Movies like Gangbusters (1977)
The best movies like Gangbusters (1977) are The Day of the Owl (1968), The Valachi Papers (1972) and Boys Cry (2018). If Gangbusters hooked you with its drama and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedRan (1985)8.0/10 from 1,968 votes
- NewestHeist 88 (2023)Released 2023
- In ItalianThe Day of the Owl (1968)Also in Italian
The Day of the Owl (1968)
Set in Sicily, this violent crime drama tells the tale of an Italian cop who heads to a small island town to look into the death of a construction supplier. Once there he is shocked by the influence the Mafia has over the people and even himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Valachi Papers (1972)
When Joe Valachi has a price put on his head by Don Vito Genovese, he must take desperate steps to protect himself while in prison. An unsuccessful attempt to slit his throat puts him over the edge to break the sacred code of silence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBoys Cry (2018)
Mirko and Manolo are best friends and live in the suburbs of Rome. They both live in poor conditions with their single parents, are still in school and struggle with occasional odd jobs to make ends meet. Together they share dreams of women, of sex and money, of a better life to come. Then, after killing a man in a hit-and-run one night, they get involved with the local mafia and their lives change dramatically.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTony Arzenta (1973)
A mob hitman wants to retire, but his bosses don't think that's a good idea. Complications - and many bloody shootouts - ensue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLucky Luciano (1973)
Lucky Luciano is one of the bosses of the Mafia. He orders the slaughter of 40 other responsibles, therefore becoming the only boss. But a few years later he is put into jail. In 1946, he got a pardon and is sent back to Sicilia. There, he begins becoming one of the chief of the Mafia. The US Army seems to refrain from interfering.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPiranhas (2019)
A gang of teenage boys stalk the streets of Naples armed with hand guns and AK-47s to do their mob bosses' bidding – until they decide to be the bosses themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMafia Millionaires (2014)
The rise and fall of a Neapolitan criminal clan through the story of a boss and his family, divided between the aspiration for a bourgeois life and the deep impulses of oppression. Thirty years of history of one of the most beautiful and discussed cities in the world, the dream of a boy who is overwhelmed by the desire for power as an end in itself, to become the nightmare of a man and those who live next to him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Hundred Days in Palermo (1984)
In the late 1970s and early 80s, assassinations in Sicily get the attention of Communist deputy, Pio La Torre, who appeals to General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa to become prefect in Palermo and take on the Mafia. Dalla Chiesa approaches the job with the same focus and methods he used in hunting down the Red Brigade.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAcross 110th Street (1972)
In a daring robbery, some $300,000 is taken from the Italian mob. Several mafiosi are killed, as are two policemen. Lt. Pope and Capt. Mattelli are two New York City cops trying to break the case. Three small-time criminals are on the run with the money. Will the mafia catch them first, or will the police?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Outfit (1973)
A two-bit criminal takes on the Mafia to avenge his brother's death. Earl Macklin is a small time criminal who is released from prison after an unsuccessful bank robbery only to discover that a pair of gunmen killed his brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNostalgia (2022)
Felice returns to his native Rione Sanità in Naples to look after his dying mother, having lived abroad for the last forty years. Here he discovers that his old friend Oreste has become a notorious crimeboss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Escort (1993)
The film shows the difficulties of an honest, imperiled judge and his bodyguard of four men, trying to clean up a Sicilian town. Corrupt local politicians, working hand-in-hand with the Mafia, will stop at nothing to prevent exposure of their rackets.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEach Dawn I Die (1939)
A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBelly (1998)
Tommy Bundy and Sincere are best friends as well as infamous and ruthless criminals and shot-callers in the hood. Respected by many but feared by all. As the police are closing in on them and new players are looking for a come up, will their reign last?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCry of the City (1948)
Petty crook and cop-killer Martin Rome, in bad shape from wounds in the hospital prison ward, still refuses to help slimy lawyer Niles clear his client by confessing to another crime. Police Lt. Candella must check Niles' allegation; a friend of the Rome family, he walks a tightrope between sentiment and cynicism. When Martin fears Candella will implicate his girlfriend Teena, he'll do anything to protect her. How many others will he drag down to disaster with him?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGolden Men (2019)
A group of desperate men, unsatisfied by their lives, decides to attempt a heist to a postal armored truck guard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeist 88 (2023)
A criminal mastermind recruits a group of young bank employees to steal 80 million dollars in one of the largest bank heist in US history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPhantom Halo (2014)
Two brothers barely scrape by as their father continues to gamble and drink away the money they do bring home. They hatch a plan for a robbery but at what price?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Boss (1973)
A hitman finds himself embroiled in the middle of a Mafia war between the Sicilians and the Calabrians.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRulers of the City (1976)
Tony, a mob loan collector, is dissatisfied with his station in life. Though he dreams of one day being rich, he is stuck with the dead-end job of beating up borrowers who fall behind in their payments. After meeting up with Napoli, another mob enforcer who's just been fired from his job, the two hatch a plan. Together, they will con mob boss Manzari out of a fortune, after which they can retire and live in luxury. Manzari, however, is not about to let them go so easily.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Bittersweet Life (2005)
Kim Sun-woo is an enforcer and manager for a hotel owned by a cold, calculative crime boss, Kang who assigns Sun-woo to a simple errand while he is away on a business trip; to shadow his young mistress, Hee-soo, for fear that she may be cheating on him with a younger man with the mandate that he must kill them both if he discovers their affair.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeath Sentence (2007)
Nick Hume is a mild-mannered executive with a perfect life, until one gruesome night he witnesses something that changes him forever. Transformed by grief, Hume eventually comes to the disturbing conclusion that no length is too great when protecting his family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNew Police Story (2004)
Sent into a drunken tailspin when his entire unit is killed by a gang of thrill-seeking punks, disgraced Hong Kong police inspector Wing needs help from his new rookie partner, with a troubled past of his own, to climb out of the bottle and track down the gang and its ruthless leader.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShot Pattern (1982)
A Paris flea market vendor is transformed into a vigilante after his fiancée is murdered by three vicious thugs on a commuter train. As the revenge-minded young man tracks the killers, a veteran police inspector leads a parallel investigation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
City Hall (1996)
The accidental shooting of a boy in New York City leads to an investigation by the Deputy Mayor, and unexpectedly far-reaching consequences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRevengence Superlady (1986)
A woman seeks vengeance against the man who killed her entire family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Next Karate Kid (1994)
Mr. Miyagi decides to take Julie, a troubled teenager, under his wing after he learns that she blames herself for her parents' demise and struggles to adjust with her grandmother and fellow pupils.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisSave the Green Planet! (2003)
A young man believes that his country's leaders are actually toxic reptilian aliens sent down to launch a takeover of his beloved Earth. So he decides to abduct them and force the truth out on camera in his basement that doubles as a film studio and torture chamber.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRan (1985)
Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRed Road (2006)
Jackie is a CCTV operator. One day, a man shows his face on her monitor, a man she hoped never to see again. Now she has no choice and is compelled to confront him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Gangbusters?
The closest matches to Gangbusters are The Day of the Owl (1968), The Valachi Papers (1972) and Boys Cry (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Gangbusters?
Start with The Day of the Owl (1968), the closest match to Gangbusters.
What is the highest-rated movie like Gangbusters?
Ran (1985), rated 8.0/10 by 1,968 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Gangbusters?
Heist 88 (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Italian movies like Gangbusters?
Yes: The Day of the Owl (1968), Boys Cry (2018) and Tony Arzenta (1973).
How are movies similar to Gangbusters chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Gangbusters, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.