Fifty years on, almost every heist film, dirty-cop thriller and slow-burn gangster saga made since still owes a debt to a run of movies that starts around 1968 and mostly wraps before 1980. These are the 50 best crime movies the 1970s ever produced, from cult genre gems that barely crossed a border to the handful of films regularly called the greatest ever made, full stop. Every entry gets its own Blanket Score.

00:00 Intro
0:53 #50 — The Big Racket (1976) · Blanket Score 7.4
2:18 #49 — The Onion Field (1979) · Blanket Score 7.3
3:49 #48 — The Drowning Pool (1975) · Blanket Score 6.9
5:17 #47 — The Italian Connection (1972) · Blanket Score 7.7
6:45 #46 — The Nickel Ride (1974) · Blanket Score 7.2
8:05 #45 — Milano Calibro 9 (1972) · Blanket Score 8.0
9:49 #44 — The Anderson Tapes (1971) · Blanket Score 7.1
11:28 #43 — The Hot Rock (1972) · Blanket Score 7.3
13:06 #42 — Black Caesar (1973) · Blanket Score 6.9
14:37 #41 — Shaft (1971) · Blanket Score 7.3
16:16 #40 — Coffy (1973) · Blanket Score 7.4
17:56 #39 — The Mack (1973) · Blanket Score 7.2
19:24 #38 — The Silent Partner (1978) · Blanket Score 7.9
20:54 #37 — Straight Time (1978) · Blanket Score 8.2
22:16 #36 — The Gambler (1974) · Blanket Score 7.8
23:36 #35 — The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976) · Blanket Score 8.4
25:13 #34 — Klute (1971) · Blanket Score 8.1
26:39 #33 — Prime Cut (1972) · Blanket Score 7.4
28:01 #32 — The Valachi Papers (1972) · Blanket Score 6.9
29:26 #31 — Mikey and Nicky (1976) · Blanket Score 8.2
31:02 #30 — Across 110th Street (1972) · Blanket Score 7.9
32:37 #29 — Blue Collar (1978) · Blanket Score 8.3
34:01 #28 — Dillinger (1973) · Blanket Score 7.3
35:48 #27 — The Outfit (1973) · Blanket Score 7.8
37:14 #26 — The Yakuza (1974) · Blanket Score 7.9
39:00 #25 — The Driver (1978) · Blanket Score 7.9
40:26 #24 — The Seven-Ups (1973) · Blanket Score 7.5
41:43 #23 — Badlands (1973) · Blanket Score 8.6
43:13 #22 — Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970) · Blanket Score 8.7
44:47 #21 — The Getaway (1972) · Blanket Score 7.8
46:19 #20 — The Parallax View (1974) · Blanket Score 8.1
48:04 #19 — The Long Goodbye (1973) · Blanket Score 8.5
49:44 #18 — Night Moves (1975) · Blanket Score 8.0
51:22 #17 — Charley Varrick (1973) · Blanket Score 8.2
53:00 #16 — The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) · Blanket Score 8.3
55:15 #15 — French Connection II (1975) · Blanket Score 7.6
56:49 #14 — Serpico (1973) · Blanket Score 8.9
58:18 #13 — The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) · Blanket Score 8.4
60:02 #12 — The Sting (1973) · Blanket Score 8.8
61:26 #11 — Dirty Harry (1971) · Blanket Score 8.7
63:02 #10 — Le Cercle Rouge (1970) · Blanket Score 8.9
64:35 #9 — Get Carter (1971) · Blanket Score 8.6
66:08 #8 — Mean Streets (1973) · Blanket Score 8.5
67:42 #7 — The Conversation (1974) · Blanket Score 8.8
69:24 #6 — Taxi Driver (1976) · Blanket Score 9.4
71:10 #5 — The French Connection (1971) · Blanket Score 9.0
72:50 #4 — Dog Day Afternoon (1975) · Blanket Score 9.2
74:30 #3 — Chinatown (1974) · Blanket Score 9.5
76:12 #2 — The Godfather Part II (1974) · Blanket Score 9.6
77:51 #1 — The Godfather (1972) · Blanket Score 9.7
79:43 Outro

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