Great Police-Corruption Films
by LeSamourai86 | created - 06 Feb 2021 | updated - 06 Feb 2021 | PublicFilms include ones that have elements of police-corruption, even if they're not wholly about the topic. Films are not listed in any particular order.
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1. Serpico (1973)
R | 130 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
An honest New York cop named Frank Serpico blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Al Pacino, John Randolph, Jack Kehoe, Biff McGuire
Votes: 134,906 | Gross: $29.80M
2. Prince of the City (1981)
R | 167 min | Crime, Drama
A New York City narcotics detective reluctantly agrees to cooperate with a special commission investigating police corruption, and soon realises he's in over his head, and nobody can be trusted.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Treat Williams, Jerry Orbach, Richard Foronjy, Don Billett
Votes: 9,526 | Gross: $8.12M
3. Bad Lieutenant (1992)
NC-17 | 96 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
While investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness and redemption.
Director: Abel Ferrara | Stars: Harvey Keitel, Brian McElroy, Frank Acciarito, Peggy Gormley
Votes: 47,958 | Gross: $2.00M
4. The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans (2009)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Terence McDonagh is a drug- and gambling-addled detective in post-Katrina New Orleans investigating the killing of five Senegalese immigrants.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Russell M. Haeuser, Val Kilmer
Votes: 80,929 | Gross: $1.70M
5. Q&A (1990)
R | 132 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Dirty cop, Mike Brennan thinks he got away with murder. But during a routine Q&A, the righteous assistant DA finds a clue that sets them both on a collision course.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Nick Nolte, Timothy Hutton, Armand Assante, Patrick O'Neal
Votes: 7,008 | Gross: $11.21M
6. L.A. Confidential (1997)
R | 138 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
As corruption grows in 1950s Los Angeles, three policemen - one strait-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy - investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice.
Director: Curtis Hanson | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kim Basinger
Votes: 618,142 | Gross: $64.62M
7. Training Day (2001)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A rookie cop spends his first day as a Los Angeles narcotics officer with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears to be.
Director: Antoine Fuqua | Stars: Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn, Tom Berenger
Votes: 473,158 | Gross: $76.63M
8. Cop Land (1997)
R | 105 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The Sheriff of a suburban New Jersey community, populated by New York City police officers, slowly discovers the town is a front for mob connections and corruption.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro
Votes: 106,445 | Gross: $44.89M
9. Internal Affairs (1990)
R | 115 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
An Internal Affairs agent becomes obsessed with bringing down a cop who has managed to maintain a spotless reputation despite being involved in a web of corruption.
Director: Mike Figgis | Stars: Richard Gere, Andy Garcia, Nancy Travis, Laurie Metcalf
Votes: 22,670 | Gross: $27.73M
10. Dark Blue (2002)
R | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A robbery homicide investigation triggers a series of events that will cause a corrupt LAPD officer to question his tactics.
Director: Ron Shelton | Stars: Kurt Russell, Ving Rhames, Scott Speedman, Michael Michele
Votes: 24,098 | Gross: $9.06M
11. Narc (2002)
R | 105 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
When the trail goes cold on a murder investigation of a policeman, an undercover narcotics officer is lured back to the force to help solve the case.
Director: Joe Carnahan | Stars: Ray Liotta, Jason Patric, Chi McBride, Dan Leis
Votes: 43,092 | Gross: $10.46M
12. Dragged Across Concrete (2018)
R | 159 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Once two overzealous cops get suspended from the force, they must delve into the criminal underworld to get their proper compensation.
Director: S. Craig Zahler | Stars: Mel Gibson, Vince Vaughn, Tory Kittles, Michael Jai White
Votes: 55,306
13. American Gangster (2007)
R | 157 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
An outcast New York City cop is charged with bringing down Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas, whose real life inspired this partly biographical film.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Josh Brolin
Votes: 452,712 | Gross: $130.16M
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