Focus Features

Seminal, hard-boiled (and incredibly bleak) gangster film with Michael Caine at his most compelling.

Bob Hoskins' first starring role is a revelation. He plays a London gangster who gets in over his head, and doesn't know who to fear most – the Americans muscling in on his action, or the Irish terrorists who want their own cut. Helen Mirren provides the love interest.

Slick, pacy and violent modern take on the genre. Ray Winstone has retired from the game and is working on his suntan, but then the psychopathic Ben Kingsley comes back into his life with an offer he daren't refuse. Astonishing on every level.

Darkly comic tale of a criminal gang (led by Alec Guinness) who try to pull off a heist while staying in a hotel managed by an inquisitive old lady. That the thieves are pretending to be a band of musicians only adds to the fun.

Oddball comedy and a personal choice. It was filmed in Glasgow on a shoestring budget using untested young actors and with first-time director Bill Forsyth (later of Gregory's Girl and Local Hero) at the helm. The would-be teenage criminals come up with an absurdly feasible plan to rob a factory of all it contains – namely dozens upon dozens of stainless-steel kitchen sinks. Every bit as daft and endearing as it sounds.