Best Espionage Films List

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Last Updated: 4/5/22
Note: It's simple and straightforward: the best of the best in espionage cinema history. In order to qualify, the film has received a rating of at least '7' from me and then must also meet the following criteria:

1. The main focus is on intelligence gathering.
2. It can be about spies, the CIA, MI6, the KGB, etc.

Military films are acceptable as long as the focus is on espionage. Multiple parts (i.e. duology, trilogy, etc.) can be put together as one if there's a continuation in the narrative. Miniseries and telefilms are fair game, but anything made after the year 2000 and documentaries are excluded.

These films have shown brilliance in most, if not all, aspects: acting, characters, screenplay, plot, direction, editing, cinematography, and so on. They must also be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Then, I think about cultural phenomenon, uniqueness, famous movie moments, iconic scenes and/or lines, cinematic power, and timelessness.

This list is based on what I have seen so far and is limited to the top 10 with 3 honorable mentions in that order and some, if any, notable exceptions to the rule. While ranking the films, I am simultaneously thinking about espionage before quality and quality before espionage.



  1. The 39 Steps (1935)

    2. The most definitive Hitchcock picture made, The 39 Steps is the gold standard that many espionage pictures have failed to match. Robert Donat has never been better, and Lucie Mannheim deserves credit for setting the tone. The formula of Alfred Hitchcock's many films can be readily found in The 39 Steps.


  2. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

    3. The Manchurian Candidate is a brilliantly made political thriller picture with the most complex editing imaginable. Now, remember the book was written in 1959 and the film was released in 1962 which was more than one year before JFK's assassination. The President knew all about it and gave the filmmakers his expressed approval to go ahead with the project. Hence, there's no telling if Lee Harvey Oswald saw the film or was inspired by it. Pretty chilling stuff.


  3. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)

    4. Move over, James Bond...here comes a real spy by the name of Alec Leamas. Nominated for Best Actor Academy Award, Richard Burton is devastatingly good as a "seedy, squalid" spy who has seen it all and is disgusted with life. His performance is in the top two or three of his career.


  4. Clear and Present Danger (1994)

    5. Clear and Present Danger is by far the best film of the Jack Ryan franchise. The story is so good with different kinds of villains, and the acting, especially by Harrison Ford, Joaquim de Almeida, Miguel Sandoval, Henry "Boom" Czerny, Harris Yulin, and Donald Moffat, is terrific. Speaking of villains, there are not one, two, or three but many of them. Not only are they from the bad side, but they're also from the good side.


  5. Mission: Impossible (1996)

    6. It's truly mission impossible in Mission: Impossible. What a fine job by Tom Cruise who may have turned in the most exciting performance in years. The script, the defining moments, the gadgets, the disguise masks, and, most of them all, the ending with the TGV and the helicopter are spectacular. Of course, we must have Henry Czerny for the show.


  6. Patriot Games (1992)

    7. Patriot Games is a thrilling yarn by Tom Clancy with a new kind of action hero through Jack Ryan. It's a unique American picture with lots of strong UK elements. Sean Bean will forever be remembered for this. Harrison Ford has a great line when he confronted Richard Harris: "I will fucking destroy you." Cromwell was certainly left shaking in his boots...or perhaps not.


  7. The Train (1964)

    8. Chalk The Train up as one of the most exciting WWII pictures. Nothing beats the sight of Burt Lancaster in action. His going down the ladder quickly, jumping off the train while it's in motion, running across the bridge, and getting through the mountain range with a injured leg are some of the film's highest points. Also, it has some great aerial shots, especially when the railyard is bombed.


  8. No Way Out (1987)

    9. Kevin Costner is the show and looks great in whites. He has a famous movie moment with Sean Young when they start making love in the back of the limo, but once her character is killed, that's when the movie starts to take off. From there on, the race is on to see who will be left holding the bag which is fun to watch.


  9. Scorpio (1973)

    10. Far ahead of its time, Scorpio predates Patriot Games by nineteen years for shooting scenes inside the CIA headquarters at Langley, Virginia. It's a deliberately paced espionage picture that spans four countries: United States, England, France, and Austria. So many things happen during the deadly cat-and-mouse game between Cross and Scorpio with CIA agents, and a lot of people die unexpectedly.


  10. The Lady Vanishes (1938)

    11. No matter how much The Lady Vanishes resembles The 39 Steps, it's still a Hitchcock-worthy picture. What carries the show well is the marvelous pairings of Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne as the cricket enthusiasts, Charters and Caldicott, and Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave.



Honorable Mentions: The Hunt for the Red October (1990), Executive Action (1973), and Thunderball (1965)

Notable Exceptions: The Pentagon Papers (2003), The Recruit (2003), and XXX (2002)