Spy movies and thrillers are two genres that get along remarkably well, and as such, several of the greatest spy films of all time are thrillers, and vice versa. These are stories that naturally lend themselves to suspense, excitement, tension-filled action sequences, and mysterious narratives full of intrigue. No wonder so many masterful ones have come out throughout the last century.
Going through Hollywood’s Golden Age with classics like Notorious all the way to Daniel Craig‘s Bond days with films like <em>Skyfall</em>, the best spy thrillers of the last 100 years are a testament to the heights the genre can reach when in the hands of a capable filmmaker. As thought-provoking as they are adrenaline-pumping, these great films are among the best in the history of this exhilarating genre.
10
‘The Spy Who Came In from the Cold’ (1965)
With John le Carré arguably having been the quintessential master of the art of the spy novel, it’s no surprise that so many films based on his work have been made over the years. The question of what the best one of the bunch is, however, isn’t really a question at all. That title would have to go to the British spy thriller The Spy Who Came In from the Cold, one of the best spy movies of all time.
It’s old-school spy filmmaking at its best, one of the greatest and most realistic films ever made about the Cold War. Many people over the years have lovingly referred to this as the perfect anti-Bond movie, and especially seeing as le Carré actually devised the original book as his antidote to those 007 stories that he so intensely disliked, it’s hard to argue against them. There’s no glamor or fancy fictional gadgets here: It’s a gritty, cold look at contemporary Cold War espionage entirely committed to sincerity.
9
‘Skyfall’ (2012)
They may not be the best choice for those who prefer spy movies at their most realistic, but who doesn’t love watching a good James Bond film every now and then? Daniel Craig‘s run as the legendary MI6 agent wasn’t without bumps along the road, but it also had some of the highest points in the character’s entire filmography. Case in point: Skyfall.
It’s nothing short of one of the best spy movies of the 21st century, perfectly balancing action, suspense, emotionally compelling character work, and the same kind of intelligent deconstruction of the Bond mythos that characterized Craig’s whole tenure. With Javier Bardem at his most terrifying and Craig having made the role of 007 entirely his own, there’s no way of watching Skyfall without enjoying its many sprawling set pieces and engaging character moments.
8
‘The Hunt for Red October’ (1990)
Tom Clancy is perhaps best known as the writer who created the iconic Jack Ryan, so it’s no coincidence that his debut novel, The Hunt for Red October, was also the character’s debut. Both creator and creation came into the public eye together, and six years later, the first-ever film adaptation of a Jack Ryan story came out. Directed by <em>Die Hard </em>and Predator‘s John McTiernan, the thriller of the same name is one of the best spy movies of the ’90s.
Starring top-form Alec Baldwin and Sean Connery, the film is a faultless submarine thriller that proves spy movies are very much capable of breathing underwater. Immensely tense and perfectly acted, it’s a true ticking time bomb of a film that feels like it never lets up. The Hunt for Red October is edge-of-your-seat suspense at its most entertaining, and it was a hell of a way of bringing Jack Ryan to the big screen for the first time.
7
‘The Day of the Jackal’ (1973)
The best classic spy thrillers were many times based on iconic novels, and the British-French co-production The Day of the Jackal (based on Frederick Forsyth‘s book of the same name) is no exception. What could possibly go wrong with a spy film when you have an airtight screenplay, direction full of personality, and an incredibly exciting structure? As it turns out, very little.
The Day of the Jackal is about as close as the genre can possibly come to perfection, delivering an intricately constructed story where it feels like every detail—no matter how small—was meticulously put in place and polished up. That attention to detail, however, never robs the movie of its feeling of unpredictability. It’s mysterious and suspenseful like every great spy flick should be, and throughout its whole 2-and-a-half-hour runtime, it never ceases to be exciting.
6
‘The Manchurian Candidate’ (1962)
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