This is the second in a series of articles where we’ll be covering the Top Heist Films. Films About Heists also include Films About Capers, Films About Thieves, Films About Bank Robberies, Films About Armored Car Robberies and Films About Bank Heists. In general, this subgenre covers anything to do with armed robbers or thieves.
This second article will cover the Top Heist Films You Haven’t Seen from the 1980’s and you can check out additional articles by decade below. We are also going to include a Best Of subgenre article as a grand finale. There are so many great Heist films over the last 60 years that we felt it best to break down some of the subgenre’s forgotten and lesser-known gems by decade before we give you the Best Of list which will likely feature many films you’ve already heard of or have seen.
- Top Heist Films You Haven’t Seen – 1970’s
- Top Heist Films You Haven’t Seen – 1980’s
- Top Heist Films You Haven’t Seen – 1990’s
- Top Heist Films You Haven’t Seen – 2000 – 2004
- Top Heist Films You Haven’t Seen – 2005 – 2009
- Top Heist Films You Haven’t Seen – 2010 – 2014
- Top Heist Films You Haven’t Seen – 2015 – 2019
- Best Recent Heist Films
- Best Heist Films
Though the 1980’s saw an overall decrease in Caper and Heist-themed films, the decade still produced some classic films of the subgenre. Comedies also became the dominant theme of this period with Buddy Comedies, Black Comedies and Action Comedies featuring various forms of Capers or Heists. Two additional subgenre themes of the decade included a continuation of Heist Films based on Historical Events or People and a move towards Film Noir-style Heist Films.
Buddy Comedies became an increasingly popular Comedy subgenre in the 1980’s so naturally some of these films also featured narratives featuring a Caper or Heist. Trading Places (1983) was one of the most popular Buddy Comedies of the decade and featured a third act comic caper involving the stock market and orange juice futures. Other prominent Buddy Comedy Heist films of the decade included The Sting II (1983) and Tough Guys (1986). Action Comedies with Bank Heists included Three Fugitives (1989) and Disorganized Crime (1989) while darker comedy, in the form of Black Comedy, was prevalent in subgenre films such as A Fish Called Wanda (1988).
Capers and Heists based on historical events, people and characters continued as a main theme of the decade but were met with varied success. The Sting II (1983) was purportedly based on real-life con men (different from the characters portrayed by Robert Redford and Paul Newman in the original film), but the film could not recapture the magic of the first film and was a critical and box office failure. The Long Riders (1980), another Western based on the lives of the Jesse James, Frank James and the Younger Brothers, performed much better with critics and film audiences. Other Caper and Heist films based on history included The Wicked Lady (1983) with Faye Dunaway portraying Katherine Ferrers, the infamous Highway Robber of 1600’s England, and L.A. Takedown (1989) which was based on criminal Neil McCauley and police officer Chuck Adamson. Michael Mann’s L.A. Takedown would also become the basis for Heat (1995) and we’ll have more info on this in our Top 10 listing below.
Though Film Noir made a resurgence in the 1970’s and 1980’s through Neo Noir style films, it wasn’t until the 1980’s that Heist films started fully utilizing this new Noir style. Thief (1981) would be one of the first (and best of the decade) to feature a Noir style in its character-focused narrative about thief and safecracker Frank. Other Noir-themed Heist films of the decade included the subgenre classic Blood Simple (1984) by the Coen Brothers and Johnny Handsome (1989) by Walter Hill that starred Mickey Rourke, Morgan Freeman, Ellen Barkin and Lance Hendriksen.
Our complete list of Caper and Heist Films features over 448+ films from 1956 – 2023. This collection features almost every film involving a caper, heist or robbery and films focused on thieves and burglars. If you don’t see a film in our collection, it might not have enough Heist Film elements to be included but is likely in our lists of Films About Con Artists, Films About Financial Fraud or Films About Fugitives which are all closely aligned with the Heist Film subgenre. Also, as we’re always updating our Heist Film collections and will be releasing additional articles of great Heist Films, subscribe to our newsletter for our latest updates as we post them.
Classic Heist Films from the 1980’s: Thief (1981), Trading Places (1983), Blood Simple (1984), A Fish Called Wanda (1988) and Drugstore Cowboy (1989).
Heist Films from the 1980’s that didn’t make our list: Rough Cut (1980), Funny Money (1982), The Wicked Lady (1983), Crackers (1984), Lassiter (1984), Mad Love (1985), The Lightship (1985), Tough Guys (1986), Black Moon Rising (1986), Mauvais Sang (1986), Wisdom (1986), End of the Line (1987), Bellman and True (1987), Buster (1988), Kansas (1988) and Three Fugitives (1989).
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Here is our list of the Top Heist Films You Haven’t Seen from the 1980’s:
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