The heist film or caper film is a subgenre of crime films and the caper story, focused on the planning, execution, and aftermath of a significant robbery.
One of the early defining heist films was The Asphalt Jungle (1950), which according to Film Genre 2000, "almost single-handedly popularized the genre for mainstream cinema". It featured robbers whose personal failings ultimately led to the failure of their robbery. Similar films using this formula were Armored Car Robbery (1950), The Killing (1956), and The Getaway (1972). By the 1990s, heist films began to "experiment and play with these conventions", incorporating elements such as comedy into their stories.
Characteristics of the genre
While there is no unanimous agreement on what constitutes a heist film, there are some common characteristics that most films in the genre share.
The most basic is that films in the genre tend to follow the planning, execution and aftermath of one large robbery. As a result of this, heist films tend to focus on the process of the crime, often planned in great detail, followed by extended exposition of the heist itself.
The genre is also distinct for almost exclusively following those committing the crime rather than whoever is trying to stop them. This often leads to the viewer building some form of sympathy or respect for the criminals. This trend started as a result of the initial films in the genre being made in Hollywood during the Motion Picture Production Code, which prohibited criminals from getting away with their crime. While this has changed since the disappearance of the code, The film widely agreed upon as the first to do so is John Huston's 1950 The Asphalt Jungle, starring Sterling Hayden and Sam Jaffee (with Marilyn Monroe in a supporting role).
The period between 1955 and 1975 is considered by scholars to be the most productive for the heist genre. It began with American filmmakers continuing the noir heist trend in films like 5 Against the House (1955) and The Killing (1956). The ‘50s also saw the release of the first international heist films. Notably, a handful made in France were influenced by and responding to the American style. Two notable examples are Rififi (1955), which is known for its detailed 30 minute heist sequence, and Bob Le Flambeur (1956), known for an ending which plays with the conventions of the genre.
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| 1950
| Armored Car Robbery ||
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| 2021
| Army of the Dead ||
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| 1964
| Bande à part ||
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| 2018
| Den of Thieves ||
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| 1972
| ' ||
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| 2016
| Hell or High Water ||
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| 1972
| ' ||
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| 1966
| How to Steal a Million ||
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| 2010
| Inception ||
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| 2011
| Mankatha ||
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| 2025
| ' ||
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| 2021
| ' ||
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| 2013
| Now You See Me ||
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| 1963
| The Pink Panther ||
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| 1990
| Quick Change ||
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| 1955
| Rififi ||
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| 1996
| Set It Off ||
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|2016
|South of 8
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| 1968
| ' ||
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| 1995
| ' ||
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