These crime films did their homework. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down the most detailed and/or period-accurate crime films ever.
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00:00 As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.
00:03 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down the most
00:07 detailed and or period accurate crime films ever.
00:11 Since when is it a crime to go to Colorado?
00:13 Since homicide detectives in surrounding states started looking for commonalities
00:18 in their open cases and found ways to make you fit.
00:22 Number 10, The Wolf of Wall Street. Helmed by Martin Scorsese,
00:27 The Wolf of Wall Street delves into the life and times of stockbroker Jordan Belfort.
00:31 Did you really pitch a stock in your job interview?
00:35 I had to do something to stand out, right, sir?
00:36 The chaotic events might seem too crazy to be true,
00:39 but they're much closer to reality than you might expect.
00:42 The jet skis just went overboard!
00:45 Most of Belfort's financial schemes at Stratton Oakmont were based in fact.
00:49 Even after changing names and making
00:51 composite characters, the screenplay provides many details about
00:54 the corrupt business and its infamous pump and dump scams.
00:58 First, we pitch him Disney, AT&T, IBM, blue chip stocks exclusively.
01:03 Companies these people know.
01:05 There's also the excessive drug use and partying that stems from factual accounts.
01:09 This includes crashing a car after getting high on Quaaludes in a scene
01:13 that exemplifies Belfort's worst impulses.
01:15 It was a miracle I wasn't killed.
01:17 Well, you know that I didn't kill anybody else.
01:20 Number nine, the assassination of Jesse
01:22 James by the coward Robert Ford, famous for its length and slow pace.
01:27 The assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford has developed
01:31 something of a cult following. Director Andrew Dominic and cinematographer
01:35 Roger Deakins create an immersive film that's well researched from period
01:39 photographs and other materials. I don't want you to skip off up to your
01:43 room and pout without knowing why I come by for this visit.
01:47 Why'd you come by?
01:48 So you tell us how sorry you are to slap our cousin Albert around?
01:51 The writer of the book was also present on set,
01:53 essentially giving the project his blessing and playing a small part in the movie.
01:56 The titular event is depicted as it
01:58 apparently happened, followed by Robert Ford's attempts to profit from the killing.
02:02 It might not be a typical piece of Hollywood entertainment,
02:05 but it's an engaging interpretation of the James gang's rise and fall.
02:10 Why did you kill him?
02:12 He was going to kill me.
02:17 Number eight, Serpico.
02:19 The news is better than we expected.
02:23 Thank God the bullet was a small caliber.
02:26 In this classic 1970s drama, NYPD Detective Frank Serpico's journey
02:31 to expose corruption receives the proper treatment.
02:34 His testimony to the Knapp Commission
02:36 was considered stepping over the line for his co-workers.
02:39 As shown in the film, the cop is on a drug
02:42 bust when he's neglected by his colleagues and shot by an assailant.
02:46 The movie also showcases Serpico's growing paranoia and uncertainty as he becomes
02:50 singled out by his department, pulling no punches.
02:53 The gritty tale explores the protagonist's
02:55 real crusade against the crooked cops around him.
02:58 Get over here and empty your pockets.
03:00 I don't do that. You're my prisoner.
03:02 You do what I tell you to do. Get over here.
03:04 He's going to get nasty about it.
03:05 This also includes Serpico's surviving
03:08 and speaking the truth about his experience.
03:10 In order to ensure this, an independent,
03:13 permanent investigative body dealing with police corruption like this commission
03:17 is essential.
03:19 Number seven, Spotlight.
03:22 You think it's that important?
03:24 Yes, I do, because.
03:26 Obviously, the church will fight us very hard on this,
03:30 which won't go unnoticed by our subscriber base.
03:32 Winning the Academy Award for Best Picture, Spotlight is an acclaimed drama
03:37 about the Boston Globes investigation into the abuse scandal in the Catholic Church.
03:41 Director Tom McCarthy and his co-writer
03:43 approached the story as journalists, diving into copious amounts of research
03:48 and interviewing the real life participants.
03:50 The Globe reporters even had a chance to fact check the script.
03:53 Further analysis of the movie finds that a majority of the plot is true,
03:57 with limited changes being made in order to condense the experience into a feature film.
04:02 Phil's put me in touch with some of the other victims.
04:04 I'm pretty confident all of his priests are going to check out.
04:07 So it is 13 priests.
04:09 Yeah, looks that way.
04:11 Many of the events, characters and even sets were factually recreated.
04:15 After a powerful ending,
04:16 the credits also reveal the larger context of the crimes discovered by the Spotlight team.
04:22 Number six, The French Connection.
04:25 Director William Friedkin came from a history of documentary filmmaking,
04:28 making him a perfect candidate to direct this grounded cop story.
04:33 Jimmy, watch it.
04:34 He's got a knife.
04:35 Cloudy, cloudy watch.
04:36 The French Connection might not get every detail of the investigation perfect,
04:40 but it does capture the spirit of police work during the period.
04:43 Friedkin followed investigators on drug busts in order to figure out how
04:47 they really moved and spoke to suspects.
04:49 Don't talk back to me.
04:50 What are you doing?
04:52 We saw the car, man.
04:53 I was breaking down the tires.
04:55 That's all it was.
04:56 This influenced several moments in the film that almost feel too real
04:59 in their ability to explore controversial police practices.
05:02 Members of the actual case were also given roles in the cast,
05:06 including the inspiration for Popeye Doyle playing Captain Simonson.
05:10 Two wires, two wires, one on the store, one on the house.
05:14 You know, I have to get a court order for a wiretap, don't you?
05:18 But you'll try.
05:20 We know you can do it, Walt.
05:21 Number five, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.
05:25 Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile explores the case of serial killer Ted Bundy.
05:30 The general facts of his crimes are given adequate attention,
05:33 even if they aren't all explored with excruciating detail.
05:36 I had the same car as the suspect, a VW Bug,
05:38 and my friends teased me about the resemblance to the sketch.
05:42 But, geez, nobody was serious.
05:44 Tony must have been.
05:45 Many people commended Zac Efron for his portrayal of Bundy.
05:48 While it might seem too charismatic,
05:50 it does seem to accurately capture the real Bundy's appeal.
05:54 So you're not guilty?
05:56 I mean, does that include the time that I stole a comic book when I was five years old?
06:02 I'm not guilty.
06:03 Other events surrounding his capture,
06:05 trial and crimes follow a clear timeline that doesn't play around too much with history.
06:10 It might not show much of his brutality
06:12 up close and personal, but it does largely avoid exploiting the victim's deaths for entertainment.
06:17 We all know you're innocent.
06:19 We're going to fight every day to make sure everyone else does, too.
06:23 But if they take your life, it'll all be for nothing.
06:28 Number four, In Cold Blood.
06:30 Based on the Truman Capote book of the same name,
06:33 In Cold Blood takes a detailed look at an infamous 1959 crime.
06:37 Let's pull out of here.
06:39 Now, before it's too late.
06:42 Director Richard Brooks achieved authenticity
06:45 through the stark black and white cinematography, creating a documentary feel.
06:48 The filmmaker consulted real case
06:50 information and photographs to achieve the right look for the movie.
06:53 Unless we can tie the killers to that piece of rope, they'll never hang.
06:59 The production also filmed in Kansas using
07:01 the clutter family home where the victims were murdered.
07:03 Closely following the events.
07:05 The movie is a chilling examination of the family's killers.
07:08 Both actors that play the murderers also
07:10 provide authenticity in their performances, receiving praise from Capote himself.
07:14 He started yelling what a greedy, selfish bastard I was.
07:19 Yelling and yelling until I grabbed his throat.
07:22 I couldn't stop myself.
07:23 Number three, All the President's Men.
07:26 While most people know the ending,
07:27 All the President's Men still plays like an exciting thriller.
07:30 Police.
07:32 Put your hands up.
07:34 This comes about partly because it's so true.
07:42 Journalists such as reporter Karl Bernstein were involved with the production,
07:46 along with having co-written the book that inspired the movie.
07:48 Washington Post involvement didn't stop there, as editor Ben Bradley ended up
07:53 trying to help filmmakers capture the authenticity of the story.
07:56 This includes an accurate portrait of the newsroom
07:58 and the subsequent investigation by Post reporters.
08:01 Well, I can't seem to get an explanation on why a check for twenty five thousand
08:05 dollars made out to Mr.
08:06 Dahlberg that he apparently sent to the committee to reelect the president would
08:09 end up in the bank account of a Watergate burglar.
08:11 I don't know.
08:13 But you're ahead of the committee, sir.
08:14 Woodward's contact with an unknown source
08:16 known as Deep Throat might feel like a spy movie, but it's inspired by meetings
08:20 that actually occurred in order to verify information.
08:23 Mitchell knew.
08:24 Of course, Mitchell knew.
08:27 You think something this size just happens.
08:30 Alderman had to know, too.
08:32 I ain't got nothing for me about Alderman.
08:34 Number two, Zodiac.
08:36 In perhaps the most underrated crime drama of its day, Zodiac is a painstaking
08:41 account of the strange and intriguing events surrounding the Zodiac killer.
08:45 This is Zodiac speaking.
08:49 Is there something I can call you?
08:52 It's a little less ominous.
08:54 Filmmaker David Fincher and his collaborators did copious amounts
08:57 of research, including interviews with real people involved and studying case files.
09:02 Costumes were created based on information
09:04 from official documents, while actual locations were utilized in certain sequences.
09:08 Don't get any ideas.
09:10 Not.
09:11 I killed a guard escaping from prison in Montana.
09:14 I'm not doing anything, OK?
09:16 I'm not afraid to kill again.
09:17 Crime scenes were recreated with expert
09:19 precision using eyewitness testimony of the attacks.
09:22 Author Robert Graysmith commended the director on his adaptation of the source
09:26 material, which adhered closely to the facts of the case.
09:29 I spoke to a psychologist who'd be willing to testify that someone who undergoes
09:33 a personality change like Zodiac would manifest it physically,
09:37 altering his handwriting, which is why I sure would couldn't get a match from Alan Samples.
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09:57 Number one, Goodfellas, what do you mean, funny, funny, how am I funny?
10:01 Any Martin Scorsese film is going to be directed with a keen eye for detail.
10:06 In the case of Goodfellas, the filmmaker outdoes himself in terms of authenticity.
10:11 He perfectly adapts Nicholas Pellegi's book,
10:14 The Wise Guy, into a gritty story of Henry Hill's absorption into the mafia.
10:17 For most of the guys, killings got to be accepted.
10:20 Murder was the only way that everybody stayed in line.
10:23 You got out of line, you got whacked.
10:25 Everybody knew the rules.
10:26 Much of the narration is based on actual
10:28 accounts from the former mobster, providing context for mostly real events
10:32 and characters. Scorsese also grew up around Italian mobsters in his youth,
10:36 using his own experiences to paint a rich
10:38 and complicated canvas of Italian America in New York.
10:41 Also, Paulie could do anything,
10:43 especially run up bills on the joint credit.
10:45 And why not? Nobody's going to pay for it anyway.
10:48 And as soon as the deliveries are made
10:49 in the front door, you move this stuff out the back and sell it at a discount.
10:53 If there's any question as to the overall accuracy of the movie,
10:56 Robert De Niro even asked Hill how his real life counterpart would have used
11:00 a ketchup bottle. Tonight we were out late, we took a ride
11:04 out to the country and we hit one of those deer.
11:06 That's where the blood came from, I tell you.
11:08 Is there an accurate crime film that we missed?
11:10 Let us know in the comments below.
11:12 You insulted him a little bit.
11:13 You got a little out of yourself.
11:15 I didn't insult him. I didn't insult him a little bit.
11:17 Did you enjoy this video?
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11:25 But.
11:34 (upbeat music)