Of Top 25 Films on IMDB, Most Involve Crime

Glancing through the top 25 films in the the IMDB Top 250 list, it occurred to me that most involved crime as the central subject, and a few more peripherally:

  1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) (Yes: Central characters are mostly convicted felons in prison.)
  2. The Godfather (1972) (Yes, obviously.)
  3. The Godfather: Part II (1974) (Yes, ditto.)
  4. The Dark Knight (2008) (Yes. What is it Batman dedicated his life to fighting?)
  5. Pulp Fiction (1994) (Yes. Criminals and their associates drive all the action.)
  6. Schindler’s List (1993) (No. Genocide is sort of a separate topic from crime…)
  7. 12 Angry Men (1957) (Yes. Inside jury deliberations in a murder case.)
  8. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) (Yes. Three criminals drive the plot. Then again, crime tends to be a central feature in almost all Westerns…)
  9. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) (No. Lots of killing, but not crime-related per se.)
  10. Fight Club (1999) (Marginal. Protagonist runs a ring of illegal fight clubs, then an international revolutionary organization.))
  11. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (No. See above.)
  12. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) (No. Despite the presence of a smuggler as a central character.)
  13. Forrest Gump (1994) (No.)
  14. Inception (2010) (Yes. Central plot involves a criminal gang carrying off a sort of reverse heist.)
  15. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) (Marginal. Protagonist is a criminal who gets himself transferred to the loony bin because he thinks it will be easier than doing time in the joint.)
  16. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) (No. See above.)
  17. Goodfellas (1990) (Yes. Obviously.)
  18. The Matrix (1999) (No. Though the protagonist starts out as a hacker in trouble with the authorities.)
  19. Star Wars (1977) (No. Though again, an illegal smuggler is a central figure.)
  20. Seven Samurai (1954) (Marginal. The entire plot is driven by a village’s desire to protect themselves from criminal marauders.)
  21. City of God (2002) (Yes. Features the rise of a ruthless crime lord as one of the central plots.)
  22. Se7en (1995) (Yes. Tracking a serial killer.)
  23. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) (Yes. Tracking a serial killer with the assistance of another.)
  24. The Usual Suspects (1995) (Yes. All about a gang of criminals and the machinations of a crime lord.)
  25. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) (Marginal, given Potter’s opportunistic theft.)

That’s 15 of the top 25 films which involve crime as either a primary or secondary feature.

Surely crime dramas offer plenty of conflict, but so do war movies, but none of them (save the SF/F entries, and Schindler’s List) make the list, nor do any sports films. (Perpetual favorite Casablanca, which would qualify as a war film, comes in at 30, while Saving Private Ryan comes in at 31.)

Anyone care to speculate on why crime dominates the top of the list?

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