Movies like Carlito's Way (1993)
The best movies like Carlito's Way (1993) are Donnie Brasco (1997), The Long Good Friday (1980) and GoodFellas (1990). If Carlito's Way hooked you with its crime and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Godfather (1972)8.7/10 from 23,971 votes
- NewestThe Many Saints of Newark (2021)Released 2021
- Same seriesCarlito's Way: Rise to Power (2005)Carlito's Way
Donnie Brasco (1997)
An FBI undercover agent infiltrates the mob and identifies more with the mafia life at the expense of his regular one.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Long Good Friday (1980)
In the late 1970s, Cockney crime boss Harold Shand, a gangster trying to become a legitimate property mogul, has big plans to get the American Mafia to bankroll his transformation of a derelict area of London into the possible venue for a future Olympic Games. However, a series of bombings targets his empire on the very weekend the Americans are in town. Shand is convinced there is a traitor in his organization, and sets out to eliminate the rat in typically ruthless fashion.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGoodFellas (1990)
The true story of Henry Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian Brooklyn kid who is adopted by neighbourhood gangsters at an early age and climbs the ranks of a Mafia family under the guidance of Jimmy Conway.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Godfather Part III (1990)
In the midst of trying to legitimize his business dealings in 1979 New York and Italy, aging mafia don, Michael Corleone seeks forgiveness for his sins while taking a young protege under his wing.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Bronx Tale (1993)
Set in the Bronx during the tumultuous 1960s, an adolescent boy is torn between his honest, working-class father and a violent yet charismatic crime boss. Complicating matters is the youngster's growing attraction - forbidden in his neighborhood - for a beautiful black girl.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisGotti (2018)
John Gotti rises to the top of the New York underworld to become the boss of the Gambino crime family. His life takes a tumultuous turn as he faces tragedy, multiple trials and a prison sentence.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisMiller's Crossing (1990)
Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCarlito's Way: Rise to Power (2005)
Seduced by the brutal New York underworld, future gangster legend Carlito Brigante enters a deadly circle of greed and retribution. Assisted by his two brothers-in-crime, Carlito is on the fast track to becoming Spanish Harlem's ultimate kingpin. He quickly learns, however, that the only way to survive at the top is through loyalty to his friends and respect for the rules of the street.
Why it matches: Same series: Carlito's Way · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisMean Streets (1973)
A small-time hood must choose from among love, friendship and the chance to rise within the mob.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisState of Grace (1990)
Hell's Kitchen, New York. Terry Noonan returns home after a ten-year absence. He soon reconnects with Jackie, a childhood friend and member of the Irish mob, and rekindles his love affair with Jackie's sister Kathleen.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Gangster (2007)
Loosely based on the criminal career of Frank Lucas, a gangster from La Grange, North Carolina, who smuggled heroin into the United States on American service planes returning from the Vietnam War, before being detained by a task force led by Newark Detective Richie Roberts.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisScarface (1983)
After getting a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban government official, Tony Montana stakes a claim on the drug trade in Miami. Viciously murdering anyone who stands in his way, Tony eventually becomes the biggest drug lord in the state, controlling nearly all the cocaine that comes through Miami. But increased pressure from the police, wars with Colombian drug cartels and his own drug-fueled paranoia serve to fuel the flames of his eventual downfall.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisKing of New York (1990)
A former drug lord returns from prison determined to wipe out all his competition and distribute the profits of his operations to New York's poor and lower classes in this stylish and ultra violent modern twist on Robin Hood.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiss of Death (1995)
Jimmy Kilmartin's an ex-con who's trying to go straight. But he can't say no to a quick driving job because his so-called friend's life is threatened. The job is for Little Junior Brown, a violent and powerful villain. When things go wrong, Jimmy is left to do the time, and his whole life is turned upside-down, but if that wasn't enough, the cops won't leave Jimmy alone when he gets out... They want Little Junior Brown.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisCasino (1995)
In Las Vegas, two best friends-a casino executive and a Mafia enforcer--compete for a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Departed (2006)
To take down South Boston's Irish Mafia, the police send in one of their own to infiltrate the underworld, not realizing the syndicate has done likewise. While an undercover cop curries favor with the mob kingpin, a career criminal rises through the police ranks. But both sides soon discover there's a mole among them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Godfather (1972)
Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Untouchables (1987)
Elliot Ness, an ambitious prohibition agent, is determined to take down Al Capone. In order to achieve this goal, he forms a group given the nickname “The Untouchables”.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOnce Upon a Time in America (1984)
A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThief (1981)
Frank is an expert professional safecracker, specialized in high-profile diamond heists. He plans to use his ill-gotten income to retire from crime and build a nice life for himself complete with a home, wife and kids. To accelerate the process, he signs on with a top gangster for a big score.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBound by Honor (1993)
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.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHoodlum (1997)
In 1934, the second most lucrative business in New York City was running 'the numbers'. When Madam Queen—the powerful woman who runs the scam in Harlem—is arrested, Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson takes over the business and must resist an invasion from a merciless mobster.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Yards (2000)
In the rail yards of Queens, contractors repair and rebuild the city's subway cars. These contracts are lucrative, so graft and corruption are rife. When Leo Handler gets out of prison, he finds his aunt married to Frank Olchin, one of the big contractors; he's battling with a minority-owned firm for contracts.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNew Jack City (1991)
A gangster, Nino, is in the Cash Money Brothers, making a million dollars every week selling crack. A cop, Scotty, discovers that the only way to infiltrate the gang is to become a dealer himself.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHoffa (1992)
A portrait of union leader James R. Hoffa, as seen through the eyes of his friend, Bobby Ciaro. The film follows Hoffa through his countless battles with the RTA and President Roosevelt.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Many Saints of Newark (2021)
Young Anthony Soprano is growing up in one of the most tumultuous eras in Newark, N.J., history, becoming a man just as rival gangsters start to rise up and challenge the all-powerful DiMeo crime family. Caught up in the changing times is the uncle he idolizes, Dickie Moltisanti, whose influence over his nephew will help shape the impressionable teenager into the all-powerful mob boss, Tony Soprano.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Irishman (2019)
Pennsylvania, 1956. Frank Sheeran, a war veteran of Irish origin who works as a truck driver, accidentally meets mobster Russell Bufalino. Once Frank becomes his trusted man, Bufalino sends him to Chicago with the task of helping Jimmy Hoffa, a powerful union leader related to organized crime, with whom Frank will maintain a close friendship for nearly twenty years.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRush (1991)
Undercover cop Jim Raynor is a seasoned veteran. His partner, Kristen Cates, is lacking in experience, but he thinks she's tough enough to work his next case with him: a deep cover assignment to bring down the notoriously hard-to-capture drug lord Gaines. While their relationship turns romantic during the assignment, they also turn into junkies, and will have to battle their own addictions if they want to bring down Gaines once and for all.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLansky (1999)
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.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)
An aging hood is about to go back to prison. Hoping to escape his fate, he supplies information on stolen guns to the feds, while simultaneously supplying arms to his bank robbing chums.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Carlito's Way?
The closest matches to Carlito's Way are Donnie Brasco (1997), The Long Good Friday (1980) and GoodFellas (1990). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Carlito's Way?
People who watched Carlito's Way most often go on to Donnie Brasco (1997), The Long Good Friday (1980) and GoodFellas (1990).
What is the highest-rated movie like Carlito's Way?
The Godfather (1972), rated 8.7/10 by 23,971 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Carlito's Way?
The Many Saints of Newark (2021) is the most recent release on this list.
Is Carlito's Way part of a series?
Yes. It belongs to Carlito's Way, which includes Carlito's Way: Rise to Power (2005).
Are there English movies like Carlito's Way?
Yes: Donnie Brasco (1997), The Long Good Friday (1980) and GoodFellas (1990).
How are movies similar to Carlito's Way chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Carlito's Way, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.