Best Crime Movies of the 1990s
The 1990s reshaped crime cinema, and this is what survived the decade's own hype cycle — 20 films ranked purely by audience score, from 1990 to 1999. The Shawshank Redemption leads at 8.7. If you only work through the top ten, you will have covered the decade properly.
20 titles · average score 8.2 ·
The top 5 picks
- 1
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
★ 8.7 · 31,061 ratingsImprisoned 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, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden.…
- 2
The Green Mile (1999)
★ 8.5 · 19,630 ratingsA supernatural tale set on death row in a Southern prison, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the cell block's head guard, Paul Edgecomb, recognizes Coffey's…
- 3
Pulp Fiction (1994)
★ 8.5 · 30,656 ratingsA burger-loving hit man, his philosophical partner, a drug-addled gangster's moll and a washed-up boxer converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that ingeniously trip…
- 4
GoodFellas (1990)
★ 8.4 · 14,624 ratingsThe 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.
- 5
Se7en (1995)
★ 8.4 · 23,562 ratingsTwo 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 film that takes viewers from the tortured remains of one victim to the…
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How this list is ranked
Nothing on this page is hand-picked to hit a word count. We pull films matching this list's criteria from TMDB, require a real audience behind each score, and rank by that score — 20 titles averaging 8.2. The page rebuilds daily, so new releases appear here as soon as enough people have rated them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best crime movie of the 1990s?
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) leads the decade with 8.7. The full list covers 1990–1999 and averages 8.2.
How many crime movies from the 1990s are on this list?
20, each with at least 300 audience ratings behind its score. Anything with a thin vote count is excluded so the ranking reflects a real consensus.
Is this list updated?
Yes — it rebuilds every day from TMDB, so newly released movies appear as soon as enough people have rated them. You do not need an account to browse it, and there is no paywall on anything at MovieAI.