Movies by Lists - Gritty, Grimey NYC 70s,80s (71 [72]) 
| Title | Year | Director | Genre | Rating | Runtime | Added |
|---|
| 1990 - The Bronx Warriors [1990 - I guerrieri del Bronx]In a post-apocalyptic New York City, a policeman infiltrates the Bronx, which has become a battleground for several murderous street gangs. | 1982 | Enzo G. Castellari | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller | 5.2 (3.6K votes) | 89 | 20221116 |
| Aaron Loves AngelaIn New York City, a young black boy and Puerto Rican girl fall in love despite objections from each other's families. | 1975 | Gordon Parks Jr. | Comedy, Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller | 5.8 (293 votes) | 99 | 20231001 |
| Across 110th StreetTwo New York City cops go after amateur crooks who are trying to rip off the Mafia and start a gang war. | 1972 | Barry Shear | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | 7.0 (6K votes) | 102 | 20211228 |
| After HoursAn ordinary word processor has the worst night of his life after he agrees to visit a girl in Soho who he met that evening at a coffee shop. | 1985 | Martin Scorsese (*) | Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller | 7.7 (66.5K votes) | 97 | 20211228 |
| Alphabet CityA New York City drug dealer decides to get out of the business, but has to flee from mobsters. | 1984 | Amos Poe | Crime, Drama, Thriller | 5.1 (909 votes) | 85 | 20220414 |
| Badge 373After a suspended New York City cop's ex-partner is murdered, he vows to clean up the streets. | 1973 | Howard W. Koch | Crime, Drama, Thriller | 5.7 (760 votes) | 116 | 20211228 |
| Beat StreetAn aspiring DJ, from the South Bronx, and his best friend, a promoter, try to get into show business by exposing people to hip-hop music and culture. | 1984 | Stan Lathan | Drama, Music | 6.5 (3.8K votes) | 105 | 20220315 |
| Black CaesarRaised in Harlem, Tommy Gibbs becomes a successful mob boss but he clashes with the rival Mafia and his old enemy, dirty cop McKinney. | 1973 | Larry Cohen | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | 6.5 (3.4K votes) | 87 | 20211228 |
| Brother From Another Planet, TheA mute alien with the appearance of a black human is chased by outer-space bounty hunters through the streets of Harlem. | 1984 | John Sayles (*) | Comedy, Sci-Fi | 6.8 (6K votes) | 108 | 20211228 |
| C.H.U.DA bizarre series of sudden disappearances on the streets of New York City seems to point toward something unsavory living in the sewers. | 1984 | Douglas Cheek | Horror, Sci-Fi | 5.5 (12.4K votes) | 88 | 20220423 |
| ClaudineIn the 1970s Harlem, garbage collector Roop feels intimidated by the idea of dating Claudine who is a single mother of six on welfare. | 1974 | John Berry | Comedy, Drama, Romance | 7.3 (2.1K votes) | 92 | 20211228 |
| Cotton Comes to HarlemTwo Harlem cops investigate a robbery, believing that a reverend has staged it in order to steal the money he's collected for a local fundraiser. | 1970 | Ossie Davis | Action, Comedy, Crime | 6.5 (2.2K votes) | 97 | 20211228 |
| Crazy JoeThe rise and fall of a Mafia gangster, based on the life of murdered New York gangster "Crazy" Joey Gallo. | 1974 | Carlo Lizzani | Crime, Drama | 6.2 (449 votes) | 100 | 20211228 |
| CruisingA police detective goes undercover in the underground S&M gay subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer who is preying on gay men. | 1980 | William Friedkin (*) | Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller | 6.5 (22.7K votes) | 102 | 20211228 |
| Death WishA New York City architect becomes a one-man vigilante squad after his wife is murdered by street punks. In self-defense, the vengeful man kills muggers on the mean streets after dark. | 1974 | Michael Winner | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | 7.0 (38.5K votes) | 93 | 20211228 |
| Desperately Seeking SusanA bored New Jersey suburban housewife's fascination with a free-spirited woman she has read about in the personal columns leads to her being mistaken for the woman herself. | 1985 | Susan Seidelman | Comedy, Drama | 6.0 (22.9K votes) | 104 | 20211228 |
| Dog Day AfternoonThree amateur bank robbers plan to hold up a bank. A nice simple robbery: Walk in, take the money, and run. Unfortunately, the supposedly uncomplicated heist suddenly becomes a bizarre nightmare as everything that could go wrong does | 1975 | Sidney Lumet (*) | Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller | 8.0 (249.5K votes) | 125 | 20211228 |
| Downtown 81After being released from the hospital, the artist Jean Michel Basquiat wanders around Manhattan trying to sell art to make money and find a place to stay. | 2000 | Edo Bertoglio | Comedy, Drama, Musical | 7.0 (1.3K votes) | 72 | 20211228 |
| Driller Killer, TheAn artist slowly goes insane while struggling to pay his bills, work on his paintings, and care for his two female roommates, which leads him taking to the streets of New York after dark and randomly killing derelicts with a power dr | 1979 | Abel Ferrara | Drama, Horror, Thriller | 5.2 (7.5K votes) | 96 | 20211228 |
| Education of Sonny Carson, TheA gifted young man is caught up in gang life. | 1974 | Michael Campus | Drama | 6.9 (512 votes) | 104 | 20211228 |
| Escape from the BronxA rag-tag group of people must fight extermination squads amid their ruined city. | 1983 | Enzo G. Castellari | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller | 4.7 (2.6K votes) | 89 | 20211228 |
| Exterminator 2The flamethrower-wielding vigilante John Eastland returns to rid New York City of a drug lord and his gang. | 1984 | Mark Buntzman | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | 4.5 (2.2K votes) | 89 | 20211228 |
| Exterminator, TheA man's best friend is killed on the streets of New York City. The man (Robert Ginty) then transforms into a violent killer, turning New York City into a great war zone, and Christopher George is the only one to stop him. | 1980 | James Glickenhaus | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | 5.7 (5.4K votes) | 104 | 20211228 |
| FingersA dysfunctional young man is pulled between loyalties to his Italian mob-connected loan shark father and his mentally disturbed Jewish concert pianist mother. | 1978 | James Toback | Crime, Drama, Music | 6.8 (2.5K votes) | 90 | 20211228 |
| Fort Apache the BronxIn New York City, South Bronx's main police precinct is nicknamed Fort Apache by its employees who feel like troopers surrounded by hostiles in a wild west isolated outpost. | 1981 | Daniel Petrie | Crime, Drama | 6.7 (6.2K votes) | 125 | 20211228 |
| French Connection, TheA pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal. | 1971 | William Friedkin (*) | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | 7.7 (118.5K votes) | 104 | 20211228 |
| GloriaWhen a young boy's family is killed by the mob, their tough neighbor Gloria becomes his reluctant guardian. In possession of a book that the gangsters want, the pair go on the run in New York. | 1980 | John Cassavetes (*) | Crime, Drama, Thriller | 7.2 (9.7K votes) | 123 | 20211228 |
| God Told Me ToA New York detective investigates a series of murders committed by random New Yorkers who claim that "God told them to." | 1976 | Larry Cohen | Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi, Mystery, Thriller | 6.3 (5.2K votes) | 91 | 20211228 |
| Gordon's WarFour Vietnam Vets go to war against the drug dealers and pimps of Harlem. | 1973 | Ossie Davis | Adventure, Crime | 6.5 (393 votes) | 90 | 20211228 |
| Hell Up In HarlemA gangster in Harlem must rescue his ex-wife, who has been kidnapped by the Mafia. | 1973 | Larry Cohen | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | 6.0 (1.5K votes) | 94 | 20211228 |
| Hot Rock, TheDortmunder and his pals plan to steal a huge diamond from a museum. But this turns out to be only the first time they have to steal it... | 1972 | Peter Yates | Action, Comedy, Crime | 6.8 (6.1K votes) | 101 | 20211228 |
| Krush GrooveThe story of a man who has started a new hip-hop/rap label called Krush Groove. | 1985 | Michael Schultz | Comedy, Drama, Music | 6.4 (3.3K votes) | 97 | 20221116 |
| Last Dragon, TheIn New York City, a young man searches for a Master to obtain the final level of martial arts mastery known as the Glow. | 1985 | Michael Schultz | Action, Comedy, Drama, Music, Sport | 6.9 (15.2K votes) | 109 | 20211228 |
| Liquid SkyA small, heroin seeking UFO lands on a Manhattan roof, observes a bizarre, drug addicted fashion model and sucks endorphin from her sexual encounters' brains. | 1982 | Slava Tsukerman | Sci-Fi, Thriller | 6.1 (6.2K votes) | 112 | 20211228 |
| ManiacA psychopathic man goes on a killing and mutilation spree in New York City. | 1980 | William Lustig | Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller | 6.5 (16.7K votes) | 87 | 20211228 |
| Marathon ManAfter the shocking murder of his older brother, a New York history student finds himself inexplicably hounded by shadowy government agents on the trail of a Nazi war criminal who is trying to retrieve smuggled diamonds. | 1976 | John Schlesinger (*) | Crime, Thriller | 7.4 (61.9K votes) | 125 | 20211228 |
| Mean StreetsA small-time hood tries to keep the peace between his friend Johnny and Johnny's creditors. | 1973 | Martin Scorsese (*) | Crime, Drama, Thriller | 7.2 (106.5K votes) | 112 | 20211228 |
| Midnight CowboyA naive hustler travels from Texas to New York City to seek personal fortune, finding a new friend in the process. | 1969 | John Schlesinger (*) | Drama | 7.8 (108.2K votes) | 113 | 20211228 |
| Mixed BloodBrazilian drug dealers in Manhattan's Lower East Side start a war with a rival gang of Latino drug dealers. Their soldiers are Latino kids all under 17 because, as Rita La Punta says, "They can kill and not go to jail." The war escal | 1984 | Paul Morrissey (*) | Action, Drama | 6.0 (411 votes) | 98 | 20211228 |
| Ms.45A timid and mute seamstress goes insane after being attacked and raped twice in one day, in which she takes to the streets of New York City after dark and randomly shoots men with a .45 caliber pistol. | 1981 | Abel Ferrara | Crime, Drama, Thriller | 6.8 (10.1K votes) | 80 | 20211228 |
| Night of the JugglerA tough, New York City ex-cop relentlessly searches for his kidnapped teenage daughter whom is held by a twisted psycho after mistaking her for the daughter of a wealthy businessman. | 1980 | Robert Butler, Sidney J. Furie | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | 6.5 (849 votes) | 101 | 20211228 |
| Night ShiftA mild-mannered morgue attendant is assigned to the night shift, and his new coworker, along with his prostitute neighbor, convince him of running a prostitution ring out of the morgue. | 1982 | Ron Howard | Comedy | 6.6 (15.6K votes) | 106 | 20211228 |
| NighthawksWhen one of Europe's most lethal terrorists shows up in New York, an elite undercover cop is assigned to take him down by any means necessary. | 1981 | Bruce Malmuth, Gary Nelson | Action, Crime, Thriller | 6.4 (19.2K votes) | 99 | 20211228 |
| Panic in Needle Park, TheFollows the lives of heroin addicts who frequent "Needle Park" in New York City. | 1971 | Jerry Schatzberg | Drama | 7.1 (17.7K votes) | 110 | 20211228 |
| Pope of Greenwich Village, TheTwo cousins unknowingly rob the mob and face the dangerous consequences. | 1984 | Stuart Rosenberg (*) | Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama | 6.7 (8.6K votes) | 121 | 20211228 |
| Possession of Joel Delaney, TheAn upper-class Manhattan divorcee comes to believe that her brother is possessed by the spirit of a serial killer who beheaded young women in Spanish Harlem. | 1972 | Waris Hussein | Drama, Horror, Thriller | 5.8 (1K votes) | 105 | 20211228 |
| Prince of the CityA New York City narcotics detective reluctantly agrees to cooperate with a special commission investigating police corruption, and soon realises he's in over his head, and nobody can be trusted. | 1981 | Sidney Lumet (*) | Crime, Drama | 7.5 (8.1K votes) | 167 | 20211228 |
| Rappin'An ex-con and break-dancer helps save a neighborhood from a greedy developer while trying to win a rap contest. | 1985 | Joel Silberg | Drama, Music, Musical | 4.3 (584 votes) | 92 | 20231001 |
| Remo Williams - The Adventure BeginsAn officially ""dead"" cop is trained to become an extraordinary unique assassin in service of the US President. | 1985 | Guy Hamilton (*) | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Romance, Thriller | 6.4 (12.8K votes) | 121 | 20221116 |
| Report to the CommissionerPolice officer Patty Butler, alias "Chicklet," is the live-in girlfriend of Thomas 'Stick' Henderson to gather evidence. Detective Bo Lockley is instructed to try to find her, not knowing she's also a cop. | 1975 | Milton Katselas | Action, Crime, Drama | 6.6 (981 votes) | 112 | 20211228 |
| Saturday Night FeverAnxious about his future after high school, a 19-year-old Italian-American from Brooklyn tries to escape the harsh reality of his bleak family life by dominating the dance floor at the local disco. | 1977 | John Badham (*) | Drama, Music | 6.8 (77.5K votes) | 118 | 20211228 |
| SerpicoAn honest New York cop named Frank Serpico blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him. | 1973 | Sidney Lumet (*) | Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller | 7.7 (119K votes) | 130 | 20211228 |
| Seven-Ups, TheA tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money. | 1973 | Philip D'Antoni | Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery | 6.8 (5.3K votes) | 103 | 20211228 |
| ShaftCool black private eye John Shaft is hired by a crime lord to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter. | 1971 | Gordon Parks (*) | Action, Crime, Thriller | 6.6 (18.4K votes) | 100 | 20211228 |
| Shaft's Big Score!Shaft is back to find the murderer of an old friend on the cold hard city streets with a little help from his new friends. | 1972 | Gordon Parks (*) | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | 6.0 (3K votes) | 104 | 20211228 |
| Short EyesA child molester sent to prison finds that criminals exact harsher justice than society. | 1977 | Robert M. Young | Drama | 7.1 (1.3K votes) | 100 | 20211228 |
| SmithereensA talent-challenged girl tries to promote herself to stardom in New York's waning punk music world. | 1982 | Susan Seidelman | Drama, Music | 6.8 (2.1K votes) | 93 | 20220414 |
| South Bronx HeroesA young man just released from prison and living with his sister crosses paths with two children, also brother and sister, who are on the run from their child pornographer foster parents. | 1985 | William Szarka | Action, Drama, Mystery | 4.3 (269 votes) | 85 | 20231001 |
| SuperflyThe daily routine of cocaine dealer Priest who wants to score one more super deal and retire. | 1972 | Gordon Parks Jr. | Action, Crime, Drama, Music, Thriller | 6.4 (7.4K votes) | 91 | 20211228 |
| Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 TheFour armed men hijack a New York City subway car and demand a ransom for the passengers. The city's police are faced with a conundrum: Even if it's paid, how could they get away? | 1974 | Joseph Sargent | Action, Crime, Thriller | 7.7 (29.7K votes) | 104 | 20211228 |
| Taxi DriverA mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action. | 1976 | Martin Scorsese (*) | Crime, Drama | 8.2 (780.5K votes) | 114 | 20211228 |
| They Might Be GiantsIn a Manhattan psychiatric hospital a man, convinced he is Sherlock Holmes, is treated by a female doctor who happens to be named Watson. | 1971 | Anthony Harvey | Comedy, Mystery, Romance | 6.8 (2.8K votes) | 91 | 20211228 |
| Three the Hard WayBlaxploitation film about three martial-arts specialists who prevent white supremacists from tainting the U.S. water supply with a toxin that's only harmful to black people. | 1974 | Gordon Parks Jr. | Action, Thriller | 6.3 (1.4K votes) | 89 | 20211228 |
| Trading PlacesA snobbish investor and a wily street con artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires. | 1983 | John Landis (*) | Comedy | 7.5 (147.7K votes) | 116 | 20211228 |
| Turk 182!Jimmy Lynch is angry because his older brother, who was injured as a result of an off duty fire rescue, is denied benefits by the city. | 1985 | Bob Clark | Comedy, Drama | 6.0 (3.9K votes) | 102 | 20211228 |
| VigilanteAfter his wife and son got brutalized by a street gang, and a corrupt criminal justice system puts the perpetrators back on the street, a NYC factory worker teams up with a vigilante group to find some measure of bloody justice. | 1982 | William Lustig | Action, Crime, Thriller | 6.5 (3.5K votes) | 90 | 20211228 |
| Warriors, TheIn the near future, a charismatic leader summons the street gangs of New York City in a bid to take it over. When he is killed, The Warriors are falsely blamed and now must fight their way home while every other gang is hunting them | 1979 | Walter Hill | Action, Crime, Thriller | 7.6 (99.9K votes) | 92 | 20211228 |
| Wild StyleSouth Bronx graffiti artist Zoro is commissioned to paint a backdrop for a hip-hop concert. | 1982 | Charlie Ahearn | Drama, Music | 7.1 (2.7K votes) | 82 | 20221116 |
| Willie DynamiteA social worker tries to get a pimp to change his ways. | 1974 | Gilbert Moses | Crime, Drama | 6.5 (1.1K votes) | 102 | 20211228 |
| WolfenA New York cop investigates a series of brutal deaths that resemble animal attacks. | 1981 | Michael Wadleigh | Horror, Thriller | 6.3 (10.2K votes) | 115 | 20220723 |
| Year of the DragonA police detective cracks down on organized crime in Chinatown after the murders of Triad and Mafia leaders. | 1985 | Michael Cimino (*) | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | 6.9 (15.4K votes) | 134 | 20211228 |
| 80 Blocks from Tiffany's | 1979 | Gary Weis | Documentary | 7.5 (Unkn) | | Excluded |