‘It’s so glossy and sexy!’: 10 movies (and one TV show) that inspired Grand Theft Auto

As GTA 6 looms, we look at the films that have influenced Rockstar’s creatives, from Heat to Bonnie and Clyde, via Boyz n the Hood and Speed

Grand Theft Auto is arguably the most cinematic video game series ever made. Over the past three decades, the games have studied and stolen the themes, conventions and visual dynamism of great gangster and action movies, applying them to open worlds filled with low-life characters and grand set-piece possibilities. Here then are the movies (and TV show) that have shaped the GTA experience, from the 1996 original to this year’s inescapable instalment.