Top 30 Hood Movies of All Time
by KingLeo300 | created - 10 Feb 2015 | updated - 10 months ago | PublicThe greatest hood films, set in areas or based on people from underprivileged backgrounds such as ghettos, slums, favelas, shantytown, inner city etc. List excludes horror and comedy movies.
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Organised Crime / Crime / Neo-Noir / Heist
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1. Boyz n the Hood (1991)
R | 112 min | Crime, Drama
Follows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships, violence, and future prospects.
Director: John Singleton | Stars: Cuba Gooding Jr., Laurence Fishburne, Hudhail Al-Amir, Lloyd Avery II
Votes: 154,721 | Gross: $57.50M
2. Menace II Society (1993)
R | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.
Directors: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes | Stars: Tyrin Turner, Larenz Tate, June Kyoto Lu, Toshi Toda
Votes: 64,495 | Gross: $27.90M
3. Training Day (2001)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A rookie cop spends his first day as a Los Angeles narcotics officer with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears to be.
Director: Antoine Fuqua | Stars: Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn, Tom Berenger
Votes: 473,103 | Gross: $76.63M
4. City of God (2002)
R | 130 min | Crime, Drama
In the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.
Directors: Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund | Stars: Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Matheus Nachtergaele, Phellipe Haagensen
Votes: 801,455 | Gross: $7.56M
5. Straight Outta Compton (2015)
R | 147 min | Biography, Drama, History
The rap group NWA emerges from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1980s and revolutionizes Hip Hop culture with their music and tales about life in the hood.
Director: F. Gary Gray | Stars: O'Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown Jr.
Votes: 218,556 | Gross: $161.20M
6. Paid in Full (2002)
R | 97 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A young man from Harlem, forced to cope with the 1980s drug scene, builds an illegal empire, only to have a crisis of conscience.
Director: Charles Stone III | Stars: Mekhi Phifer, Wood Harris, Chi McBride, Kevin Carroll
Votes: 14,238 | Gross: $3.04M
7. Hustle & Flow (2005)
R | 116 min | Crime, Drama, Music
With help from his friends, a Memphis pimp in a mid-life crisis attempts to become a successful hip-hop emcee.
Director: Craig Brewer | Stars: Terrence Howard, Ludacris, Anthony Anderson, Taryn Manning
Votes: 43,233 | Gross: $22.20M
8. New Jack City (1991)
R | 97 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A crime lord ascends to power and becomes megalomaniacal while a maverick police detective vows to stop him.
Director: Mario Van Peebles | Stars: Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Allen Payne, Chris Rock
Votes: 38,844 | Gross: $47.62M
9. Charm City Kings (2020)
R | 125 min | Drama
Fourteen-year-old Mouse desperately wants to join the Midnight Clique, an infamous group of Baltimore dirt-bike riders who rule the summertime streets.
Director: Angel Manuel Soto | Stars: Jahi Di'Allo Winston, Meek Mill, William Catlett, Donielle T. Hansley Jr.
Votes: 3,028
10. End of Watch (2012)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Shot documentary-style, this film follows the daily grind of two young police officers in LA who are partners and friends and what happens when they meet criminal forces greater than themselves.
Director: David Ayer | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña, Anna Kendrick, America Ferrera
Votes: 269,199 | Gross: $41.00M
11. King of New York (1990)
R | 103 min | Crime, Thriller
A drug kingpin is released from prison and seeks to take total control of the criminal underworld in order to give back to the community.
Director: Abel Ferrara | Stars: Christopher Walken, David Caruso, Laurence Fishburne, Victor Argo
Votes: 42,129 | Gross: $2.55M
12. Street Kings (2008)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
An undercover cop, disillusioned by the death of his wife, is implicated in the murder of an officer and must struggle to clear himself.
Director: David Ayer | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans
Votes: 120,853 | Gross: $26.42M
13. Bullet Boy (2004)
R | 89 min | Drama
In one of East London's most volatile neighborhoods, pride, rivalry and revenge are the only codes on the street. Touted as a British Boyz in the Hood, Bullet Boy is a gripping and ... See full summary »
Director: Saul Dibb | Stars: Ashley Walters, Luke Fraser, Leon Black, Clare Perkins
Votes: 2,743
14. Above the Rim (1994)
R | 96 min | Crime, Drama, Sport
Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
Director: Jeff Pollack | Stars: Duane Martin, Tupac Shakur, Leon, David Bailey
Votes: 17,101 | Gross: $16.04M
15. Belly (1998)
R | 96 min | Crime, Drama
Two young friends involved in organized crime and drug dealing find that their priorities differ.
Director: Hype Williams | Stars: Nas, DMX, Taral Hicks, Tionne 'T-Boz' Watkins
Votes: 12,636 | Gross: $9.63M
16. Starred Up (2013)
Not Rated | 106 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Eric Love, 19, is locked up in prison. On his first day, he assaults another inmate and several guards. He's offered group therapy and his dad, an inmate as well, tries to talk sense into him. Can he be rehabilitated?
Director: David Mackenzie | Stars: Jack O'Connell, Ben Mendelsohn, Rupert Friend, Sam Spruell
Votes: 48,701 | Gross: $0.03M
17. Offender (2012)
Not Rated | 102 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Justice needs to be served at Britain's most notorious young offenders institute.
Director: Ron Scalpello | Stars: Joe Cole, English Frank, Kimberley Nixon, Shaun Dooley
Votes: 4,882
18. Fresh (1994)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Death and violence anger a twelve-year-old drug courier, who sets his employers against each other.
Director: Boaz Yakin | Stars: Sean Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, Samuel L. Jackson, N'Bushe Wright
Votes: 14,593 | Gross: $8.09M
19. Colors (1988)
R | 120 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An experienced cop and his rookie partner patrol the streets of East Los Angeles while trying to keep the gang violence under control.
Director: Dennis Hopper | Stars: Sean Penn, Robert Duvall, Maria Conchita Alonso, Randy Brooks
Votes: 29,837 | Gross: $46.62M
20. Juice (1992)
R | 95 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Four inner-city teenagers get caught up in the pursuit of power and happiness, which they refer to as "the juice".
Director: Ernest R. Dickerson | Stars: Omar Epps, Tupac Shakur, Jermaine Hopkins, Khalil Kain
Votes: 30,382 | Gross: $20.15M
21. In Too Deep (1999)
R | 95 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Right out of police academy, Jeff/Omar Epps starts as undercover cop in Cincinnati. First it's small time cases but he proves himself and moves up to a big case - befriending a brutal crime boss.
Director: Michael Rymer | Stars: Lloyd Adams, Philip Akin, Anna Carolina Arias, Karina Arroyave
Votes: 7,122 | Gross: $14.00M
22. New Jersey Drive (1995)
R | 98 min | Crime, Drama
Jason and Midget are two young, black teenagers living in Newark,New Jersey, the unofficial car theft capital of the world. Their favourite pastime is that of everybody in their ... See full summary »
Director: Nick Gomez | Stars: Shar-Ron Corley, Gabriel Casseus, Saul Stein, Gwen McGee
Votes: 3,453 | Gross: $3.57M
23. Lockdown (2000)
R | 105 min | Drama, Thriller
Avery (Jones) returns to college as a competitive swimmer after getting his life back on track. But his life takes another unexpected turn when he and his two friends (Bonds, Casseus) are wrongly accused of murder and end up in prison.
Director: John Luessenhop | Stars: Richard T. Jones, De'aundre Bonds, Gabriel Casseus, Master P
Votes: 2,735 | Gross: $0.45M
24. Bound by Honor (1993)
R | 180 min | Crime, Drama
Based on the true life experiences of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, the film focuses on step-brothers Paco and Cruz, and their bi-racial cousin Miklo.
Director: Taylor Hackford | Stars: Damian Chapa, Jesse Borrego, Benjamin Bratt, Enrique Castillo
Votes: 34,051 | Gross: $4.50M
25. 8 Mile (2002)
R | 110 min | Drama, Music
Follows a young rapper in the Detroit area, struggling with every aspect of his life; he wants to make it big but his friends and foes make this odyssey of rap harder than it may seem.
Director: Curtis Hanson | Stars: Eminem, Brittany Murphy, Kim Basinger, Mekhi Phifer
Votes: 321,055 | Gross: $116.72M
26. Ill Manors (2012)
Not Rated | 121 min | Crime, Drama, Music
The lives of four drug dealers, one user, and two prostitutes are explored.
Director: Plan B | Stars: Riz Ahmed, Sliem Ben-Salah, Ed Skrein, Lee Allen
Votes: 11,243
27. Sugar Hill (1993)
R | 123 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A drug dealer tries to get out of the life and start anew with his girlfriend, but the transition is tragically difficult.
Director: Leon Ichaso | Stars: Wesley Snipes, Michael Wright, Khandi Alexander, DeVaughn Nixon
Votes: 4,874 | Gross: $18.27M
28. Clockers (1995)
R | 128 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Young drug pushers in the projects of Brooklyn live hard dangerous lives, trapped between their drug bosses and the detectives out to stop them.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Harvey Keitel, John Turturro, Delroy Lindo, Mekhi Phifer
Votes: 23,537 | Gross: $13.04M
29. Dead Presidents (1995)
R | 119 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A Vietnam vet adjusts to life after the war while trying to support his family, but the chance of a better life may involve crime and bloodshed.
Directors: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes | Stars: Larenz Tate, Keith David, Chris Tucker, Freddy Rodríguez
Votes: 24,493 | Gross: $24.20M
30. Set It Off (1996)
R | 123 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Desperation drives four inner-city women to bank robbery in Los Angeles, then they start mistrusting each other.
Director: F. Gary Gray | Stars: Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, Kimberly Elise
Votes: 18,468 | Gross: $36.05M
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