Best 90s crime films

The decade of Tarantino, Scorsese at full speed and the Coens finding their voice. Every film here was released between 1990 and 1999. Every pick has a TMDB rating of 7.0 or more from at least 1,000 votes, and new releases wait until their ratings settle. The order follows the Boxlist quality score, and we checked the list by hand to remove obvious misfits.

1
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Film8.5
A burger-loving hit man, his philosophical partner, a drug-addled gangster's moll and a washed-up boxer converge in this sprawling, comedic crime...
US Amazon Prime, Paramount+, UK ITV, NowTV
2
GoodFellas (1990)
Film8.5
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...
US AMC, Amazon Prime (rent), UK NowTV, Amazon Prime (rent)
3
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Film8.7
Framed in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison...
US Amazon Prime (rent), iTunes (rent), UK NowTV, Amazon Prime (rent)
4
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Film8.3
Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy.
US HBO, Amazon Prime (rent), UK Amazon Prime (rent), Chili (rent)
5
Fargo (1996)
Film7.9
Jerry, a small-town Minnesota car salesman is bursting at the seams with debt...
US Kanopy, MGM+, UK Amazon Prime (rent), Chili (rent)
6
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Film8.2
A botched robbery indicates a police informant, and the pressure mounts in the aftermath at a warehouse.
US Amazon Prime (rent), iTunes (rent), UK Amazon Prime, ITV
7
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Film7.8
Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A.
US Amazon Prime, iTunes (rent), UK Disney, Amazon Prime (rent)
8
Trainspotting (1996)
Film8.0
Heroin addict Mark Renton stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends -- Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy.
US The Criterion Channel, iTunes (rent), UK Bfi Player (rent), Curzon (rent)
9
A Bronx Tale (1993)
Film7.8
Set in the Bronx during the tumultuous 1960s, an adolescent boy is torn between his honest, working-class father and a violent yet charismatic...
US AMC, Kanopy
10
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Film8.2
Held in an L.A. interrogation room, Verbal Kint attempts to convince the feds that a mythic crime lord, Keyser Soze, not only exists, but was also...
US Amazon Prime, Kanopy, UK Amazon Prime (rent), iTunes (rent)
11
Heat (1995)
Film7.9
Obsessive master thief, Neil McCauley leads a top-notch crew on various daring heists throughout Los Angeles while determined detective, Vincent...
US Amazon Prime, HBO, UK Disney, ITV
12
Se7en (1995)
Film8.3
Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting...
US Amazon Prime (rent), iTunes (rent), UK Netflix, Amazon Prime (rent)
13
Donnie Brasco (1997)
Film7.5
An FBI undercover agent infilitrates the mob and finds himself identifying more with the mafia life at the expense of his regular one.
US Amazon Prime (rent), Google Play (rent), UK Amazon Prime, Google Play (rent)
14
Face/Off (1997)
Film7.0
Sean Archer, a very tough, rugged FBI Agent.
US Amazon Prime (rent), iTunes (rent), UK Disney, Amazon Prime (rent)
15
Casino (1995)
Film8.0
In early-1970s Las Vegas, low-level mobster Sam "Ace" Rothstein gets tapped by his bosses to head the Tangiers Casino.
US HBO, Amazon Prime (rent), UK Amazon Prime, ITV
16
Miller's Crossing (1990)
Film7.5
Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.
US Amazon Prime (rent), Google Play (rent), UK Amazon Prime (rent), Google Play (rent)
17
The Big Lebowski (1998)
Film7.9
Jeffrey 'The Dude' Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker who only wants to bowl and drink White Russians, is mistaken for another Jeffrey Lebowski, a...
US HBO, Amazon Prime (rent), UK NowTV, Amazon Prime (rent)
18
The Green Mile (1999)
Film8.5
A supernatural tale set on death row in a Southern prison, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments.
US Amazon Prime (rent), iTunes (rent), UK Amazon Prime, Chili (rent)
19
Boyz n the Hood (1991)
Film7.6
Boyz n the Hood is the popular and successful film and social criticism from John Singleton about the conditions in South Central Los Angeles...
US Tubi TV, Amazon Prime (rent), UK NowTV, Amazon Prime (rent)
20
True Romance (1993)
Film7.6
Clarence marries hooker Alabama, steals cocaine from her pimp, and tries to sell it in Hollywood, while the owners of the coke try to reclaim it.
US Amazon Prime (rent), Google Play (rent), UK Amazon Prime, NowTV