Dive into the world of cinematic mysteries! From noir classics to modern thrillers, we're exploring the most captivating detective stories and mind-bending whodunits that have kept audiences guessing for decades. Get ready for a suspenseful journey through the greatest mystery movies ever made!
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00It does make a considerable difference to me having someone with me on whom I can thoroughly rely.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the best movies with a mystery at their core.
00:11The solution to which is a primary source that drives the plot.
00:14A murder or death by misadventure is optional.
00:18I couldn't take the chance that you might destroy our tapes.
00:21You understand, don't you, Mr. Cobb?
00:24Our tapes have nothing to do with you.
00:27Number 30, Gosford Park.
00:29One of Robert Altman's last films,
00:31Gosford Park is a brilliant ensemble murder mystery set in 1930s England.
00:36Mary!
00:38So what's the gossip in the servants' hall?
00:43Nothing, milady.
00:44An upstairs-downstairs mystery,
00:46Gosford Park is a satirical poke at class structures with a classic whodunit twist.
00:51Altman's deft direction immerses viewers in the intersecting lives of the characters,
00:56and the Oscar-winning script offers biting social commentary.
00:59Tell us about the film you're going to make.
01:01Oh, sure.
01:02It's called Charlie Chan in London.
01:04It's a detective story.
01:06Set in London?
01:07Well, not really.
01:08Most of it takes place at a shooting party in a country house, sort of like this one.
01:13The story unfolds at an opulent country estate,
01:16where aristocrats and their servants gather for a weekend hunting party.
01:19When the wealthy host is found murdered,
01:21tensions simmer as secrets and resentments surface.
01:24Lady Trentham, if you would be kind enough to join us for some questions.
01:29If you wish, inspector.
01:31I'm afraid I won't be much help.
01:34But I suppose on a day like this, we all have to pull our weight.
01:38With a star-studded cast including Maggie Smith, Helen Mirren, and Clive Owen,
01:42every character adds a layer to the intricate plot.
01:44You've lost him.
01:45He'll never know me now.
01:51At least your boy is alive.
01:55He's alive.
01:58That's what matters.
01:59Number 29.
02:00Prisoners.
02:01Alex Jones, unfortunately, has the IQ of a 10-year-old.
02:06There's no way that someone with the IQ of a 10-year-old
02:08could abduct two girls in broad daylight and then somehow make them disappear.
02:13Director Denis Villeneuve may be known today for his science fiction efforts,
02:17but Prisoners from 2013 is a great example
02:20of how the director was able to craft a compelling mystery.
02:22The question of who abducted a pair of young girls
02:25resides at the center of this film's narrative.
02:27This already tense scenario is enhanced by the strong performances of its leads,
02:31Jake Gyllenhaal and Hugh Jackman,
02:33although the entire ensemble here is great.
02:35Prisoners asks a lot of questions from its audience,
02:38specifically concerning justice, punishment,
02:40and parental quests for difficult answers.
02:43You think someone's looking out for a girl the way you're looking out for him?
02:47I hope.
02:49It's been five days now, man. We're running out of time.
02:51The journey is more than worth this weighty subject matter, however,
02:55making Prisoners a film that you'll likely not soon forget.
02:58You're saying that the girls are still out there somewhere.
03:01How did Bob Taylor get those clothes?
03:04How did the parents positively ID those clothes?
03:09Number 28.
03:10Minority Report.
03:18Why'd you catch that?
03:19Because it was gonna fall.
03:20You're certain?
03:21Yeah, but it didn't fall. You caught it.
03:24It's clear that Steven Spielberg has always been interested
03:28in the intersection of conspiracy and sci-fi.
03:30One of his first films, Close Encounters of the Third Kind,
03:34introduced audiences to mysteries hidden in plain sight.
03:37Years later, Minority Report took his vision further.
03:40Spielberg presents us with a high-tech dystopia where pre-crime officers
03:44arrest people before they can commit crimes.
03:47Tom Cruise stars as John Anderton,
03:49a dedicated cop who suddenly finds himself the system's target.
03:52Anderton's flight from the law is replete with the action-heavy sequences
03:56we've all come to associate with Tom Cruise.
03:59So, the film also deftly explores themes of free will versus determinism,
04:04casting doubt on the seemingly infallible technology controlling society.
04:08If you don't go through with this, my family gets nothing.
04:11Okay? You're supposed to kill me.
04:15You said you would.
04:17He? Who's he?
04:20Number 27, Soylent Green.
04:22This is very important.
04:25I can't help you.
04:27Forgive me. It's destroying me.
04:31What is?
04:32The truth.
04:33The truth Simonson told you?
04:36All truth.
04:37What is it?
04:40What did he confess?
04:42Soylent Green is that rare conspiracy flick
04:45that imagines a bleak future rather than focusing on the bleak present.
04:49It's a dystopian tale set in a 2022 with overpopulation,
04:54corruption, and environmental collapse.
04:56Grizzled NYPD detective Robert Thorne, played by Charlton Heston,
05:00investigates the murder of a wealthy businessman
05:02tied to the powerful Soylent Corporation.
05:04Thorne's search for answers uncovers shocking truths about the world's food supply.
05:09Edward G. Robinson's moving performance as Thorne's wise,
05:12world-weary friend Saul adds a much-needed human touch,
05:16a contrast from the bleak universe of the movie.
05:19I know. I know.
05:22When you were young, people were better.
05:25Oh, nuts. People were always rotten.
05:30When the world was beautiful.
05:32Number 26, Shutter Island.
05:34What the hell, boss? I'm your partner for Christ's sake.
05:38We just met, Chuck.
05:40You've been on the beat for a long time.
05:42You've got a duty, you've got a career.
05:44What I'm doing, it's not exactly by the book.
05:48This film from Martin Scorsese has, depending upon who you ask,
05:52one of the most successful or predictable twists in mystery history.
05:56Thankfully, the execution here is tense and stylish enough
05:59to make the entire viewing experience worthwhile.
06:02Actually, make that multiple viewing experiences,
06:04because those that don't pick up on the twist
06:07will adore catching all the signals during round two.
06:10Don't you get it? Everything you were up to.
06:13Your whole plan. This is a game.
06:16All of this is for you. You're not investigating anything.
06:21The premise of a mysterious remote mental hospital is a creepy one.
06:25Shutter Island delivers all of the disturbing and compelling imagery
06:28we'd expect from Scorsese's journey into this genre.
06:31Listen, Rachel Solano didn't slip out of a locked cell barefoot
06:35without any help. I think she had a lot of help.
06:40Maybe Pauly's sitting up in his mansion right now,
06:43rethinking his whole attitude.
06:45Number 25, Gone Baby Gone.
06:47You ever investigated an abduction before?
06:50I think Mrs. McCready was hoping we could help with the neighborhood aspect
06:53of this investigation, the people, you know.
06:55How old are you?
06:58I'm 31.
06:59Ben Affleck proved that he could direct as well as act
07:01with this satisfying thriller from 2007.
07:04Gone Baby Gone deals with the troubling subject of child abduction
07:08and is set within Affleck's beloved city of Boston.
07:10This location becomes a character unto itself
07:13as Michelle Monaghan and Casey Affleck's detectives attempt to solve the case.
07:17So you knew Detective Brisson?
07:19It's not like we were best friends.
07:20But you lied.
07:21Why'd you call Remy?
07:22He's a cop.
07:24That's not why you called him, Milo.
07:26An outstanding supporting cast assists along the way,
07:29one that includes Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris.
07:32Critics also seem to approve,
07:33since one Dutch reviewer even remarked how this adaptation
07:36of the Gone Baby Gone novel was superior to its source material.
07:40You know, if Amanda dies because of this,
07:44I won't have to hold it against you.
07:48You'll hold it against yourself for a long, long time.
07:50Number 24, Charade.
07:52Well, wasn't it Shakespeare who said when strangers do meet in far-off lands,
07:55they should e'er long see each other again?
07:57Shakespeare never said that.
07:59How do you know?
08:00Two years after dazzling audiences in Breakfast at Tiffany's,
08:03Audrey Hepburn co-starred with Cary Grant in Charade.
08:06That's a trouble, you're too old for me.
08:08Can't you be serious?
08:09Oh, you just had an horrible word.
08:11What did I say?
08:12Serious.
08:14When a man gets to be my age,
08:15that's the last word he ever wants to hear.
08:17I don't want to be serious.
08:19Mystery, suspense, romance.
08:21Charade has it all.
08:23Part romantic comedy, part crime caper,
08:25the two superstars ride the waves of intrigue and romance
08:28from the Alps to the streets of Paris.
08:30The chemistry between Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant is electric.
08:33Where's the money?
08:35I don't know.
08:36They killed Charles to get it,
08:37but he must not have had it with him on the train.
08:40So they think he left it with you?
08:42But he didn't.
08:43I've looked everywhere and if I don't find it,
08:44they're going to kill me.
08:45After a lovely mountain vacation,
08:47Regina returns to Paris and discovers her murdered husband's
08:51double life and missing fortune.
08:52She's drawn into a dangerous chase with Peter,
08:55a man of uncertain loyalties.
08:58With clever twists, sharp dialogue,
09:00and a memorable score by Henry Mancini,
09:02Charade captivates with each turn.
09:04Charade balances tension and humor
09:06while immersing the viewer in a memorable European mystery.
09:09You're running out of time.
09:11I've come too far to turn back.
09:13I swear I'll kill you.
09:17Make up your mind, Mrs. Lampert, now.
09:20I do!
09:21I do!
09:40Before Parasite, Snowpiercer, and The Host,
09:43South Korean director Bong Joon-ho gave us memories of murder.
09:46The 2003 crime drama is based on a real-life string of murders
09:50dating from 1986 to 1994.
09:52Set in a rural town plagued by a series of brutal killings,
09:56the film follows two detectives,
09:57an overwhelmed local cop and a big city detective from Seoul.
10:01The duo clash as the case grows more complex and elusive.
10:05The humor and bleak atmosphere help highlight themes of societal anxiety,
10:09corruption, and the tragic futility of justice.
10:20The cinematography and unsettling realism
10:23draw viewers into the detectives' escalating desperation.
10:50Memories of murder is fundamentally about the toll of the unresolved trauma of crimes
11:01that wouldn't be solved for another 16 years.
11:20Ah, may I introduce you?
11:33Mrs. White, this is Yvette, the maid.
11:35I see you know each other.
11:37Who says a murder mystery has to be dark and ominous?
11:39This film, based on the classic board game and featuring a Who's Who ensemble comedy cast,
11:44brings out the lighter side of murder when anonymous guests at a dinner party
11:48realize that Mr. Body has invited them all because he has access to their darkest secrets.
11:53I demand to know what's going on.
11:54Now why have we all been dragged up here to this horrible place?
11:57Well, I believe we all received a letter.
12:01My letter says it will be to your advantage to be present on this date
12:05because a Mr. Body will bring to an end a certain long-standing,
12:08confidential, and painful financial liability.
12:11Faced with blackmail, one of the guests takes the opportunity to murder him while the lights are out.
12:16Now.
12:24Now, the guests must discover the true identity of the killer before they are killed next.
12:30When the film was originally released,
12:32different theaters were given one of three endings to create a unique viewing experience
12:36for each audience, so it's not surprising that Clue ultimately attained cult status.
12:40Start of the evening, Yvette was here by herself,
12:43waiting to offer you all a glass of champagne.
12:47I was in the hall.
12:51I know because I was there.
12:53Number 21, The Long Goodbye.
13:01Director Robert Altman was one of the fresh new faces
13:04redefining the film industry during the 1970s.
13:06His adaptation of Raymond Chandler's The Long Goodbye
13:09helped usher in the era of neo-noir crime films.
13:12Didn't he tell you where he was going?
13:14No, we're usually not speaking when he leaves.
13:18How long has he been gone?
13:19Almost a week.
13:20A week?
13:22Weren't you worried?
13:24I mean, uh, waiting a week before you call somebody to find your husband.
13:28What are you implying, Mr. Marler?
13:30Eschewing the high-key dramatic lighting for a more realistic look,
13:33Altman brings murder into the light of day.
13:35Altman's loose, improvisational style injects fresh vitality
13:39into the classic hard-boiled detective tale.
13:41Elliot Gould stars as P.I. Philip Marlowe.
13:44Listen, Harry, in case you lose me in traffic,
13:46this is the address where I'm going.
13:47You look great.
13:48Harry, I would straighten your tie, okay?
13:50Unlike Humphrey Bogart's take,
13:52Gould's Marlowe is a laid-back yet sharp-witted detective
13:55navigating a labyrinth of deceit,
13:57with its unpredictable characters,
13:58haunting score,
13:59and layered storytelling.
14:01Do you think it's funny?
14:02Funny to steal $355,000 from Marty Augustine?
14:05Jack, let me see that knife!
14:06Oh, with pleasure, Marty.
14:08Give it to me.
14:09The long goodbye blurs the lines between friend and foe,
14:12good and evil.
14:14The hell, nobody cares.
14:16Yeah, nobody cares but me.
14:19Well, that's you, Marlowe.
14:21You'll never learn, you're a born loser.
14:34We realize that the original Oldboy from director Park Chan-wook
14:38was released back in 2003,
14:40but if for some reason the twist here hasn't been spoiled for you,
14:43well, then our lips are sealed.
14:45This South Korean thriller captured the attention of many
14:47thanks to a brutal and maddening mystery regarding an imprisonment.
15:00It isn't until the infamous climax of Oldboy
15:02that the reasoning becomes more clear,
15:04and the suffering of Choi Min-sik's character is finally revealed.
15:07It is a gut punch that feels like a Russian doll of uneasiness and perversion,
15:12sending shockwaves through any audience watching Oldboy for the first time.
15:30But rather than admit to a conspiracy or investigate further,
15:34the Warren Commission chose to endorse the theory put forth
15:37by an ambitious junior counselor, Arlen Spector,
15:40one of the grossest lies ever forced on the American people.
15:45We've come to know it as the magic bullet theory.
15:47The truth behind the JFK assassination has fascinated conspiracy theorists for decades.
15:5330 years after Kennedy was assassinated,
15:55Oliver Stone directed JFK,
15:57an in-depth and fictionalized look at the investigation.
16:00Kevin Costner stars as New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison.
16:04As he investigates the assassination of President John F. Kennedy,
16:07Garrison is forced to question the official narrative.
16:10Stone's use of documentary-style footage,
16:12flashbacks,
16:13and stylistic cinematography pulls viewers into a whirlwind of evidence,
16:17suspicion,
16:18and paranoia.
16:19A fictionalized scene where Garrison speaks with an inside man,
16:23X,
16:23leaves the viewer wondering who inside the U.S. government may have been involved.
16:28It's a real question, isn't it?
16:30Why?
16:31The how and the who is just scenery for the public.
16:35Oswald, Ruby, Cuba, the Mafia.
16:38Keeps them guessing like some kind of parlor game,
16:40prevents them from asking the most important question, why?
16:46What's the idea of telling me you knew the wolf girl just by sight?
16:49That's all I did, Lieutenant.
16:50That's the God's truth.
16:53Maybe I said hello to her.
16:56Hawaii or something like that when I saw her,
16:58but that's all I did, Lieutenant.
16:59That's the truth.
17:00The fiction of Dashiell Hammett has laid the groundwork for countless noir
17:03and mystery films in his wake.
17:05The Thin Man was just one of Hammett's stories to be adapted to the silver screen,
17:09while remaining one of the best from a pre-code era.
17:11Hammett's penchant for spaghetti-tied plot threads and hard-boiled dialogue
17:15is intact here in The Thin Man.
17:17We hear this is getting to be sort of a meeting place for the Winant family,
17:21so we figure we'll stick around just in case the old boy himself should show up.
17:25When we see this bird sneak in, we decide to come up.
17:28But lucky for you, we did.
17:29Yes, I might not have been shot.
17:32The fact that normal people just don't tend to speak the way Hammett writes them
17:35is inconsequential because audiences will be too busy
17:38admiring the film's balancing act of comedy and mystery.
17:41The dinner party sequence in particular is essential viewing,
17:44both for mystery buffs as well as for those
17:46who wish to seek out pre-code Hollywood greatness.
17:49The murderer is right in this room, sitting at this table.
17:54You may serve the fish.
17:55This table?
17:56Eat something, you fool.
17:59Teddy, don't believe his lies.
18:02He is the one.
18:04Kill him.
18:05From the critically acclaimed Christopher Nolan,
18:08Memento is one of the director's most ambitious departures
18:11from the traditional narrative structure.
18:12The neo-noir film follows the journey of Leonard,
18:15a man searching for his wife's killer despite his anterograde amnesia.
18:19John Edward Gammill.
18:24This guy told me his name was Teddy.
18:27Unable to form new memories,
18:29Leonard must utilize a system of photographs and tattoos
18:32to keep track of the clues he gathers.
18:34Dodd, put him on to Teddy, or just get rid of him for Natalie.
18:44Dodd.
18:45Chronological black-and-white sequences give the audience
18:48the background leading up to the murder,
18:50while color sequences follow the murder in reverse chronological order.
18:54The effect is a masterfully complicated story
18:57that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats
18:59until the separate portions meet at the end
19:02and make Memento a truly unforgettable flick.
19:08We're ready for you now.
19:09We'd like to see you one at a time.
19:11All right, I'll go first.
19:14I'll go first.
19:15I'm assuming this will all be wrapped up before the memorial tonight.
19:18Brick director Rian Johnson breathes new life
19:21into the Agatha Christie-style whodunit with Knives Out.
19:23When wealthy crime novelist Harlan Thrombey is found dead,
19:26every member of his eccentric family becomes a suspect.
19:29Enter Benoit Blanc.
19:31We did not get into it.
19:32I'm just trying to get an accurate impression.
19:36Harlan took you aside at the party.
19:38When you returned, you were chastened.
19:44What did Harlan say to you?
19:45A charmingly unconventional detective played by Daniel Craig.
19:49Armed with a sharp eye for deception,
19:51Blanc expertly unravels secrets, motives, and alibis.
19:54The pacing keeps the mystery engaging and unpredictable,
19:57with witty dialogue and vibrant characters keeping the audience glued to their seats.
20:02Mr. Hugh Ransom Drysdale, you might tell us all why you hired me.
20:12Why I hired you.
20:13The film's success paved the way for Glass Onion,
20:15a sequel that leans into Blanc's silliness
20:17as he untangles new puzzles on a billionaire's secluded island.
20:21It's like putting a loaded gun on the table and turning off the lights.
20:28I wanted a killer from a world filled with killers and they chose you
20:33because they thought it would bind me closer to them.
20:36Long before solving mysteries as crime writer Jessica Fletcher,
20:40Angela Lansbury was at the center of a mysterious conspiracy in The Manchurian Candidate.
20:44The film follows Raymond Shaw, a Korean war hero.
20:48Thanks in no small part to his mother, played by Lansbury,
20:51Shaw is unknowingly programmed to become an assassin in a communist conspiracy.
20:56Frank Sinatra stars as Major Bennett Marco,
20:59investigating the sinister forces controlling Shaw.
21:01The Manchurian Candidate presents a labyrinthian tale of mind control,
21:06deceit, and political machinations.
21:08The film is a Cold War classic,
21:10a deep dive into the world of power, influence, and manipulation.
21:14You ought to forget everything that happened at the senator's house.
21:17Do you understand, Raymond?
21:19You'll only remember it when I tell you so.
21:21You ought to forget about it.
21:22Do you understand?
21:25Yes, sir.
21:35In the aftermath of World War II,
21:37Vienna was a hotbed of political and criminal intrigue.
21:40That is the backdrop of The Third Man,
21:42easily one of the greatest film noirs of all time.
21:45The film begins by following American writer Holly Martins,
21:49a new arrival searching for his old friend Harry Lyme.
21:52He's devastated to learn that Harry has apparently died under suspicious circumstances.
21:56There was a third man there.
21:58I suppose that doesn't sound peculiar to you.
22:00I'm not interested in whether a racketeer like Lyme
22:02was killed by his friends or by an accident.
22:05The only important thing is that he's dead.
22:07But Lyme was no angel,
22:09and his murky past immediately pulled Holly into a dangerous criminal game.
22:13As Holly investigates both Harry's mysterious life and even more mysterious death,
22:17he is thrust into Vienna's black market underworld.
22:20With striking cinematography,
22:22angular shadows,
22:23and Anton Carras's zither score,
22:25The Third Man creates an atmosphere that is as thrilling as it is unsettling.
22:3613. Murder on the Orient Express
22:42My name is Ratchet.
22:44Do I have the pleasure of speaking to Mr. Hercule Poirot?
22:47The pleasure possibly, Mr. Ratchet.
22:48The intention certainly.
22:50You asked me for a light,
22:51I offered you one and you have not used it.
22:53This film is a classic example of the dark house horror genre,
22:57except for the fact that it takes place on a train.
22:59In this British flick,
23:01a group of strangers is trapped in an isolated location
23:04due to the amount of snow on the tracks.
23:06After a number of threats are made on his life,
23:08Ratchet implores detective Hercule Poirot for protection.
23:11Uninterested in taking the case,
23:13Poirot declines.
23:14Ten thousand?
23:17Fifteen thousand.
23:19Mr. Ratchet,
23:21I have made enough money to satisfy both my needs and my caprices.
23:25I take only such cases now as interests me,
23:27and to be frank,
23:28my interest in your case is dwindling.
23:33And the next morning,
23:34Ratchet is found dead in his cabin.
23:42With the murder on his conscience and a train full of passengers,
23:45Poirot must figure out who murdered the well-to-do businessman.
23:48And the result is a stylish and entertaining flick.
23:59Number 12.
24:00Who framed Roger Rabbit?
24:02Don't believe it.
24:04I won't believe it.
24:06I can't believe it.
24:07I said believe it.
24:09Believe it, kid.
24:10I took the pictures myself.
24:12She played patty cake.
24:14Bugs Bunny meets Mickey Mouse in Who Framed Roger Rabbit,
24:17a groundbreaking blend of live action and animation.
24:20Aw, poor fella.
24:21Yeah, ain't I a stinker?
24:23Set in a dazzling 1940s Hollywood where toons and humans coexist,
24:27Roger Rabbit is a murder mystery the whole family can enjoy.
24:30The story follows down-on-his-luck detective Eddie Valiant,
24:33played by Bob Hoskins.
24:35Valiant harbors a not-so-subtle bigotry towards toons.
24:38That complicates matters as he is reluctantly drawn into a mystery
24:42involving Roger Rabbit,
24:43a zany toon accused of murder.
24:45What begins as a simple case of infidelity
24:48explodes into a plot involving corruption,
24:50greed,
24:51and the fate of toontown itself.
24:53Not my death ticket.
24:54Not patty cake.
24:56This is impossible.
24:57I don't believe it.
24:58The film's innovative visual effects wowed audiences
25:01and set a new standard for blending animation with live action.
25:04That was a pretty funny dance you did for the weasels.
25:08Do you think your days of being a sourpuss are over?
25:11Only time will tell.
25:12Yeah, well, put it there, pal.
25:17Number 11, The Fugitive.
25:19Put that gun down!
25:22Now!
25:24Hands up!
25:26Over the head!
25:28Turn around!
25:30The time just seemed to be right back in the early 90s
25:33for this classic 1960s television program to receive a silver screen update.
25:37Thankfully, The Fugitive boasts Harrison Ford in the lead as Richard Kimball,
25:41a man who is set up for the murder of his wife.
25:44The original series was one of the first narrative-driven TV programs
25:47to receive a proper payoff and finale.
25:50Meanwhile, screenwriters David Toohey and Jeb Stewart
25:52successfully update the premise of The Fugitive for the 90s.
25:56Officers! Officers!
25:57There's a man in a blue top coat waving a gun and screaming.
26:00And a woman.
26:00Stop that man!
26:01He's a U.S. Marshal!
26:03Let him go!
26:04He's a U.S. Marshal!
26:05Let him go! Let him go!
26:07Co-star Tommy Lee Jones is particularly memorable
26:10as the U.S. Marshal who's obsessed with bringing in Kimball.
26:13Guilt or innocence be damned.
26:15You said, I don't care.
26:18He's on the South Side.
26:20Yeah, Richard, that's right.
26:22I don't care.
26:23I'm not trying to solve a puzzle here.
26:25Well, I am trying to solve a puzzle.
26:27Five seconds to location.
26:29And I just found a big piece.
26:34The story is dry.
26:37All we've got are pieces.
26:40We can't seem to figure out what the puzzle is supposed to look like.
26:44The 2017 film The Post captures The Washington Post's bold decision
26:48to publish the Pentagon Papers,
26:50a classified history of America's involvement in Vietnam.
26:53That battle was only the paper's first skirmish with Nixon.
26:56All the President's Men masterfully chronicles
26:59the real-life investigation by Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.
27:03With meticulous attention to detail,
27:05the film immerses viewers in the reporting process.
27:08From painstaking research to late-night calls,
27:11the depth of the conspiracy behind Watergate is slowly revealed.
27:15The viewer is immersed in the hunt for truth.
27:17Each scene drives home the stakes of holding power accountable,
27:21crafting a suspenseful, enduring tale of dedication in the face of corruption.
27:26How much do you need to know?
27:28You trust him?
27:31Yeah.
27:34I can't do the reporting for my reporters, which means I have to trust them.
27:41And I hate trusting anybody.
27:43Number 9.
27:44The Silence of the Lambs.
27:46Good morning.
27:47Dr. Lecter, my name is Clarice Starling.
27:50May I speak with you?
27:51You're one of Jack Crawford's, aren't you?
27:54I am, yes.
27:57May I see your credentials?
27:58In The Silence of the Lambs, Jodie Foster stars as Clarice Starling,
28:02an FBI recruit caught between two serial killers.
28:05If you didn't kill him, then who did, sir?
28:08Who can say?
28:09Best thing for him, really.
28:11His therapy was going nowhere.
28:13She's tasked with seeking the help of incarcerated cannibalistic killer
28:16Dr. Hannibal Lecter to catch Buffalo Bill,
28:18a brutal serial killer targeting young women.
28:21As Lecter and Starling engage in chilling cat-and-mouse conversations,
28:24he toys with her vulnerabilities while providing cryptic clues.
28:27Oh, we begin by coveting what we see every day.
28:31Don't you feel eyes moving over your body, Clarice?
28:35And don't your eyes seek out the things you want?
28:39All right, yes.
28:40Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster deliver iconic performances
28:43that elevate the film's unsettling vibe.
28:45It is a beautiful, slow-burn blend of suspense and complex character studies.
28:50The tense pacing, eerie music, and unforgettable dialogues
28:54have cemented The Silence of the Lambs as a landmark film.
28:57I do wish we could chat longer, but I'm having an old friend for dinner.
29:12This entry contrasts the investigative methods of three
29:15drastically different detectives in 1950s LA.
29:18Ed Exley serves as the righteous hand of the law,
29:21agreeing to testify against crooked cops.
29:23Justice has to be served. Of course I'll testify.
29:30I'm glad you feel that way, Edmund. Most of the men don't.
29:33That's because they think silence and integrity are the same thing.
29:36Bud White is the hothead with a penchant for roughing up criminals.
29:39Jack Vincennes is just in it for the money he can make
29:42giving hot tips to tabloids about the latest celebrity arrests.
29:45Though their cases differ, the intricate way these detectives
29:48work together to solve them has made it both a critic and a fan favorite.
29:52Much of the story is based off of real events
29:54involving police brutality and gang-related crime, and that realism shows.
29:58Captain Smith has been assuming control of organized crime in the city of Los Angeles.
30:04This includes the assassinations of an unknown number of Mickey Cohen lieutenants,
30:09the systematic blackmail of city officials,
30:12and the murders of Susan Lefferts, Pierce Patchett, Sid Hutchins.
30:17The committee wishes to emphasize that there is no evidence of any wider conspiracy.
30:25No evidence whatsoever.
30:27One of the most interesting things to come out of new Hollywood cinema
30:30is the complete subversion of the protagonist.
30:33The good guy didn't always win.
30:35There is no better example than The Parallax View,
30:38a chilling tale of political and political drama.
30:40A chilling tale of political conspiracy.
30:43The film follows journalist Joe Frady as he investigates the assassination of a U.S. senator.
30:48Frady quickly discovers the existence of a shadowy organization
30:51that recruits individuals for covert political killings.
30:54At first I thought these killings were related only to the Carroll assassination.
30:57It's much bigger than that.
30:58Whoever's behind this is in the business of recruiting assassins.
31:02As Frady digs deeper, he becomes ensnared in a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
31:07As the story progresses,
31:08the line between victim and perpetrator becomes increasingly blurred.
31:15Mistakes are dangerous.
31:17You heard him.
31:18You know what I mean.
31:20Someone may get hurt.
31:23In between directing the first two Godfather films,
31:25Francis Ford Coppola delivered a woefully underappreciated masterpiece.
31:30Gene Hackman takes the lead as Harry Call, an audio surveillance expert.
31:34Hired by a shadowy figure known only as the director,
31:38Call uses his skills to surreptitiously record a conversation in a public park.
31:42The conversation, he learns, may or may not be part of a murder plot.
31:46As Call listens to the audio,
31:48he becomes increasingly obsessed with the lives of those he's spying on.
31:52Both his moral compass and sense of reality start to fracture.
31:55The cinematography and audio design are meant to make the audience uncomfortable.
32:00They are forced to figure out the lines between privacy and guilt,
32:04and between security and manipulation.
32:34The oldest movie on our list comes from Austrian-German filmmaker Fritz Lang.
32:39After a series of child murders,
32:41the police try desperately to find the killer by shaking down known criminals.
32:54Upset by the interruption of their businesses,
32:56the crime bosses take the matter into their own hands.
32:58M criticizes the ability of police to catch murderers
33:01despite the new forensic tools at their disposal,
33:04and warn parents about child neglect.
33:06Lang also presents the moral contradiction of criminals,
33:09including other murderers,
33:11who take it upon themselves to catch the killer.
33:13His first sound film,
33:14M is also notable for Lang's use of several new techniques
33:18that made it a cinematic masterpiece.
33:32Does that look like a gun sign?
33:36Today's August 1st.
33:37He wants his coat in the afternoon edition.
33:39If the examiner doesn't have the balls to write, we scoop the bait.
33:42Now this man is talking about shooting 12 people.
33:44And not running this might make him do that.
33:46The Zodiac Killer was a prolific serial killer
33:49who terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1960s and 1970s.
33:54Seven and the Girl with the dragon tattoo director David Fincher
33:57depicts the chilling and meticulous exploration of the hunt for the killer.
34:01The story follows a trio of obsessive figures.
34:04A cartoonist played by Jake Gyllenhaal,
34:06a reporter played by Robert Downey Jr.
34:08and a detective played by Mark Ruffalo.
34:11I'm gonna need elimination prints from your staff
34:13because anyone here didn't touch this letter.
34:15The three men delve into the killer's cryptic messages and brutal crimes,
34:19trying to crack his ciphers and get into his head.
34:22Each becomes increasingly consumed by the search for the truth.
34:26Fincher's direction brings a slow-burning tension to every frame.
34:30It is, at its core, an atmospheric tale of obsession.
34:33Darlene Ferrin worked at the Vallejo House of Pancakes
34:36on the corner of Tennessee and Carroll.
34:42Arthur Lee Allen lived in his mother's basement on Fresno Street.
34:48Door to door that is less than 50 yards.
34:52Number three, Vertigo.
35:00It took a director with a pedigree the likes of Alfred Hitchcock
35:03to knock Citizen Kane from atop its perch of Sight & Sound magazine's
35:06great films of all time list.
35:08Still, it's easy to see why films like Rear Window and Vertigo
35:12remain so beloved,
35:13since it taps into Hitch's legacy as the master of suspense.
35:16Vertigo remakes the French novel D'Entre les Morts
35:19with a remarkable amount of style.
35:21It's a cinch. Here, I look up, I look down.
35:25I look up, I look down.
35:27I look up, I look down.
35:34This can be seen in the ways Hitchcock displays the crippling fear of heights
35:37that torments James Stewart's detective John Scottie Ferguson.
35:41Additionally, Ferguson's history of regret and trauma
35:43makes his character interesting,
35:45as Vertigo taps into our own paranoia and phobias
35:48as misdirected members of Hitchcock's captive audience.
35:51Don't you see you've given me something to work on now?
35:54I'm going to take you down there to that mission this afternoon,
35:56and when you see it, you'll remember when you saw it before,
35:59and it'll finish your dream.
36:00It'll destroy it, I promise you.
36:03All right?
36:04Number two, Chinatown.
36:05What seems to be the problem?
36:08My husband, I believe, is seeing another woman.
36:14No, really?
36:16I'm afraid so.
36:18I am sorry.
36:19This Roman Polanski film tells the story of Jake Gittis,
36:22a small-time P.I. who spends his days chasing cheating husbands.
36:25How'd you get past the guard?
36:28Well, to tell you the truth, I lied a little.
36:32You look like you've done well by yourself.
36:35I get by.
36:36While investigating an engineer for the L.A. Department of Water and Power,
36:40Jake realizes he's been set up.
36:42The woman who hired him wasn't the real wife,
36:45and the next day, the engineer is found dead in a reservoir.
36:48In a place as dry as Los Angeles County,
36:51the price of water is going up,
36:52and someone is killing to control where it goes.
36:55The title symbolizes the feelings of confusion and frustration
36:58police often felt while investigating in Chinatown.
37:01You're dealing with a disturbed woman who just lost her husband.
37:04I don't want her taken advantage of.
37:07Sit down.
37:08What for?
37:12You may think you know what you're dealing with,
37:15but believe me, you don't.
37:17While the neo-noir flick itself earned 11 Oscar nods
37:20and a spot in the National Film Registry,
37:31Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel
37:33and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
37:36You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
37:40If you're on your phone,
37:41make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
37:46Number 1. The Maltese Falcon
37:48Why were you tailing Thursby?
37:50I wasn't. Miles wasn't.
37:51But there's a simple reason we had a client.
37:52Who's the client?
37:54Sorry, I can't tell you that.
37:55Be reasonable, Sam. Give us a break, will you?
37:58The Maltese Falcon isn't just the best whodunit movie,
38:00it's also arguably the most important one,
38:03alongside 1946's The Big Sleep.
38:05Approached by a beautiful bombshell to find her missing sister,
38:09Detective Sam Spade quickly finds himself in a complicated murder plot
38:12with a priceless Falcon figurine in the middle.
38:21Number 2. The Maltese Falcon
38:24This film is notable for both the top-notch casting of Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre,
38:28as well as the technical direction of John Huston.
38:31Despite The Maltese Falcon being his first film,
38:34Huston was also able to use peculiar lighting and unusual camera angles
38:38to make it an iconic film.
38:39Huston also challenged the physical limits of cameras at the time
38:42with intricate flowing shots.
38:44We've got to have a fall guy.
38:46The police have got to have a victim,
38:47somebody they can pin those three murders on.
38:50Three, but it is only two because Thirsby certainly killed your partner.
38:53All right, only two, then what difference does it make?
38:55The point is, we've got to give the police...
38:57Come, come, Mr. Spade, you can't expect us to believe at this late date
39:00that you're the least bit afraid of the police.
39:02All of these aspects combined make it a classic film noir murder mystery
39:06you cannot miss.
39:09Listen, this won't do any good.
39:13You'll never understand me, but I'll try once and then give it up.
39:16Which genre do you feel best vibes with a traditional mystery?
39:20Let us know in the comments.
39:21There is more evil around us here than I have ever encountered before.
39:26Check out these other clips from WatchMojo
39:28and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.