5 entertaining true-crime documentaries like How to Rob a Bank

5 entertaining true-crime documentaries like How to Rob a Bank (Image via Netflix)
5 entertaining true-crime documentaries like How to Rob a Bank (Image via Netflix)

How to Rob a Bank is a true-crime documentary from Netflix. The hour-and-a-half-long film is directed by Stephen Robert Morse and Seth Porges, who also helped with the screenplay alongside Maxim Gertler-Jaffe and Max Peltz.

The movie recently dropped on Netflix just a week ago and has already become a hit among the audience. The general consensus among the critics also seems to be positive, with praise coming for its gripping storytelling.

How to Rob a Bank (Image via Netflix)
How to Rob a Bank (Image via Netflix)

How to Rob a Bank explores the 90s Seattle bank robberies perpetrated by Mark Biggins and Steve Meyers under the supervision of their mastermind, Scott Scurlock, collectively known as the Hollywood Bandits. They have been convicted of 19 bank jobs and stealing a total of $2.3 million. While Scurlock killed himself during the FBI encounter that caught them, Meyers and Biggins were caught and convicted for their crimes.

How to Rob a Bank uses first-hand interviews with the perpetrators themselves, who have already served their time and currently live quiet lives. It also features re-enactments by actors to paint a detailed account of the endeavors of the Hollywood Bandits.

If you loved watching How to Rob a Bank on Netflix and are looking for other such titles to stream, then we have you covered. We have curated the perfect list of true-crime documentaries about heists and robberies that you can stream right now on Netflix.


Bank Robbers: The Last Great Heist, Evil Genius, and 3 other true-crime titles like How to Rob a Bank

1) Bank Robbers: The Last Great Heist

Bank Robbers: The Last Great Heist (Image via Netflix)
Bank Robbers: The Last Great Heist (Image via Netflix)

Bank Robbers: The Last Great Heist, originally titled Los Ladrones: La verdadera historia del robo del siglo, is an Argentinian true-crime documentary from Netflix. Released in 2022, the film is directed by Matías Gueilburt, with the original writing credits going to Nicolas Gueilburt, while Cameron Sloan does the English transcript.

The almost two-hour-long film revisits the 2006 heist of the Buenos Aires branch of Banco Rio and explores the details of how the legendary crime went down. The film features CCTV camera footage, archival footage, as well as re-enactments supervised by the robbers themselves to navigate their plan in a detailed manner.


2) This is a Robbery: The World's Biggest Art Heist

This is a Robbery: The World's Biggest Art Heist (Image via Netflix)
This is a Robbery: The World's Biggest Art Heist (Image via Netflix)

This is a Robbery: The World's Biggest Art Heist is an American true-crime limited docuseries from Netflix. Made up of four hour-long episodes, the series dropped for streaming in 2021 after seven long years of staying in production. The series was directed by Colin Barnicle.

This is a Robbery goes back to 1990 to delve into the art heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Over the course of seven years, the team interviewed numerous people involved directly or indirectly in the night of the heist. With the $600 million heist remaining unsolved to date, this facilitates the audience to draw their own inferences.


3) Evil Genius: The True Story of America's Most Diabolical Bank Heist

Evil Genius: The True Story of America's Most Diabolical Bank Heist (Image via Netflix)
Evil Genius: The True Story of America's Most Diabolical Bank Heist (Image via Netflix)

Evil Genius: The True Story of America's Most Diabolical Bank Heist is a true-crime documentary miniseries from Netflix. The series is made up of four 50-minute episodes, which premiered in May 2018. Barbara Schroeder wrote the screenplay while co-directing the series alongside Trey Borzillieri, who also narrates.

The documentary takes us back to August 28, 2003, in Erie, Pennsylvania, to delve into a case that started with the robbery of PNC Bank. However, it is arguably an extremely twisted case involving quite a number of characters. Evil Genius explores the crimes committed, the accused, their motivations, and the aftermath of the case.


4) The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman

The Puppet Master: Hunting The Ultimate Conman (Image via Netflix)
The Puppet Master: Hunting The Ultimate Conman (Image via Netflix)

The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman is a British true-crime docuseries from Netflix. Co-directed by Sam Bernstead and Gareth Johnson, the series arrived on Netflix in early 2022 with three episodes, each between 30 and 50 minutes long.

The Puppet Master takes a trip back to 1990s England and retells the stories of deception by Robert Henry-Freegard as he impersonates an undercover MI5 agent. Under the disguise, he coerced a total of around £1 million out of multiple people, along with manipulating others.

While it may not be a run-of-the-mill robbery or heist docuseries, The Puppet Master makes up for a highly intriguing and entertaining watch.


5) Heist

Heist (Image via Netflix)
Heist (Image via Netflix)

Heist is an American true-crime docuseries from Netflix. The show premiered on the streaming platform in July 2021 with six 40-minute episodes. Derek Doneen, Nick Frew, and Martin Desmond Roe each direct two-part episodes.

If you're somebody who's always looking for a new documentary movie or series to binge, then this is the perfect title for you. Heist delves into three different cases, each covered over two episodes. The cases include a hypnotized robbery of an armored car, an airport heist, and a distillery worker 'stealing' expensive bourbon.


These are some of our personal favorite recommendations if you're looking for some good true-crime documentaries without the overwhelming gore that most murder mysteries come with.

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