Thug life movies and TV shows
The list contains the best, new and most relevant thug life movies ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out serious, realistic, rough, tense, suspense and harsh films and TV shows about / with thug life, violence, gang, gangster, redemption, friendship, corruption, revenge, mentor and murder plots mostly in Drama, Crime and Thriller genres shot in USA, UK, South Korea and other countries.
85
TOP 10 movies tagged as thug life: xXx (2002), A Shop for Killers (2024), Bad Boys (1983), First Time Felon (1997), Homestead (2023), American Me (1992), South Central (1992), Head Bush (2022), Joy Road (2004), The Great Escape (1963).
Best films
New films
| Cut Throat City (2020) | 4.9 | |
| ATL (2006) | 6.2 | |
| Black (2015) | 7.0 | |
| Crown Heights (2017) | 6.7 | |
| Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005) | 5.6 |
List of thug life movies
193K
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min.
Story:
Xander Cage is your standard adrenaline junkie with no fear and a lousy attitude. When the US Government "recruits" him to go on a mission, he's not exactly thrilled. His mission: to gather information on an organization that may just ...
Style:
sexy, action packed, spy action, suspense, predictable ...
Audience:
boys' night, manly, kids, girls' night, teens
Plot:
undercover, secret agent, chase, gunfight, heroic mission, extreme sport, spy hero, avenger, espionage, agent, terrorist plot, tough heroes ...
Time:
year 2002, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
prague, washington d.c., europe, california, czech republic ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: South Korea
Duration: 50 min.
TV show
Story:
A niece who lost her parents and grew up in the hands of an uncle who runs a shopping mall faces a new truth after her uncle's sudden death.
Style:
captivating, exciting, realistic, psychological, thrilling ...
Plot:
shopping mall, victim, murder, gang war, gang warfare, gang, criminal gang, outlaw gang, bandit, gang of outlaws, thug life, surrounded ...
Is relevant?
19K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min.
Story:
Mick O'Brien is a young Chicago street thug torn between a life of petty crime and the love of his girlfriend. But when the heist of a local drug dealer goes tragically wrong Mick is sentenced to a brutal juvenile prison where violence is a ...
Style:
neo noir, suspense, realistic, disturbing, serious ...
Audience:
teens, kids, teen drama
Plot:
prison, vengeance, juvenile delinquent, violence, juvenile delinquency, youth, bullying, prison escape, gangster, rivalry, prison rape, brat pack ...
Time:
80s, 20th century
Place:
chicago, usa, south america, illinois, new jersey ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
Inspired by the true story of Greg Yance. In the film, Yance (Epps) is a hood who goes to jail for possession of drugs. He is given a choice: 5 years in jail or a couple of months in boot camp. He chooses boot camp and finds out it is tougher than ...
Style:
hood, inspirational, serious, realistic, tense ...
Plot:
black, urban, blaxploitation, boot camp, thug life, ghetto, prison, prison life, black history, thug, black man, drug dealing ...
Time:
90s
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 119 min.
Story:
A school appears peaceful from a distance, but a fierce gambling battle takes place once again. Yumeko Jabami is involved in the battle.
Style:
talky, disturbing, captivating, clever, tense ...
Plot:
gambling, school, strong female lead, casino, money, success, addiction, gambling house, club, gang warfare, loneliness, contest ...
Is relevant?
323
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 79 min.
Story:
A family of homesteaders taken captive by a gang of outlaws. Their survival comes to rest in the hands of Irene: a loud-mouthed 12-year-old girl who's got an uncanny knack for shooting guns.
Style:
tense, bleak, serious, suspenseful, exciting ...
Plot:
outlaw, gunslinger, revenge, cowgirl, survival, homestead, thug life, outlaw gang, bandit, criminal gang, gang, gang of outlaws ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min.
Story:
Edward J. Olmos made his directorial bow with the powerhouse crime saga American Me. Olmos stars as street-gang leader Santana, who during his 18 years in Folsom Prison rules over all the drug-and-murder activities behind bars. Upon his release, ...
Style:
sexy, disturbing, talky, emotional, intense ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
prison, gang, prison gang, violence, sexual abuse, gay rape, homosexual rape, racism, prison life, visceral, jail, mafia ...
Time:
1940s, 20th century, 70s, 50s, 1950s ...
Place:
los angeles, california, south america, usa, san francisco
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
A man is put to prison for 10 years. Coming out of prison he wants to live a normal life and stop with crime but his son has yet followed the criminal path of his father.
Style:
hood, sexual, captivating, crime drama, independent film ...
Plot:
gang, criminal gang, urban ghetto life, ghetto, urban, black, blaxploitation, hip hop, african american, father son relationship, father son reunion, drug dealing ...
Time:
90s, 80s, year 1992
Place:
los angeles, california, usa, south central los angeles, africa
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Biography, Crime
Country: India
Duration: 138 min.
Story:
Head Bush revolves around Jayaraj, his friends, foes, police officers, and the politicians who changed the course of the political scenario of Bengaluru in the 1970s. The film focuses on the rise and rise of Jayaraj - from a teenager to a rowdy to a ...
Style:
captivating, tense, thrilling, psychological, political ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
power politics, mafia, politics, biopic, violence, power struggle, underworld, gangster, organized crime, politician, rise to power, bandit ...
Time:
70s
Place:
india
Is relevant?
244
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min.
Story:
Tony Smalls is a burned out lawyer looking for a new direction in life. He's forced to put his plans on hold when his sister Nia asks him to defend her fiance', a gang kingpin who is under arrest for a triple murder that he says he ...
Style:
serious, realistic, rough, hood, captivating ...
Plot:
courtroom drama, fighting the system, gang, society, legal, dishonesty, courtroom, homeless, thug life, poverty, african american, black ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa, detroit
Is relevant?
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Thriller, War
Country: USA
Duration: 172 min.
Story:
The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocates them to a high-security 'escape-proof' camp to sit out the remainder of the war. Undaunted, the prisoners ...
Style:
suspenseful, suspense, exciting, realistic, historical drama ...
Audience:
boys' night, family friendly, teens, manly, kids ...
Plot:
world war two, prison, prisoner, soldier, pow, freedom, prison escape, nazi, chase, war, capture, courage ...
Time:
1940s, year 1963, 1900s, 20th century
Place:
germany, america, europe, switzerland, alps ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 127 min.
Story:
When petty criminal Luke Jackson is sentenced to two years in a Florida prison farm, he doesn't play by the rules of either the sadistic warden or the yard's resident heavy, Dragline, who ends up admiring the new guy's unbreakable ...
Style:
atmospheric, serious, rough, depressing, intense ...
Audience:
manly, adult
Plot:
prison, escape, prisoner, prison break, death, prison life, runaway, convict, prison escape, egg, freedom, fugitive ...
Time:
20th century, 1950s, year 1967, 60s, 50s
Place:
florida, southern usa
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
145K
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: France, USA
Duration: 151 min.
Story:
A man befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence on a dreadful prison island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.
Style:
inspirational, psychological, visually stunning, grim, mind twisting ...
Plot:
prison escape, prison, life philosophy, escape, prison break, runaway, prison life, jail, protector, human spirit, escape attempt, escape plan ...
Time:
year 1973, 1940s, 20th century, 1930s, 70s
Place:
south america, persia, guyana, latin america, atlantic ocean
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
A young man who is charged with child molestation is placed in New York City’s infamous Tombs prison. When the other inmates in his cell block find out what he is charged with, life becomes extremely difficult for him.
Style:
grim, cult classic, crime drama, independent film, captivating ...
Plot:
prison, prison life, sex crime, blaxploitation, child molester, racial tension, gay slur, racial slur, prison guard, ethnic slur, pedophilia, rape ...
Time:
70s
Place:
new york, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 121 min.
Story:
Billy Hayes is caught attempting to smuggle drugs out of Turkey. The Turkish courts decide to make an example of him, sentencing him to more than 30 years in prison. Hayes has two opportunities for release: the appeals made by his lawyer, his ...
Style:
disturbing, suspense, realistic, depressing, psychological ...
Plot:
prison, brutality, torture, injustice, lawyer, escape, prison life, prison escape, drug, drug smuggling, court, violent ...
Time:
70s, 20th century, year 1970, year 1978, year 1975 ...
Place:
turkey, brooklyn new york city, greece, istanbul turkey, europe ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min.
Story:
A hitchhiker named Martel Gordone gets in a fight with two bikers over a prostitute, and one of the bikers is killed. Gordone is arrested and sent to prison, where he joins the prison's boxing team in an effort to secure an early parole and to ...
Style:
independent film, realistic, serious, suspenseful, rough ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
blaxploitation, prison, boxing, prison life, black, drifter, prison sex, underground, black history, martial arts, thug life, false accusation ...
Time:
year 1979, 70s
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA, Netherlands
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
The streets of the Bronx are owned by 60’s youth gangs where the joy and pain of adolescence is lived. Philip Kaufman tells his take on the novel by Richard Price about the history of the Italian-American gang ‘The Wanderers.’
Style:
grindhouse, cult classic, hood, serious, realistic ...
Audience:
teens, girls' night, teen drama
Plot:
coming of age, cheerleader, street gang, street gangster, american football, rock and roll, bullying, gang, high school, bare chested male, male pubic hair, male orgasm ...
Time:
year 1979, year 1963, 20th century, 60s, 80s
Place:
new york, bronx new york city, usa, new jersey, california
Is relevant?
119K
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
Prominent gang leader Cyrus calls a meeting of New York's gangs to set aside their turf wars and take over the city. At the meeting, a rival leader kills Cyrus, but a Coney Island gang called the Warriors is wrongly blamed for Cyrus' ...
Style:
cult classic, neo noir, retro, grindhouse, grim ...
Audience:
teens, boys' night, teen drama, adult
Plot:
survival, street gang, gang, gang war, gang member, subway, violence, warrior, gangster, chase, murder, graffiti ...
Time:
future, 70s, year 1979, near future, 80s
Place:
new york, coney island brooklyn new york city, bronx new york city, usa, north america ...
Is relevant?
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Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min.
Story:
A hardened convict and a younger prisoner escape from a brutal prison in the middle of winter only to find themselves on an out-of-control train with a female railway worker while being pursued by the vengeful head of security.
Style:
road movie, suspense, intense, realistic, rough ...
Plot:
train, prison escape, survival, runaway train, escaped prisoner, escape, prison, violence, prisoner, wilderness, fugitives, chases and races ...
Time:
20th century, year 1985, 80s
Place:
alaska, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 122 min.
Story:
A justice drama based on a true story about a man on death row who in his last days forms a strong relationship with a nun who teaches him forgiveness and gives him spirituality as she accompanies him to his execution.
Style:
thought provoking, touching, emotional, sad, depressing ...
Plot:
death row, prison, rape, death sentence, nun, death penalty, violence, prison life, court, murder, redemption, catholic ...
Time:
20th century, year 1995, 90s
Place:
louisiana, new orleans, united kingdom, southern usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller, War
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min.
Story:
Depicts a heist of old bills, retired from circulation and destined by the government to be "money to burn". However, more broadly, it addresses the issues of Black Americans' involvement in the Vietnam War and their subsequent ...
Style:
sexy, realistic, cult classic, neo noir, suspense ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
violence, vietnam war, african american, heist, robbery, redemption, gangster, violent, blaxploitation, profanity, black, urban ...
Time:
60s, 20th century, 70s, year 1974, year 1970 ...
Place:
new york, bronx new york city, usa, asia, vietnam ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
New Jersey Drive is a 1995 film about black youths in Newark, New Jersey, the unofficial "car theft capital of the world". Their favorite pastime is that of everybody in their neighborhood: stealing cars and joyriding. The trouble starts ...
Style:
hood, melancholic, brutal, serious, disturbing ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
gang, brutality, ghetto, police investigation, urban, vengeance, hip hop, murder, lone hero, black, teenage life, drug dealing ...
Time:
90s, 70s
Place:
new jersey, new york, usa, california
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
A tough, Jewish ex-con just released from prison crosses a powerful drug dealer and former prison rival in his return to a life of crime.
Style:
hood, independent film, disturbing, stylized, harsh ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
addiction, drug abuse, life philosophy, prison rape, revenge killing, ghetto, violence, drug dealer, gangster, hip hop, character study, life ...
Time:
20th century, 90s, 70s
Place:
new york, usa, brooklyn new york city, california, new jersey
Is relevant?
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Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min.
Story:
Four black women, all of whom have suffered for lack of money and at the hands of the majority, undertake to rob banks. While initially successful, a policeman who was involved in shooting one of the women's brothers is on their trail. As the ...
Style:
hood, touching, rom com, bleak, neo noir ...
Audience:
chick flick, teens, girls' night
Plot:
lesbian, african american, bank robbery, female thief, ghetto, black, urban, hip hop, girl gang, women, gangster, robbery ...
Time:
90s
Place:
los angeles, indiana, usa, mexico
Is relevant?
250K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 147 min.
Story:
Two gangsters seek revenge on the state jail worker who during their stay at a youth prison sexually abused them. A sensational court hearing takes place to charge him for the crimes.
Style:
disturbing, sadistic, harsh, suspense, suspenseful ...
Audience:
family friendly, teens, teen drama
Plot:
courtroom drama, child abuse, vengeance, childhood, rape, pedophile, lawyer, pedophilia, murder trial, friendship, sexual abuse, sexualized violence ...
Time:
90s, 20th century, 80s, 60s
Place:
new york, manhattan new york city, madison square garden manhattan new york city, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min.
Story:
A white school teacher takes over a talented, but undisciplined black high school basketball team and turns them into a winning team.
Style:
hood, humorous, realistic, semi serious, captivating ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
basketball, high school, hip hop, underdog, high school sports, urban, black, african american, teacher, ghetto, discrimination, education ...
Time:
year 1996, 90s
Place:
new york, usa, california, new jersey
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min.
Story:
After surviving a stabbing by a student, teacher Trevor Garfield moves from New York to Los Angeles. There, he resumes teaching as a substitute teacher. The education system, where violent bullies control the classrooms and the administration is ...
Style:
hood, cult classic, suspense, realistic, disturbing ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
teacher, high school, urban, hip hop, revenge, gang, gangster, vigilante, vengeance, mentor, teaching, mexican gang ...
Time:
year 1997, 90s, 20th century
Place:
los angeles, new york, usa, manhattan new york city, new jersey ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min.
Story:
Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for killing two thugs who tried to break into/steal his truck. Through his brother, Danny Vineyard's narration, we learn that before going to prison, Derek was a skinhead and the leader ...
Style:
cerebral, rough, serious, clever, disturbing ...
Audience:
boys' night, date night, teens, teen drama
Plot:
gang, skinhead, racism, prison, neo nazism, neo nazi, character change, nazism, juvenile delinquency, murder, politics, african american ...
Time:
20th century, year 1998, 90s
Place:
los angeles, usa, california, america, north america ...
Is relevant?
18K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min.
Story:
The story of Jody, a misguided, 20-year-old African-American who is really just a baby boy finally forced-kicking and screaming to face the commitments of real life. Streetwise and jobless, he has not only fathered two children by two different ...
Style:
emotional, hood, stylized, light, intense ...
Audience:
kids
Plot:
gang, womanizer, lone hero, single parent, african american, black, blaxploitation, gangster, unlikely friendships, urban, organized crime, twists and turns ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
los angeles, california, south central los angeles, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama, Musical
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
Feature adaptation of Rapman's YouTube series about two young friends who become rivals in a street war.
Style:
hood, heartbreaking, dark, tense, controversial ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
ghetto, street gang, gang member, bandit, gang, teenager, criminal gang, gunfight, gang violence, youth, friends, rivalry ...
Place:
london
Is relevant?
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