Filmstalker: The greatest police/cop/fuzz films?

Having just seen Hot Fuzz (Filmstalker review) and enjoyed all the references to other police films out there, I thought it would be a good idea to find out what you all think are the best police films out there.

Now these aren't just in the realm of comedy or buddy cop films, but anything at all. Crime, thriller, horror, and all the way to those most enjoyable big budget buddy films. What do you think of as your favourite police based films?

Okay, I switched features, I wasn't happy with the last one. I'll maybe come back to it another day, or if you want to it's still on the site, you can answer it you know.

Hot Fuzz is powering around the screens in the UK just now, and it has every right to, it's a very good film and contains so many nods to other police films, both British and US. There were so many little nods in the film that it was hard to catch them all, but there was The Wicker Man to Bad Boys (I and II), they had about everything there.

So if you can scour your mind for all the cop films you've seen in the past, which stand out for you? Perhaps there are different ones for different genres of cop films, comedies, thrillers, maybe there are even different films that refer to different eras?

What about The French Connection, Infernal Affairs, The Departed, Cop Land, The Untouchables, Lethal Weapon, The Wicker Man, Police Academy, Robocop, Dirty Harry?

Actually, by listing that I've probably just come up with a few of my own. Cop Land is a huge personal favourite, I love the performance Stallone gave in that. Dirty Harry is a superb iconic character, and Lethal Weapon is another franchise defining moment that really does bring the perfect buddy cop story together.

French Connection has some superb performances, and Hackman and Scheider are fantastic in it, particularly Hackman whose performance really brought him to the front of Hollywood.

So what are your favourite cop/police films and why?

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Comments

Oy, oy, oy! This is unprecedented! Two features in under 2 days? I am still working on a reply to the other feature and here's a new one?

L.A. Confidential, The French Connection, The Departed, The Untouchables, Lethal Weapon series, Tango & Cash, Serpico, Heat, Die Hard 1 to mention a few.

I will just be repeating some of those from your own list there because they also figure on my list - having just recently seen The French Connection and I have part 2 waiting to be seen.

Hot Fuzz RULES!

P.S.
Richard, not having seen The Wicker Man I have to ask you in a separate email which scene was the reference to it from Hot Fuzz one of these days.

Posted by: Simone | March 2, 2024 3:43 PM

The New Centurions, by Richard Fleischer, will always be to me the best and more realistic approach to the life of a cop ever made.

And Bad Lieutenant by Abel Ferrara is also great stuff.

Maniac Cop (and sequels) is the last on my personal trio.

Posted by: Peter | March 2, 2024 7:28 PM

Richard, don't let me down here, where's Naked Gun? Lt. Frank Drebin has to be the worst cop ever to grace our screens, yet he's a different kind of cop altogether.

Posted by: Lee | March 3, 2024 5:28 PM

Naked Gun? Surely you can't be serious?

(Queue your line Lee)

Of course it is in here, although I would say Police Squad more than Naked Gun, but this is Filmstalker.

I couldn't list them all you know. Frankly I thought you'd be raging about Lethal Weapon.

Interesting choices there Peter...I'm going to have to investigate Centurians.

Simone - the scene about The Wicker Man is where they are sitting around the table in their cloaks. I shall say no more.

Posted by: Richard Brunton | March 3, 2024 7:58 PM

I'm partial to the French Connection, and LA Confidential.

But police are in a lot of movies that I don't think of as police movies, such as Seven (horror film) and Lethal Weapon (comedy).

Posted by: Martin Tiller | March 4, 2024 12:32 AM

I see, thanks Richard! Not having seen a lot of cop movies myself, there's prolly a few more references made to some of them in Hot Fuzz that I might have missed, but that Point Break moment was such a hoot!

Was it Lee or Louise who wasnt very fond of SWAT? ;)

Posted by: Simone | March 4, 2024 12:06 PM

I love Joe Carnahan's NARC, for me kinda like a 21st century version of the French Connection.

Posted by: Triflic | March 4, 2024 5:20 PM

My love of NARC left me ill-prepared for Smokin' Aces which I thought was a pile of more-boring-than-anything-else drivel. I'd rather Carnahan had gone more in the dramatic direction of NARC.

Also, love Infernal Affiars.

Cops were small (but vital) parts of more recent films like Collateral and Zodiac...both played by Mark Ruffalo no less. Two sublime movies.

Posted by: Triflic | March 4, 2024 5:27 PM

I speaking of Michael Mann. I got have a big love-on for his film version of MIAMI VICE and I'm itching to revisit HEAT, cause I've not caught that one since its theatrical release, and I was so-so on it at the time...

Posted by: Triflic | March 4, 2024 5:29 PM

I am serious, Richard, and stop calling me Shirley.

Posted by: Lee | March 4, 2024 6:07 PM

It's me who hates SWAT with a passion. Needless to say I'm still not letting it go. Favourite cop films would have to be Copland and Badboys.

By the way can I get away with Robocop and Die Hard?

Posted by: Louise | March 5, 2024 8:44 PM