Best Dirty Cop Movies:The Ultimate List
The THIN LINE between COPS and CRIMINALS
Cops and criminals are very similar with each other.That has become a sort of clichee in cinema but it's one of the rare examples of a cliche that's actually true and perhaps unavoidable.Take poor and crime stricken neighbourhoods in every city of the world.People from those places basically have two choices in life:to become cops or criminals.Besides that cops share same characteristics with criminals:both have dangerous jobs,both have to deal with violence,both need to use agression and force to get what they want.You can't imagine a wimpy,scruffy and skinny guy catching a serial killer or taking down a drug trafficking operation."I want to help people" is the answer most cops tell when they're asked why did they become cops but the real answers are because they seek respect and power,because they can either use their agression as a cop or as a criminal.The greatest criminals are those with sociopathic tendencies.So are cops.Not all characteritics of a sociopath are negative.Cops/criminals with sociopathic tendencies are confident,intelligent,fearless and are ready to get themselves involved in dangerous,life threating situations.Recent statistics show that most sociopaths can be found in such jobs as criminals,cops,soldiers,doctors,lawyers and politicians.All of these jobs seek traits like confidence,fearlessnes and people who can handle danger and stress well.I found that pretty disturbing,do you?
Cops and criminals are very similar with each other.That has become a sort of clichee in cinema but it's one of the rare examples of a cliche that's actually true and perhaps unavoidable.Take poor and crime stricken neighbourhoods in every city of the world.People from those places basically have two choices in life:to become cops or criminals.Besides that cops share same characteristics with criminals:both have dangerous jobs,both have to deal with violence,both need to use agression and force to get what they want.You can't imagine a wimpy,scruffy and skinny guy catching a serial killer or taking down a drug trafficking operation."I want to help people" is the answer most cops tell when they're asked why did they become cops but the real answers are because they seek respect and power,because they can either use their agression as a cop or as a criminal.The greatest criminals are those with sociopathic tendencies.So are cops.Not all characteritics of a sociopath are negative.Cops/criminals with sociopathic tendencies are confident,intelligent,fearless and are ready to get themselves involved in dangerous,life threating situations.Recent statistics show that most sociopaths can be found in such jobs as criminals,cops,soldiers,doctors,lawyers and politicians.All of these jobs seek traits like confidence,fearlessnes and people who can handle danger and stress well.I found that pretty disturbing,do you?
List activity
160K views
• 41 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
51 titles
- DirectorAntoine FuquaStarsDenzel WashingtonEthan HawkeScott GlennA rookie cop spends his first day as a Los Angeles narcotics officer with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears to be.
- CreatorShawn RyanStarsMichael ChiklisCatherine DentWalton GogginsDrama series following the lives and cases of dirty cop Vic Mackey and the corrupt LAPD unit under his command.
- DirectorAbel FerraraStarsHarvey KeitelBrian McElroyFrank AcciaritoWhile investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness and redemption.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsNicolas CageEva MendesRussell M. HaeuserTerence McDonagh is a drug- and gambling-addled detective in post-Katrina New Orleans investigating the killing of five Senegalese immigrants.
- DirectorJon S. BairdStarsJames McAvoyJamie BellEddie MarsanA corrupt, junkie cop with bipolar disorder attempts to manipulate his way through a promotion in order to win back his wife and daughter while also fighting his own inner demons.
- DirectorMike FiggisStarsRichard GereAndy GarciaNancy TravisAn Internal Affairs agent becomes obsessed with bringing down a cop who has managed to maintain a spotless reputation despite being involved in a web of corruption.
- DirectorAbhinav KashyapStarsSalman KhanSonakshi SinhaSonu SoodA corrupt police officer faces challenges from his family, gangsters and politicians.
- DirectorJosé PadilhaStarsWagner MouraAndré RamiroCaio JunqueiraIn 1997 Rio de Janeiro, Captain Nascimento has to find a substitute for his position while trying to take down drug dealers and criminals before the Pope visits.
- DirectorJosé PadilhaStarsWagner MouraIrandhir SantosAndré RamiroAfter a prison riot, former-Captain Nascimento, now a high ranking security officer in Rio de Janeiro, is swept into a bloody political dispute that involves government officials and paramilitary groups.
- DirectorNa Hong-jinStarsKim Yoon-seokHa Jung-wooSeo Yeong-hieA disgraced ex-policeman who runs a small ring of prostitutes finds himself in a race against time when one of his women goes missing.
- DirectorEnrique UrbizuStarsJose CoronadoRodolfo SanchoHelena MiquelA corrupt policeman commits a crime when drinking late at night. While his colleagues are trying to investigate his murder, he tries to clean up the evidence.
- DirectorJohn Michael McDonaghStarsBrendan GleesonDon CheadleMark StrongAn unorthodox Irish policeman with a confrontational personality is partnered with an uptight F.B.I. agent to investigate an international drug-smuggling ring.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioMatt DamonJack NicholsonAn undercover cop and a mole in the police attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston.
- DirectorCurtis HansonStarsKevin SpaceyRussell CroweGuy PearceAs corruption grows in 1950s Los Angeles, three policemen - one strait-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy - investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice.
- DirectorSantiago SeguraStarsSantiago SeguraJavier CámaraNeus AsensiJosé Luis Torrente, a former policeman fights against the oriental mafia in Madrid.
- DirectorLuc BessonStarsJean RenoGary OldmanNatalie Portman12-year-old Mathilda is reluctantly taken in by Léon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. An unusual relationship forms as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsDana AndrewsGene TierneyGary MerrillDet. Sgt. Mark Dixon wants to be something his old man wasn't: a guy on the right side of the law. Will Dixon's vicious nature get the better of him?
- DirectorOren MovermanStarsWoody HarrelsonBen FosterSigourney WeaverSet in 1999 Los Angeles, veteran police officer Dave Brown, the last of the renegade cops, works to take care of his family, and struggles for his own survival.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoMaiko KawakamiMakoto AshikawaA violence prone police officer discovers that his colleague is trafficking drugs.
- DirectorStefano SollimaStarsPierfrancesco FavinoFilippo NigroMarco GialliniA look at the controversial riot cops unit, told through the stories of three veteran cops and a young recruit.
- DirectorDerek CianfranceStarsRyan GoslingBradley CooperEva MendesTwo men and their sons must deal with the unforeseen consequences of their actions.
- DirectorMichael WinterbottomStarsCasey AffleckKate HudsonJessica AlbaA West Texas Deputy Sheriff is slowly unmasked as a psychotic killer.
- DirectorRon SheltonStarsKurt RussellVing RhamesScott SpeedmanA robbery homicide investigation triggers a series of events that will cause a corrupt LAPD officer to question his tactics.
- DirectorJames MangoldStarsSylvester StalloneHarvey KeitelRay LiottaThe Sheriff of a suburban New Jersey community, populated by New York City police officers, slowly discovers the town is a front for mob connections and corruption.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsAl PacinoJohn RandolphJack KehoeAn honest New York cop named Frank Serpico blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.
- DirectorLawrence Ah-MonStarsAndy LauSharla CheungMan-Tat NgThe first part of the Lee Rock trilogy which chronicles the rise and fall of the corrupt police force that Lee Rock becomes a part of. Rock enters Hong Kong as an immigrant from the mainland. Despising poverty, Rock becomes a police officer. Being a clean officer made him little money so he decides to be like the other officers and become a crooked but fair officer. He's about to marry the woman of his dreams when tragedy strikes. But not even that can keep Lee Rock from rising to the top.
- DirectorPeter MedakStarsGary OldmanLena OlinWallace WoodA womanizing, crooked cop on the payroll of the mafia is confronted with the reality of his double life after he is asked to kill a beautiful and ruthless Russian gangster.
- DirectorJonathan KaplanStarsKurt RussellRay LiottaMadeleine StoweA burglar holds a knife to Karen's throat while her husband does nothing. The couple ends up befriending the cop that comes. The friendship ends when the cop beats up the culprit. Karen isn't ready to end it. Things get ugly with the cop.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsDenzel WashingtonRussell CroweChiwetel EjioforAn outcast New York City cop is charged with bringing down Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas, whose real life inspired this partly biographical film.
- DirectorGavin O'ConnorStarsEdward NortonColin FarrellNoah EmmerichA family's moral codes are tested when Ray Tierney investigates a case that reveals an incendiary police corruption scandal involving his own brother-in-law. For Ray, the truth is revelatory, a Pandora's Box that threatens to upend not only the Tierney legacy but the entire NYPD.
- DirectorDavid AyerStarsKeanu ReevesForest WhitakerHugh LaurieAn undercover cop, disillusioned by the death of his wife, is implicated in the murder of an officer and must struggle to clear himself.
- DirectorAntoine FuquaStarsRichard GereDon CheadleEthan HawkeThree unconnected Brooklyn cops wind up at the same deadly location after enduring vastly different career paths.
- DirectorNeil LaButeStarsSamuel L. JacksonPatrick WilsonKerry WashingtonA troubled and racist African-American L.A.P.D. Officer will stop at nothing to force out a friendly interracial couple who just moved in next door to him.
- DirectorLee TamahoriStarsNick NolteMelanie GriffithJennifer ConnellyIn 1950's Los Angeles, a special crime squad of the LAPD investigates the murder of a young woman.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsNick NolteTimothy HuttonArmand AssanteDirty cop, Mike Brennan thinks he got away with murder. But during a routine Q&A, the righteous assistant DA finds a clue that sets them both on a collision course.
- CreatorDavid SimonStarsDominic WestLance ReddickSonja SohnThe Baltimore drug scene, as seen through the eyes of drug dealers and law enforcement.
- CreatorKurt SutterStarsCharlie HunnamKatey SagalMark Boone JuniorA biker struggles to balance being a father and being involved in an outlaw motorcycle club.
- DirectorLawrence Ah-MonStarsAndy LauSharla CheungAaron KwokThe second part of the trilogy chronicling the rise and fall of Hong Kong's top corrupt official. During this time period, Lee Rock enjoys his success and has found a new love. But jealousy within the ranks and a new department designed to clean up the corruption within the system is threating the comfort that Lee Rock enjoys.
- DirectorLawrence Ah-MonStarsAndy LauChingmy YauSharla CheungThe final part to the Lee Rock trilogy. Lee Rock's rise to power with the corruption of the Hong Kong Police is about to crumble beneath him. With the discovery of him being a father of a uncorruptable cop and his dying first love, can Lee Rock manage to keep from being swallowed by the new Police Officials, save his former flame and become a father to his long forgotten son?
- DirectorGeoffrey SaxStarsEamonn WalkerChristopher EcclestonKeeley HawesShakespeare's Othello retold in modern London; racial tension in the police force collides with jealousy and revenge. An officer suspects his new bride of infidelity.
- DirectorJoe CarnahanStarsRay LiottaJason PatricChi McBrideWhen the trail goes cold on a murder investigation of a policeman, an undercover narcotics officer is lured back to the force to help solve the case.
- DirectorJennifer LynchStarsJulia OrmondBill PullmanPell JamesTwo FBI agents attempt to clarify the murders occurring in a desolate region. They approach the witnesses of the latest incident with the help of the local police. All of them hide something and all have wildly different stories to tell.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsKevin CostnerSean ConneryRobert De NiroDuring Prohibition, Treasury agent Eliot Ness sets out to stop ruthless Chicago gangster Al Capone, and assembles a small, incorruptible team to help him.
- CreatorGraham YostStarsTimothy OlyphantNick SearcyJoelle CarterEnforcing his own brand of justice, U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, a strong-willed, quiet law-man haunted by his past, returns to his native town to see that justice is served to those in need.
- CreatorTerence WinterStarsSteve BuscemiKelly MacdonaldMichael ShannonAn Atlantic City politician plays both sides of the law by conspiring with gangsters during the Prohibition era.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsChristian BaleHeath LedgerAaron EckhartWhen the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.
- DirectorJim KoufStarsJim BelushiTupac ShakurLela RochonAfter murdering an undercover DEA agent, two corrupt cops scramble to cover up what they've done.
- DirectorFrédéric JardinStarsTomer SisleySerge RiaboukineJulien BoisselierA cop with a connection to the criminal underworld finds his secret life exposed when he and his partner are caught stealing cocaine from a powerful drug dealer, a move that puts his son's life in jeopardy.
- DirectorDanny CannonStarsRay LiottaAnthony LaPagliaDaniel BaldwinA cop (Liotta) with a gambling addiction plots a theft from the bookies who are putting pressure on him to pay off or else.
- DirectorAdrian ShergoldStarsMark StrongBrian McCardieRobert WilloxFrank Agnew is a police detective who kills for revenge and naively believes he's engineered the perfect crime.
- CreatorChris MundyStarsMark StrongLennie JamesJames RansoneMurder, deception, revenge, and corruption that starts with the murder of a cop by fellow Detroit detective Frank Agnew.