More Must-See Rebel Movies

Billy Jack 1971 Dirty Harry 1971 Dirty Mary Crazy Larry 1974 Ferris Bueller’s Day Off 1986 The Graduate 1967 A History of Violence 2005 The Hustler 1961 The King of Comedy 1983 Network 1976 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest 1975 Raging Bull 1980 Risky Business 1983 Smokey and the Bandit 1977 Three Days of the Condor 1975 Trainspotting 1996

Cool Hand Luke
1967
The coolest prison movie ever. Yes, Paul Newman’s chain gang anti-hero can eat 50 eggs. More important, he can also make us feel every bead of sweat dripped onto the gritty Southern roadside, the adrenaline rush of bloodhounds hot on his trail, and the existential weight of being a reluctant Christ figure to a bunch of cons.
Line, please: “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.”

Taxi Driver
1976
Martin Scorsese’s searing portrait of a Big Apple gone rotten, and Robert De Niro’s portrayal of the unhinged cabby who feeds on it, makes for the quintessential ’70s film.
Line, please: We love when Albert Brooks tells Cybill Shepherd… Ha ha, just kidding. “You talkin’ to me?” Line of the decade.

Sid & Nancy
1986
This biopic about Sex Pistol Sid Vicious (Gary Oldman) isn’t totally accurate but does faithfully mirror the punk ethos of valuing pure ’tude over boring technical skill.

Easy Rider
1969
Two bikers roar off on a road trip to Mardi Gras and learn about bigotry, random violence, and the death of the American dream. Well, that and lots of drugs. 

Three Must-See Rebel Clips

Taxi Driver The question that launched a thousand nutjobs.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Enjoy a time when trailers were 3/4 as long as the movie they were advertising.

Cool Hand Luke How to celebrate Easter when you're locked up in prison—a classic Cool Hand Luke moment (due in no small part to a shirtless George Kennedy)

Bullitt
1968
From Dirty Harry Callahan to Lethal Weapon’s Martin Riggs, Steve McQueen’s badass Lt. Frank Bullitt paved the way for every maverick cop who refused to play by the rules.
Extra: McQueen’s stunt driver for Bullitt’s legendary car chase also performed his motorcycle jump in The Great Escape.

More Must-See Cop Movies

Bad Lieutenant 1992 Chinatown 1974 The Departed 2006 Donnie Brasco 1997 Fargo 1996 The French Connection 1971 RoboCop 1987 Se7en 1995 Shaft 1971 The Silence of the Lambs 1991 The Untouchables 1987

To Live and Die in L.A.
1985
The Secret Service agents of this very ’80s crime flick (Wang Chung’s synthy score just might re-perm your hair) break every rule of law enforcement to bust a sadistic counterfeiter, and the shocking fate of hero William Petersen breaks every rule of mainstream moviemaking. In a good way.
Extra: Director William Friedkin reportedly filmed the insane car chase last—in case any actors got killed.

Hard Boiled
1992
The term “bullet ballet” was coined for John Woo’s kung fu masterpiece that sets up Hong Kong cop Chow Yun Fat versus mobsters, then turns machine guns, shotguns, explosions, and blood spurts into objects of fetishized beauty. 

Three Must-See Cop Clips

Bullitt One of the greatest movie car chases of all time. It's a slow build, but it's worth it.

Hard Boiled As you collect your blown mind off the floor, remember that this is the opening scene of the movie. It only gets better from here.

The Departed The movie that finally won Marty Scorcese his long-deserved Oscar. For more on The Departed's cell phone obsession, check this out.

More Must-See Criminal Movies

Atlantic City 1980 Bad Boys 1983 Bloody Mama 1970 The Boys From Brazil 1978 Boyz N the Hood 1991 Carlito’s Way 1993 Casino 1995 Crimes and Misdemeanors 1989 Dog Day Afternoon 1975 The Getaway 1972 Get Carter 1971 Goodfellas 1990 Heat 1995 A History of Violence 2005 In Cold Blood 1967 The Long Good Friday 1980 Mean Streets 1973 Midnight Express 1978 Natural Born Killers 1994 Pulp Fiction 1994 River’s Edge 1986 Scarface 1983 Sexy Beast 2000 Sin City 2005 Super Fly 1972 True Romance 1993

No Country For Old Men
2007
In adapting Cormac McCarthy’s bleak novel, did the Coen brothers create a violent nouveau Western that uses the chase between Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, and Tommy Lee Jones to ratchet up unbearable tension? Yes! Brilliant? You bet, friend-o.
Extra: Josh Brolin’s audition tape was directed by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez.

The Godfather I & II
1972, 1974
You’ve watched them a dozen times. You know every line and have adopted some (“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer”) as motivational tools. They are, simply, the apex of all Mob movies. That’s why you’ll watch them a dozen times more.
Extra: Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, both nominated for The Godfather: Part II, never appeared together on-screen until 1995’s Heat.

Bonnie and Clyde
1967
Graphic violence in the name of art wasn’t always as accepted as it is today. B&C’s unapologetic gore showed moviegoers just how cool a bloody movie can be, and paved the way for the antiestablishment flicks that soon dominated American cinema.
Extra: Convinced the movie would tank, Warner Bros. gave producer/star Warren Beatty 40 percent of the gross instead of a small fee.

Reservoir Dogs
1992
Because the bad guys were named Mr. White, Mr. Pink, and Mr. Blonde. And because every time we hear “Stuck in the Middle With You,” we fear for our ear.

Three Must-See Criminal Clips

No Country for Old Men "Call it. Friend-o."

The Godfather The Godfather lays down the law. And, yes, Don Corleone, Hollywood does produce men who cry like women.

Reservoir Dogs That's right, there was a time before Quentin Tarantino was a household name.

Page 1: Comedy & Buddy | Page 2: Action, War, & Westerns | Page 3: Rebels, Cops, & Criminals
Page 4: Horror, Sci-Fi, Art House, & Mindbenders | Page 5: Classics, Nudity, & Train Wrecks