Rififi (1955)

If you haven’t seen this one, good news, it’s on Netflix. Not only is it THE greatest heist movie ever, but it’s also one of the greatest movies, of any genre in any language, ever. I’m sure you’ve heard all about the infamous 30 minute dialogue-free heist scene, which is genius, but Rififi (or Du rififi chez les hommes, in its original title) is a lot more than that. It’s a dark tale of entangled crooked characters set in the grittiness of underworld Paris with a very unhappy ending. According to IMDb, director Jules Dassin refused to do any filming on sunny days to keep the doom and gloom motif going. And boy, was the result great!

Four gangsters (played by Jean Servais, Carl Mohner, Robert Manuel and Jules Dassin himself, under a pseudynom) decide to rob a jewellery shop. They come up with an ingenious plan that works out perfectly, but things don’t go too well afterwards and they soon turn against each other.

The four main actors are outstanding in their roles. The supporting players are equally great and the movie won all sorts of international film awards. Put it on your list! Also, and this is completely irrelevant, doesn’t Carl Mohner look a bit like Ralph Meeker?