Since the Narcos boom it seems that we have once again looked at the world of drugs and drug trafficking with interest . The television boom, in addition to the musical with trap music, for example, has led to more and more interest in this theme that can cover any genre: from food to drama, from the most commercial to independent films. Netflix, HBO and the classics of the genre… We have it all. That is why we leave you here with the best drug and drug trafficking movies.
- You can also read: The 10 best series on drugs and drug trafficking.
ARTICLE CONTENT
1. The best drug and narc movies on Netflix.
2. The best drug and narc movies on HBO.
3. The best drug and narc movies in general.
The best drug and narcos movies on Netflix
On Netflix, the narcos movies are the most popular. Perhaps due to the success of the homonymous series they have acquired the rights to more movies with drug lords with money and very very powerful, but they are not the only ones.
1. American Gangster (2007)
This film directed by the great Ridley Scott and starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe tells the life of Frank Lucas, one of the most powerful drug traffickers of the 60s and 70s in the United States.. Lucas made a profit from the heroin business thanks to the Vietnam War and the soldiers coming and going. An authentic movie, away from the strionics of many drug and narcos movies.
2. Sicario (2015)
In Sicario, Denis Villeneuve’s film, drugs are the backdrop to make a dense film full of references to such burning issues today as the border between the United States and Mexico. This movie was a critical success, competing in Cannes and being nominated for three Oscars . It has an amazing script and a cast of top actors. Do not miss it.
3. How High (2000)
We changed the tone and moved on to comedy. Because movies about drug dealing can be police or as naughty as this How High, in which rappers like Method Man and Redman embark on a crazy plot in which they end up at Harvard University thanks to marijuana that makes them super intelligent . To pass the exams and continue in the university they only have one option: to continue smoking.
4. El Nino (2014)
The Spanish representative of this list . Just as Sicario dealt with the problems of the fight against drug trafficking on the border between Mexico and the US, El Nino does the same with the Strait of Gibraltar and the coast of Cadiz. A serious film with spectacular scenes that perfectly reflects the fight against drugs in Spain and life in a place where unemployment and precariousness lead many to risk their lives with smuggling.
The best drug and drug lord movies on HBO
After Netflix come the best drug lord movies on HBO, and it shows that they are different platforms with a special catalog for different audiences. The three films that we have selected show us a crazier side of drugs , less focused on the fight against drug trafficking.
5. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
One of Martin Scorsese’s best films and one of the most famous of the last ten years. The Wolf of Wall Street, which features a Leonardo DiCapriospectacular in the role of Jordan Belfort, an unscrupulous Wall Street broker who managed to build a financial empire from nothing thanks to his glibness and breaking the law. It was the 80s and, of course, where there was money there was cocaine …and tranquilizers, alcohol, parties… If you haven’t seen it yet, we don’t know what you’re waiting for!
6. The Rum Diaries (2011)
Hunter S. Thompson’s first foray into this list. Because alcohol is also a drug… The Rum Diaries is an adaptation of the novel written by Thompson in which he recounts the adventures of a journalist in a seedy newspaper in Puerto Rico. There he will find himself in a mess with gangsters and above all, with a lot of rum(Thompson does everything in a big way so it even includes a distillery). A very interesting movie that went too unnoticed at the time.
7. Spring Breakers (2012)
Harmory Korine, one of the most prestigious underground directors in the world, who already dealt with the issue of drugs in adolescence in his magnificent film KIDS, surprised us in 2012 with this Spring Breakers, in which they acted some of the most famous stars of the moment like Vanessa Hudgens or Selena Gomez with James Franco .
In this crazy movie, drugs appear when the girls get into trouble for trying to sell them to get money for a trip, and when Alien, a narco, rescues them from the clutches of justice, and during vacations, and… In short , many drugs. And a very good movie, even if it seems otherwise with the cast… It’s the magic of Korine .
The best drug movies in general
But since man lives not only on Netflix or HBO, we leave you with a final firework of the best drug trafficking movies you can see. Many are from the 1990s and early 2000s, when drug movies became a very popular genre.
8. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1999)
The second installment in this list of the adventures of Hunter S. Thompson in which drugs are just as protagonists (or more) than Johnny Depp or Benicio del Toro in this crazy movie that recounts Thompson’s trip to Vegas when he was Journalist for Rolling Stone magazine in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Funny, stylish, and very crazy. For example, we leave you with the beginning of the film:
9. Enter The Void (2011)
Gaspar Noe achieved with Enter The Void a film that perfectly reflects the effects of DMT, a hallucinogen found in ayahuasca -also known as peyote-, a plant from the American continent that causes the most amazing visions of all substances. In a city as special as Tokyo, we will see all the recesses of the human soul from a very special perspective. Watch out! Gaspar Noe’s style can make you a little seasick in the middle of the trip .
10. Scarface ‘The Price of Power’ (1983)
A modern classic. Al Pacino in one of the roles of his life. A drug lord who loves luxury and cocaine and who will not stop getting into trouble in the three hours that the film lasts. Scarface has been the reference for many artists -and non-artists- since its launch.Tony Montana and Manny Riviera have already become two of the best-known gangsters in the history of cinema .
11. Blow (2001)
Johnny Depp again in this compilation (and there are three, we don’t know why…) of the best drug movies. Blow is a lesser known film than the rest of these last six. It tells the -real- story of George Jung, a California drug trafficker during the 70s and 80s, who starts out selling marijuana and ends up being the main contact of Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel in the United States. Not only does it tell the story of Jung, but it also helps us to get to know American society in relation to drugs throughout this period.
12. Requiem For a Dream (2001)
After more than 10 films in which drugs served us to laugh, get excited or simply have a good time, we find Requiem For a Dream, by Darren Aronofsky. This movie will take away all the desire you may have accumulated to try drugs with movies like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas or How High, a devastating portrait of addiction and its ravages.
13. Trainspotting (1996)
We end our review with what is perhaps the most mythical film on drugs. Ewan McGregor is Mark Renton, a kid from Edinburgh who, along with his friends, goes in and out of heroin. All the characters are charismatic, humor prevails in much of the film and also shows us the bad side of the drug, without being Requiem For a Dream, of course.Perhaps the best on the list… and with a soundtrack that will always be remembered .
Now that you have your list of movies about drug trafficking prepared, all you have to do is make a good hole for yourself on the sofa, turn on the television and start enjoying.
- You can also read: The 15 most WTF movies of all time.
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All the news and news about cinema and series of the moment, you will find them in this link.
