20 best movies like Prince of the City (1981)

List of the best movies like Prince of the City (1981): American Me, The Corrupted, Veronica Guerin, What Doesn't Kill You, Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy, The Pope of Greenwich Village, Ajami, Maria Full of Grace, Bound by Honor, Mean Streets.

Tags: movies similar to Prince of the City (1981) - full list

Markimdb: 7.1
Genremelodrama, drama, crime, biography
CountryUSA
Duration02:05

During his 18 years in Folsom Prison, street-gang leader Santana rules over all the drug-and-murder activities behind bars. Upon his release, Santana goes back to his old neighborhood, intending to lead a peaceful, crime-free life. But his old gang buddies force him back into his old habits.

Markimdb: 5.6
Genrethriller, drama, crime
CountryUnited Kingdom
Duration01:39

Set ahead of the 2012 London Olympics, the film follows Liam (Sam Claflin), an ex-con trying to win back the love and trust of his family. He has lost everything at the hands of a local crime syndicate run by Clifford Cullen (Spall), who has high-level connections in politics, finance and the police force. Liam's drive for redemption sees him caught up in a web of conspiracy, crime, and corruption.

Markimdb: 6.8
Genrethriller, drama, crime, biography
CountryRepublic of Ireland, United Kingdom, USA
Duration01:38

In this true story, Veronica Guerin is an investigative reporter for an Irish newspaper. As the drug trade begins to bleed into the mainstream, Guerin decides to take on and expose those responsible. Beginning at the bottom with addicts, Guerin then gets in touch with John Traynor, a paranoid informant. Not without some prodding, Traynor leads her to John Gilligan, the ruthless head of the operation, who does not take kindly to Guerin's nosing.

Markimdb: 6.6
Genredrama, crime
CountryUSA
Duration01:40

Two childhood friends from South Boston turn to crime as a way to get by, ultimately causing a strain in their personal lives and their friendship.

Markimdb: 5.6
Genredrama, crime
CountryUSA
Duration01:27

Based on the events surrounding the murder of British student Meredith Kercher.Hayden Panettiere (Heroes) and Marcia Gay Harden (Academy Award winner for Pollock) star in the Lifetime Original Movie Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy based on the international headline-grabbing story of the now infamous American exchange student accused by Italian authorities of brutally killing her roommate. Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy poses the question of whether Knox (Panettiere), the Seattle honors student accused of murdering her college roommate Meredith Kercher (Amanda Fernando Stevens) in 2007 with her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito (Paolo Romio) and acquaintance Rudy Guede (Djirbi Kebe), actually committed the crime or was herself a victim.

Markimdb: 6.6
Genreaction, comedy, drama, crime
CountryUSA
Duration02:01

Charlie and his troublesome cousin Paulie decide to steal $150000 in order to back a "sure thing" race horse that Paulie has inside information on. The aftermath of the robbery gets them into serious trouble with the local Mafia boss and the corrupt New York City police department.

Markimdb: 7.3
Genredrama, crime
CountryGermany, Israel, United Kingdom
Duration02:04

Ajami is an area of Tel Aviv in Israel where Arabs, Palestinians, Jews and Christians live together in a tense atmosphere. Omar, an Israeli Arab, struggles to save his family from a gang of extortionists. He also courts a beautiful Christian girl: Hadir. Malek, an illegal Palestinian worker, tries to collect enough money to pay for his mother's operation. Dando, an Israeli cop, does his utmost to find his missing brother who may have been killed by Palestinians.

Markimdb: 7.4
Genredrama, crime
CountryColombia, Ecuador, USA
Duration01:41

A pregnant Colombian teenager becomes a drug mule to make some desperately needed money for her family.

Markimdb: 7.9
Genredrama, crime
CountryUSA
Duration03:00

Based on the true life experiences of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, the film focuses on half-brothers Paco and Cruz, and their bi-racial cousin Miklo. It opens in 1972, as the three are members of an East L.A. gang known as the "Vatos Locos", and the story focuses on how a violent crime and the influence of narcotics alter their lives. Miklo is incarcerated and sent to San Quentin, where he makes a "home" for himself. Cruz becomes an exceptional artist, but a heroin addiction overcomes him with tragic results. Paco becomes a cop and an enemy to his "carnal", Miklo.

Markimdb: 7.2
Genrethriller, drama, crime
CountryUSA
Duration01:52

A small-time hood must choose from among love, friendship and the chance to rise within the mob.

Markimdb: 5.5
Genrethriller, drama, crime
CountryUnited Kingdom

In 1995, drug suppliers and career criminals Tony Tucker, Patrick Tate and Craig Rolfe were blasted to death by a shot gun whilst waiting in a Range Rover in Rettendon, Essex. The film charts their rise to become the most prolific dealers and feared criminals in the south of England, maintaining the hold on their empire with fear and violence until their untimely death.

Markimdb: 7.1
Genredrama, crime
CountryCanada, USA
Duration01:51

After a young woman suffers a brutal rape in a bar one night, a prosecutor assists in bringing the perpetrators to justice, including the ones who encouraged and cheered on the attack.

Markimdb: 7.6
Genreaction, thriller, drama, crime
CountryUSA
Duration01:49

    Two young officers are marked for death after confiscating a small cache of money and firearms from the members of a notorious cartel during a routine traffic stop.

    Markimdb: 4.8
    Genreaction, thriller, drama, crime
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:26

    Ray Liotta (Goodfellas) delivers an intense, electrifying performance in this explosive follow-up to the gritty urban crime thriller Street Kings. Liotta plays Detroit detective Marty Kingston, the leader of an undercover narcotics team, whose members are being systematically murdered one by one. To solve the brutal killings, Kingston joins forces with a cocky, young homicide detective. But neither of them is prepared for the shocking corruption their investigation will uncover — stunning secrets that will set both men on a violent collision course with betrayal and vengeance.

    Markimdb: 6.7
    Genredrama, crime, biography
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:00

    A single mother becomes Ariel Castro's first kidnapping victim, and finds herself trapped in his home with two other women for 11 years.

    Markimdb: 7.1
    Genrethriller, drama, crime, film noir
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:28

    Eddie Miller struggles with his hatred of women, he's especially bothered by seeing women with their lovers. He starts a killing spree as a sniper by shooting women from far distances. In an attempt to get caught, he writes an anonymous letter to the police begging them to stop him.

    Markimdb: 6.7
    Genredrama, crime
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:38

    The film follows the personal relationship between a father and his two sons, one of whom is a hit-man for the Russian mafia in Brooklyn.

    Markimdb: 6.8
    Genrecomedy, drama, crime
    CountryRomania, USA, Italy, Poland, France
    Duration01:50

    A Romanian police officer teams up with a small crew of bank robbers to pull off a heist by convincing everyone at the scene of the crime that they are only filming a movie.

    Markimdb: 7.2
    Genreaction, thriller, melodrama, drama, crime
    CountryUnited Kingdom, USA
    Duration02:09

    Terry Noonan returns home to New York's Hells Kitchen after a ten year absence. He soon hooks up with childhood pal Jackie who is involved in the Irish mob run by his brother Frankie. Terry also rekindles an old flame with Jackie's sister Kathleen. Soon, however, Terry is torn between his loyalty to his friends and his loyalties to others.

    Markimdb: 5.5
    Genrethriller, drama, crime
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:31

    Three teenage friends get in way over their head when they cross a down-home crime syndicate. They hope to make a break for it and escape their dead-end existence in a cotton-mill town but get sucked into the seedy underbelly of organized crime when one of them steals from the wrong man.

    Markimdb: 7.2
    Genremelodrama, drama, crime, film noir
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:28

    In a quiet Connecticut town, a kindly priest is murdered while waiting at a street corner. The citizens are horrified and demand action from the police. All of the witnesses identify John Waldron, a nervous out-of-towner, as the killer. Although Waldron vehemently denies the crime, no one will believe him. District Attorney Henry Harvey is then put on the case and faces political opposition in his attempt to prove Waldron's innocence. Based on a true story.

    Markimdb: 7.2
    Genrethriller, drama, crime, film noir
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:36

    One night in the New Orleans slums, vicious hoodlum Blackie and his friends kill an illegal immigrant who won too much in a card game. Next morning, Dr. Clint Reed of the Public Health Service confirms the dead man had pneumonic plague. To prevent a catastrophic epidemic, Clint must find and inoculate the killers and their associates, with the reluctant aid of police captain Tom Warren, despite official skepticism, and in total secrecy, lest panic empty the city. Can a doctor turn detective? He has 48 hours to try...

    Markimdb: 6.6
    Genrethriller, drama, crime
    CountryUSA, Germany
    Duration02:10

    A saga centered on a multi-generational family of New York City Police officers. The 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.

    Markimdb: 5.8
    Genrethriller, drama, crime
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:48

    Follows veteran police officer Dave Brown, the last of the renegade cops, as he struggles to take care of his family, and fights for his own survival.

    Markimdb: 7.2
    Genrethriller, drama, crime, detective
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:59

    A law firm brings in its 'fixer' to remedy the situation after a lawyer has a breakdown while representing a chemical company that he knows is guilty in a multi-billion dollar class action suit.

    Markimdb: 6.1
    Genrecomedy, drama, crime
    CountryUSA

    After their mother ends up in jail, two sisters turn to train robbery in order to support their family.

    Markimdb: 7
    Genreaction, thriller, drama, crime
    CountryUSA, United Arab Emirates
    Duration02:05

    A thriller set in New York City during the winter of 1981, statistically one of the most violent years in the city's history, and centered on a the lives of an immigrant and his family trying to expand their business and capitalize on opportunities as the rampant violence, decay, and corruption of the day drag them in and threaten to destroy all they have built.

    Markimdb: 7.4
    Genrethriller, drama, crime
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:36

    An old-time crook plans a heist. When one of his two partners is found out to be a black man tensions flare.

    Markimdb: 7.3
    Genredrama, crime
    CountryMorocco, Tunisia, France, Belgium, USA

    Ali, Kwita, Omar and Boubker are street kids. The daily dose of glue sniffing represents their only escape from reality. Since they left Dib and his gang, they have been living on the portside of Casablanca. They live in constant fear of Dib's revenge. Ali wants to become a sailor - when he was living with his mother, a prostitute, he used to listen to a fairy tale about the sailor who discovered the miracle island with two suns. Instead of finding his island in the dream, Ali and his friends are confronted with Dib's gang. Matters are getting serious.

    Markimdb: 7.3
    Genrethriller, drama, crime, biography
    CountryCanada, USA

    "To Catch a Killer" tells the true gruesome story of John Wayne Gacy - a good friend and helpful neighbour, a great child entertainer, a respectful businessman, and a violent serial killer who raped and murdered over 30 young boys.

    Markimdb: 5.3
    Genreaction, thriller, drama, crime
    CountryUSA, Canada
    Duration01:40

    Coming together to solve a series of murders in New York City are a DEA agent whose family was slain as part of a conspiracy and an assassin out to avenge her sister's death. The duo will be hunted by the police, the mob, and a ruthless corporation.

    Markimdb: 5.4
    Genredrama, crime
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:56

    Organized crime boss Meyer Lansky remembers his life as he is moving about the world looking for some country that will take him in since the USA have put out an extradition order for him.

    Markimdb: 6.3
    Genrecomedy, drama, crime, biography
    CountryUnited Kingdom, USA, Puerto Rico

    FBI informant Jim Hoffman lures troubled automobile magnate John DeLorean to an undercover sting for cocaine trafficking.

    Markimdb: 6.9
    Genreaction, thriller, drama, crime, military
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:59

    Depicts a heist of old bills, retired from circulation and destined by the government to be "money to burn". However, more broadly, it addresses the issues of Black Americans' involvement in the Vietnam War and their subsequent disillusionment with progress in social issues and civil rights back home in the United States, during the 1960s.

    Markimdb: 8.2
    Genredrama, crime, film noir
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:32

    A World War I veteran’s dreams of becoming a master architect evaporate in the cold light of economic realities. Things get even worse when he’s falsely convicted of a crime and sent to work on a chain gang.

    Markimdb: 4.6
    Genreaction, drama, crime
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:36

    The son of a slain NYPD officer joins the force, where he falls in with his father's former partner and a team of rogue cops. His new boss, Sarcone, will see if he has what it takes to be rogue through many trials and tribulations of loyalty, trust and respect. When the truth about his father's death is revealed revenge takes him over and he won't stop until justice has been truly served.

    Markimdb: 6.4
    Genrecomedy, drama, crime, biography
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:45

    An eighteen year old high school drop out and his twenty-seven year old friend start trafficking marijuana across the border of Canada in order to make money and their lives are changed forever.

    Markimdb: 5.6
    Genredrama, crime
    CountryUnited Kingdom
    Duration01:46

    The film is a semi-biographical story based on the experiences of former prison guard Ronnie Thompson who spent seven years working in some of the UK's most dangerous prisons. Based on Thompson's book of the same name, the project stars James D'Arcy (Master & Commander), Noel Clarke (Kidulthood), Frank Harper (The Football Factory), Jamie Foreman (Layer Cake), Andrew Shim (This Is England) and Kate Magowan (Stardust). The story revolves around former soldier Sam Norwood who takes a job as a prison officer when he returns from Iraq and becomes exposed to the underworld of prison culture - including corrupt guards and drug trafficking.

    Markimdb: 4.7
    Genrethriller, drama, crime, detective
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:36

    Over the course of one feverish day, a harried narcotics detective and his reluctant partner frantically track down a recently released convict who knows a secret from the past.

    Markimdb: 5.9
    Genredrama, crime, biography
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:33

    A narrative feature film inspired by the events known as the Beltway sniper attacks.

    Markimdb: 4.7
    Genrehorror, thriller, drama, crime, biography
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:25

    Based on a true story of serial killer a model citizen, loving father and husband and serial killer John Wayne Gacy, a man with over 30 dead men and boys entombed in the crawl space underneath his house which he shared with his family.

    Markimdb: 7.2
    Genredrama, crime
    CountryUnited Kingdom, South Africa
    Duration01:34

    The South African multi-award winning film about a young South African boy from the ghetto named Tsotsi, meaning Gangster. Tsotsi, who left home as a child to get away from helpless parents, finds a baby in the back seat of a car that he has just stolen. He decides that it his responsibility to take care of the baby and in the process learns that maybe the gangster life isn’t the best way.

    Markimdb: 6.9
    Genredrama, crime
    CountryUSA

    Based upon the true story of Bruce Johnston Sr., his son, and his brothers; together, they constituted one of suburban Philadelphia's most notorious crime families during the 1970s. Their criminal activities ranged from burglary, theft... and ultimately, murder.

    Markimdb: 7.5
    Genremelodrama, drama, crime, film noir
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:43

    Tells the story of one day in the lives of the various people who populate a police detective squad. An embittered cop, Det. Jim McLeod, leads a precinct of characters in their grim daily battle with the city's lowlife. The characters who pass through the precinct over the course of the day include a young petty embezzler, a pair of burglars, and a naive shoplifter.

    Markimdb: 6.6
    Genredrama, crime
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:37

    The true story of Chong Kim who, as a young teen, was abducted into the sex trade, and the complicated moral choices she had to make in order to survive as her situation grew more desperate.

    Markimdb: 6.7
    Genreaction, thriller, drama, crime
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:53

      Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and — if he has his way — every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It’s enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop… except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O’Mara and Jerry Wooters who come together to try to tear Cohen’s world apart.

      Markimdb: 6.6
      Genredrama, crime
      CountryUSA
      Duration01:39

      The story concerns the funeral of one of three brothers in a family of gangsters that lived in New York in 1930s. Details of the past of the brothers and their families are shown through a series of flashbacks.

      Markimdb: 7.5
      Genrethriller, drama, crime
      CountryUSA
      Duration01:37

      Sobering and incisive, this cautionary drama centers on a street tough 18-year-old facing a moral quandary while trying to turn his life around.

      Markimdb: 6.5
      Genreaction, thriller, drama, crime, detective
      CountryUSA

      One memorable night in the life of veteran patrol officer Ray Mandel and his trainee, ambitious rookie cop Nick Holland in the LAPD's Olympic Division. With two cop killers on the loose and hunting for more targets, Mandel and Holland must contend with a city about to boil over, as well as Jack VanZandt, an unhinged rogue cop out for payback running wild in their patrol zone.

      Markimdb: 6.1
      Genrethriller, drama, crime
      CountryUSA
      Duration01:51

      Literature professor Jim Bennett leads a secret life as a high-stakes gambler. Always a risk-taker, Bennett bets it all when he borrows from a gangster and offers his own life as collateral. Staying one step ahead, he pits his creditor against the operator of an illicit gambling ring while garnering the attention of Frank, a paternalistic loan shark. As his relationship with a student deepens, Bennett must risk everything for a second chance.




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