from that concept.
And unlike the film’s protagonists, we’re all left richer at the end of the experience. Le Cercle Rouge is perhaps the most visually striking heist movie ever made and one of Melville’s great stylistic achievements. The minimalist dialog allows us to lose ourselves in this tour of wonderfully imagined noir locales guided by some of the most cinematically cool, but morally empty, criminals you’ll spend time with on either side of the screen.
4. The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
After directing some of the greatest noir and adventure films ever made, John Huston decided to combine both styles in a crime movie that proved to be one of the foundational pieces of the entire heist genre. And while you could argue that any movie that combines John Huston in his prime, a young Marilyn Monroe, and the incomparable Sterling Hayden is bound to be at least entertaining, The Asphalt Jungle offers so much more than the pure wattage of its star power.
This story of criminals all trying to claim their piece of the perfect plan is wonderfully sweaty in the ways that only the best noirs from this era are. Desperate crooks gather in smoky backrooms to discuss the upcoming job with a kind of blue-collar professionalism that exhibits their casualness without underselling the scope of what they are about to do. While it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that things don’t go according to plan (it was 1950, after all), the way Houston empathizes and celebrates these criminals set us on the path for the next 75 years of filmmaking in the heist genre and far beyond.
3. Heat (1995)
Does any line summarize the heist genre as well as “don’t let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner”? While Michael Mann showcased his crime story credentials in his brilliant debut feature film, Thief, there are very good reasons why Heat is often thought of as the director’s definitive crime film.
Like the best heist crews, Heat features an all-star cast doing what they do best in almost perfect unison. While this movie is rightfully remembered for its breathtaking bank robbery shootout (perhaps the best shootout ever put on film), the many, many rewatches of this movie we’ve all enjoyed often reveal something equally incredible during those quieter moments. Heat may benefit from the gruff hyper-masculine coolness seen in the best David Mamet works, but it’s ultimately a story of professionals struggling to deal with how much of themselves they can leave behind.
