If The Godfather Is Your Gold Standard, These Crime Dramas Come Close (2025/2026)

Let’s face it — once you’ve seen The Godfather, most crime dramas feel like cheap imitations. Francis Ford Coppola’s legendary saga isn’t just about the Mafia; it’s about family, loyalty, legacy, and power. Every line drips with gravity, every glance has weight, and every betrayal cuts deep. It’s the gold standard for a reason.

But if you’re here, you’re probably wondering — is anything out there even remotely close? Is there another crime story that can hold a candle to the Corleones, that same sense of Shakespearean tragedy mixed with mob violence and moral complexity?

The answer: Yes — a few. The following 12 crime dramas won’t replace The Godfather, but they’ll absolutely satisfy your craving for high-stakes storytelling, unforgettable characters, and the dark pull of power and corruption. Add these to your 2025/2026 watchlist.

1. Goodfellas (1990)

Genre: Crime, Drama

If The Godfather was an opera, Goodfellas is a punk-rock punch to the face. Martin Scorsese’s fast-talking, cocaine-fueled mob classic is raw, riveting, and impossible to look away from. Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, and Robert De Niro — every performance hits.

2. The Irishman (2019)

Genre: Crime, Drama, Biographical

Scorsese strikes again, but this time with a slower, more reflective look at life inside the mob. It’s long — yes — but the payoff is enormous. A melancholic meditation on time, loyalty, and regret. Think The Godfather Part II meets Silence.

3. Scarface (1983)

Genre: Crime, Drama

Al Pacino trades in Michael Corleone’s subtlety for Tony Montana’s fiery ambition in this cocaine-drenched tale of a Cuban immigrant’s rise and fall in Miami’s drug scene. It’s loud, violent, iconic — and endlessly quotable.

4. A Most Violent Year (2014)

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Quiet, stylish, and deeply tense. Set in 1981 New York — statistically one of the most violent years in city history — this film follows an immigrant businessman trying to stay clean while everything around him gets dirty. Think Godfather meets Heat, but slower-burn.

5. American Gangster (2007)

Genre: Crime, Drama, Biography

Denzel Washington plays Frank Lucas, a real-life Harlem drug kingpin who rose to power smuggling heroin during the Vietnam War. It’s slick, smart, and full of that empire-building energy The Godfather fans crave.

6. Donnie Brasco (1997)

Genre: Crime, Biography, Drama

Johnny Depp and Al Pacino team up in this true story of an undercover FBI agent who infiltrates the mob — and finds himself sympathizing with the very people he’s supposed to take down. Heartbreaking and brilliant.

7. The Untouchables (1987)

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Brian De Palma’s take on the prohibition-era war between Al Capone and Eliot Ness is pure cinematic flair. Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro, and Sean Connery lead this stylish, old-school cops vs. gangsters showdown.

8. City of God (2002)

Genre: Crime, Drama, Foreign

This Brazilian masterpiece shows the rise of organized crime in the favelas of Rio. It’s brutal, beautiful, and absolutely relentless — with storytelling that feels both epic and intimate.

9. Miller’s Crossing (1990)

Genre: Crime, Noir, Drama

The Coen Brothers bring their unique voice to this Prohibition-era gangster film. Complex, cerebral, and full of double-crosses, it’s an underrated gem with shades of Godfather and Chinatown.

10. The Sopranos (1999–2007) (TV Series)

Genre: Crime, Drama

Okay, not a film — but if you loved The Godfather, this groundbreaking HBO series is essential viewing. Tony Soprano is as layered and compelling as Michael Corleone, and the writing? Next level.

11. Casino (1995)

Genre: Crime, Drama

More Scorsese (you’ll notice a trend here), this time diving into the glitzy, violent world of Vegas mobsters. De Niro, Pesci, and Sharon Stone give powerhouse performances. It’s indulgent and dangerous — and it knows it.

12. Road to Perdition (2002)

Genre: Crime, Drama

Tom Hanks as a mob enforcer? Yep — and he’s great. This haunting father-son tale set during the Great Depression is visually stunning, emotionally devastating, and criminally underrated.