The 20 best British crime films

Speaking of Sherlock Holmes, Guy Ritchie directed the two Holmes movies starring Robert Downey Jr. Before that, though, he got his start in feature-film making with “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels.” Nobody involved was really a star at the time, but it was a breakout for a few actors, not to mention Ritchie as a director.

Ritchie then followed up the cult success of “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels” with “Snatch.” It’s a very similar movie, in terms of being a gritty crime movie about British lowlifes, this time with Jason Statham moving up to the starring role after a smaller part in Ritchie’s first film. Oh, this one also had Brad Pitt in it, which was a huge coup for Ritchie, and helped make “Snatch” a big commercial success.

Yeah, yeah, yeah it’s another Ritchie film, but it’s the last one. Plus, he’s pretty much the modern king of the British crime movie. “RocknRolla” wasn’t as successful, but it has quite the cast. Of course Mark Strong is in it because it’s a movie involving British criminals, but two potential future James Bonds were involved as well: Tom Hardy and Idris Elba.

We’re not talking about the slick, middling remake starring Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron. That movie didn’t have much of anything to do with England. The original “Italian Job” may have “Italian” in the title, but it’s about a group of British criminals led by Michael Caine pulling off the automobile heist in Italy.

“A Fish Called Wanda” is known more for the comedy than the crime, but it’s definitely a British crime film. Yes, even though Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Kline are two of the costars, and Kline even won an Oscar for his performance. Two of the other main characters are Monty Python’s John Cleese and Michael Palin, and the action all takes place in England. Also, the inciting incident is a crime, and most of the main characters are in on it.

For some time in the '90s, mob comedies were a pretty popular thing. We had “Analyze This,” and we also had “Mickey Blue Eyes.” Both films recontextualized actors from the “Godfather” series, with James Caan costarring in this film. While the action takes place in New York City, by and large, it stars Hugh Grant as an auctioneer from England who is marrying into a mob family. That sounds like a very British crime comedy to us.

When you think “British crime movie,” Statham is one of the first actors you think of, right? He’s gruff, he’s a convincing badāss, and he’s through-and-through British. One of his many crime movies is “The Bank Job,” which is a rather British story in that it’s based on a true story we don’t really know in the States, but was big news when it happened in London in 1971.

The Coen Brother remake “The Ladykillers,” and even got Tom Hanks to star in it, but it’s arguably their least-successful film. The original film has a much better reputation, and the screenplay was even nominated for an Oscar and won a BAFTA. It also had a fine actor in the lead role. Alec Guinness is maybe not quite on Hanks’ level of stardom, but he’s no slouch.

Daniel Craig has spent plenty of time around crime in movies, though it’s usually of the upper-echelon variety as James Bond. Matthew Vaughn produced Ritchie’s first two films, but “Layer Cake” was his first foray into directing. Of course, it involved crime in London, because that was the world he was largely involved in. Eventually, Vaughn would break out as a director with the violent, vile “Kick-Αss.”

Ray Winstone thought he was out of the crime game. Then, Ben Kingsley came back into his life. “Sexy Beast” may not sound like a grim, bleak crime movie, but that’s just what it is. Kingsley’s Don Logan is a truly revolting and unpredictable guy, even for a criminal, and his performance was so captivating that he managed an Oscar nomination.

This is another movie that is set in the United States, but it’s steeped in British crime. Terence Stamp stars as a career criminal from England who comes to America to investigate his daughter’s death. He speaks in cockney rhyming slang, which is about as British as it gets. Also, Stephen Soderbergh used footage of Stamp from a previous movie, “Poor Cow,” that was set in Britain for flashback scenes.

No, not that terrible “League of Extraordinary Gentleman” movie that ended Sean Connery’s career. “The League of Gentleman” is a comedy crime movie based on a novel from 1958 about army veterans who decide to rob a bank. It was quite well-received, and still has a good reputation among those that remember it.

Prior to Statham, Michael Caine may have had the title of the quintessential British crime movie actor. Sometimes they were light, like “The Italian Job.” “Get Carter” is not nearly as much of a romp, but it’s still got plenty of crime. It would eventually be remade with Sylvester Stallone as Carter, who is certainly a different kind of actor than Caine.

Bob Hoskins had a fine career and an eclectic one at that. After all, his two most-famous films are arguably “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” and “Super Mario Bros.” However, he got his breakout role in the crime movie “The Long Good Friday,” which co-starred Helen Mirren. Not only is “The Long Good Friday” considered a classic crime film, but the British Film Institute also named it the 21st-best British movie ever in 1999.

Since this is a list of British movies, we’re going with the British title (the American title dropped the “First” part). The movie was written and directed by Michael Crichton based on a book he wrote that was loosely based on an actual robbery. The film stars the duo of Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland, which is a great starting point for a movie in the ‘70s.

Mike Hodges made his directorial debut with the original “Get Carter,” and for his penultimate film he gave us “Croupier.” It was not a big hit and got a small release, but it was quite critically acclaimed in the United States. A lot of that love went to the film’s star, an actor on the rise who was still waiting for his big break. That would be none other than Clive Owen. If you want to see Owen’s first big role, give “Croupier” a shot.

Graham Greene wrote several novels that were turned into movies, many of which involve a crime in some way. Arguably the biggest of those films is “The Third Man,” which costarred Orson Welles and is considered a noir classic. “Brighton Rock” isn’t quite on that level, but the gangster movie has a lot going for it, including a starring turn from a young Richard Attenborough.

As the tagline of “The Hit” says, even bad guys have bad days. That’s certainly true in this film by Stephen Frears. Terence Stamp makes another appearance on this list, but John Hurt and a young Tim Roth are also costars. Apparently, Wes Anderson is a big fan, and he’s not the only one.

“The Lavender Hill Mob” was an influence on “A Fish Called Wanda,” so much so that John Cleese was behind Charles Crichton directing the latter, even though he was 78 at the time. In the United States, this Alec Guinness film is liked by those who saw it, but in Britain, it’s a true classic. The movie won a BAFTA for Best British Film, and that aforementioned BFI list called it the 17th-best British film.

Pulling dual roles in a movie is always ambitious. Sometimes it works, though. Sometimes it’s also necessary, like when you are making a film about twins. That’s the case for “Legend” which is about Britain’s criminal Kray twins. Tom Hardy is the man who portrays them both, and he manages to pull off the double duty with aplomb.