It doesn’t happen too often, but when Adam Sandler stars in a well-acclaimed movie that requires him to give a dramatic performance, he usually delivers. Titles such as Punch Drunk Love, The Meyerowitz Stories, and even Funny People all showcased a side of Sandler we hadn’t seen before.
Now cue up Uncut Gems, the gritty new crime thriller from filmmaking brothers Josh and Bennie Safdie. The film stars Sandler as a seedy New York jeweler who gets in way over his head when the opportunity of a lifetime presents itself. If you like Uncut Gems, which is likely to score a number of Oscar nominations later this month, then check out these 10 other seedy New York movies when you get the chance!
The King Of New York
Abel Ferrara is one of the utmost authorities on New York crime stories, and frankly one could choose anything in his CV from Fear City and Bad Lieutenant to The Funeral and Mrs. 45. However, with all things considered, none of those seedy NY stories are as regal as The King of New York.
Starring Christopher Walken in one of the last great starring roles, the film finds NYC drug kingpin Frank White (Walken) released from prison, only to resume his racketeering ways with a disdain for authority. Frank reunites with his gangster pals to score lucrative drug deals, yet tries to shake up the power structure by warring with rivals.
The Panic In Needle Park
Movies do not get grittier, seedier, or much filthier than that of Jerry Schatzberg’s naturalistic docu-style drama The Panic in Needle Park.
Starring Al Pacino as a lowlife heroin addict, the film charts the desperate attempts of a group of junkies trying to score dope in New York’s Needle Park (Sherman Square). The movie also concerns the romantic dalliances of Bobby (Pacino) and Helen (Kitty Winn), whose love for one another takes a backseat to their drug-addled cravings and backstabbing measures to score.
Mean Streets
Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro cut their teeth on the Mean Streets of New York back in 1973, paving a way for a career in seedy cinematic New York stories. Heck, they may even score more Oscars for such this year for The Irishman!
In Mean Streets, De Niro plays Johnny Boy, a wildly unstable amateur con who wants nothing more than to work his way up the ranks of the NYC mafia. However, the more evenly tempered Charlie (Harvey Keitel) wants to do right by his criminal uncle while maintaining a relationship with a woman his uncle disapproves of.
Donnie Brasco
Al Pacino and Johnny Depp burn up the screen in Donnie Brasco, the real-life tale of an FBI agent going deep undercover to infiltrate the NYC mafia.
Of course, the deeper Brasco gets (Depp), the more aligned with the mafia he becomes. He begins to flout the law, lose his sense of self, and become one of the very criminals he’s been assigned to bring down. At the heart of the betrayal however is Brasco’s relationship with Lefty (Pacino), a wise mafia don who took Brasco under his wing and vouched for him with top mafia brass.
Serpico
This just in: Al Pacino is the king of seedy NY crime movies. Another prime example proving such is Sidney Lumet’s classic portrait of an antihero in Serpico.
In the film, Pacino plays Frank Serpico, a rebellious counter-culture New York police officer who bucks authority and skirts protocol to do things his way. When Serpico uncovers corruption in his own precinct, he decides to fight the system rather than turn a blind eye out of loyalty to his fellow officers. Serpico does the right thing in the face of overwhelming support for the opposite.
The Pope Of Greenwich Village
One of the best seedy NY crime flicks you probably never heard of, much less seen, is Stuart Rosenberg’s The Pope of Greenwich Village. Homework time y’all!
Starring Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts as cousins, the film follows the two small-time hoods with grand ambitions of scoring it big. When the duo decides to lift a wad of cash so they can back a racehorse at the track, they inadvertently steal from a well-connected mafioso. With cops pursuing from one end and the mafia closing in from the other, a harrowing showdown follows that you won’t soon forget.
Eyes Wide Shut
The late great Stanley Kubrick left earth three days after delivering the final cut of his last magnum opus, Eyes Wide Shut, to Warner Bros. brass. 20 years later, the film still ranks ahead of its time as one of the seediest NY movies ever assembled.
Set during Christmastime, the film follows the fever-dream of Bill Harford (Tom Cruise), a married doctor who, after hearing his wife confess her desire to sleep with another man, goes on a nocturnal odyssey in search of sexual gratification. The further he wanders, the weirder his encounters become, all of which lead to the devastating realization that he’s been walking through life with eyes wide shut.
Taxi Driver
The success of Joker owes a lot to Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, quite possibly the most definitive seedy NY crime story to ever exist.
Starring Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle, a PTSD-ridden Vietnam vet who drives a taxi through the toughest neighborhoods at night, Taxi Driver challenges the viewer’s sympathies. We’re with Travis for a long time, but when he concocts a scheme to assassinate a presidential candidate, we’re downright terrified by him. In the end, Travis redeems himself by saving a young prostitute from her violent pimp.
Midnight Cowboy
Despite earning an X-rating, Midnight Cowboy went on to win Oscars for Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay. Point being, even the seedy and sordid can net the gold!
In one of the great depictions of platonic love, Midnight Cowboy shows the unlikely bond formed between Ratzo Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman), a poor NYC lowlife with no prospects and Joe Buck (Jon Voight), a wide-eyed country hick with big dreams. As the two scuffle their way through a harsh winter, they scrounge enough money to escape to sunny Florida.
The French Connection
Almost 50 years later, The Best Picture winner of 1971 still holds serve as the number one best seedy NYC crime flick.
The French Connection revolves around Popeye Doyle (Gene Hackman), a hardened undercover NY cop, and his partner, both tasked with snatching a giant shipment of heroin from France. Featuring the all-time best car chase ever filmed, The French Connection won five Oscars in total, including ones for Best Director (William Friedkin), Best Actor (Hackman) Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editor, and Best Supporting Actor (Roy Scheider).
