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Policing Matters Podcast: The best cop movies in film history

Jim and Doug break down their favorites on the silver screen

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We did a podcast on the best cop shows in TV history, but what about movies? In this podcast, Jim and Doug discuss their favorite cop films.

Jim’s Top Movies:

Bullitt


Steve McQueen stars in this San Francisco thriller featuring a legendary car chase.

L.A. Confidential


This neo-noir tackles police corruption in Los Angeles during the 1950s.

Chinatown


Jack Nicholson plays a private investigator in this Southland neo-noir inspired by the California Water Wars.

Tombstone


This Western was loosely based on the famous shootout at the O.K. Corral.

Se7en


Dark and brutal, this thriller stars Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman as they chase after a killer who selects his victims based on the seven deadly sins.

Dirty Harry


The Clint Eastwood starring 1971 classic spawned a ton of sequels and imitators.

The Usual Suspects


This neo-noir is most famously known for its epic plot twist.

The Silence of the Lambs


This groundbreaking 1991 thriller was the third film in history to win Oscars in all of the top five categories.

Minority Report


Many of the predictions this 2002 sci-fi film made about the future ultimately came true.

Sicario, Hell or High Water, Wind River


This critically-acclaimed trio of films comes from Taylor Sheridan, who directed the latter and wrote the scripts for all three.

Doug’s Top Movies:

Dirty Harry


The Clint Eastwood starring 1971 classic spawned a ton of sequels and imitators.

The Usual Suspects


This neo-noir is most famously known for its epic plot twist.

Bullitt


Steve McQueen stars in this San Francisco thriller featuring a legendary car chase.

The Naked Gun


The first installment of this comedy series features O.J. Simpson – yes, that O.J. – in a role.

Die Hard


Arguably the greatest Christmas film. Yippie-ki-yay.

Chinatown


Jack Nicholson plays a private investigator in this Southland neo-noir inspired by the California Water Wars.

The French Connection


This 1971 film took home multiple Oscars including Best Picture. Gene Hackman, who won Best Actor, plays a detective chasing down French drug smugglers.

The Town


Ben Affleck directed this crime thriller that follows a group of Boston bank robbers.

The Kingdom


This picture stars Jamie Foxx as part of an FBI team tasked with investigating a terrorist cell in Saudi Arabia.

Jack Reacher


Tom Cruise plays the titular character based on the popular book series. Christopher McQuarrie, the film’s director, has also teamed with Cruise on a number of the Mission: Impossible films.

Blade Runner


This cult classic starring Harrison Ford is a sci-fi neo-noir with a famously ambiguous ending.

End of Watch


You’ve probably already seen or read the opening monologue to this 2012 film by Training Day screenwriter David Ayer, but the rest of the movie is also worthy of your attention.

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Policing Matters law enforcement podcast with host Jim Dudley features law enforcement and criminal justice experts discussing critical issues in policing