Entertainment
30+ Great Movies About Juvenile Delinquents
The hijinx of troubled teens are rough to deal with, unless you are watching them unfold on the big screen. The top juvenile delinquent movies feature characters dealing with drug use, crime and rebelling against authority. This is a list of rebellious teen movies featuring everything from Heathers to Less Than Zero to City of God.
What movies will you find on this list of the best movies about juvenile delinquency? Fans of the classics might rank Rebel Without a Cause at the very top. James Dean became the iconic misunderstood teen in this 1955 classic. A Clockwork Orange, with its unforgettable portrayals of juvenile "ultra-violence" and teen rebellion, also appears on this trouble teen movies list. Kids shocked movie-goers with its content when it was released in 1995. Other films that appear on this roundup of the best juvenile delinquent movies include Bully, The Outsiders, and Boyz n the Hood.
Which teenage rebellion movies deserve the top spot on this list? Decide by giving your favorites a thumbs up and get in on the conversation in the comments section.
Ranked by
- 1Matt Dillon, C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio
- Released: 1983
- Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
A teen gang in rural Oklahoma, the Greasers are perpetually at odds with the Socials, a rival group. When Greasers Ponyboy (C. Thomas Howell) and Johnny (Ralph Macchio) get into a brawl that ends in ...more - 2Laurence Fishburne, Ice Cube, Cuba Gooding
- Released: 1991
- Directed by: John Singleton
Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr.) is sent to live with his father, Furious Styles (Larry Fishburne), in tough South Central Los Angeles. Although his hard-nosed father instills proper values and respect in him, ...more - 3James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo
- Released: 1955
- Directed by: Nicholas Ray
After moving to a new town, troublemaking teen Jim Stark (James Dean) is supposed to have a clean slate, although being the new kid in town brings its own problems. While searching for some ...more - 4Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates
- Released: 1971
- Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
In an England of the future, Alex (Malcolm McDowell) and his "Droogs" spend their nights getting high at the Korova Milkbar before embarking on "a little of the old ultraviolence," while jauntily ...more - 5Leo Fitzpatrick, Justin Pierce, Chloë Sevigny
- Released: 1995
- Directed by: Larry Clark
Amoral teen Telly (Leo Fitzpatrick) has made it his goal to sleep with as many virgin girls as possible -- but he doesn't tell them that he's HIV positive. While on the hunt for his latest conquest, ...more - 6Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty
- Released: 1989
- Directed by: Michael Lehmann
Veronica (Winona Ryder) is part of the most popular clique at her high school, but she disapproves of the other girls' cruel behavior. When Veronica and her new boyfriend, J.D. (Christian Slater), ...more - 7Holly Hunter, Evan Rachel Wood, Nikki Reed
- Released: 2003
- Directed by: Catherine Hardwicke
Honor student Tracy Freeland (Evan Rachel Wood) has a troubling home life, but she is close to her mother, Melanie (Holly Hunter). While trying to conceal her inner turmoil by excelling academically, ...more - 8Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane
- Released: 1983
- Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Disaffected and restless, Rusty James (Matt Dillon) is spoiling for a fight. Abandoned by his mother and living with his alcoholic father (Dennis Hopper), he hangs out with his girlfriend, Patty ...more - 9Michael Eric Kramer, Pamela Ludwig, Matt Dillon
- Released: 1979
- Directed by: Jonathan Kaplan
With only a recreation center to distract them, most of the teenagers in the drab planned community of New Granada have turned to drugs and delinquency. Carl (Michael Kramer), the son of a town ...more - 10Tyrin Turner, Jada Pinkett Smith, Vonte Sweet
- Released: 1993
- Directed by: Allen Hughes, Albert Hughes
After growing up in the gang lifestyle of the Los Angeles projects, 18-year-old Caine Lawson (Tyrin Turner) wants a way out. Everyone around him, including his unpredictable friend O-Dog (Larenz ...more - 11Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn
- Released: 1961
- Directed by: Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise
A musical in which a modern day Romeo and Juliet are involved in New York street gangs. On the harsh streets of the upper west side, two gangs battle for control of the turf. The situation becomes ...more - 12Kevin Bacon, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman
- Released: 1996
- Directed by: Barry Levinson
Four teenage friends from Hell's Kitchen end up being sent to reform school after almost killing a man. There they are brutalized by the guards. John (Ron Eldard) and Tommy (Billy Crudup) grow up to ...more - 13Drew Barrymore, Tom Skerritt, Sara Gilbert
- Released: 1992
- Directed by: Andy Ruben, Katt Shea
Dejected about her relationship with her father, Darryl (Tom Skerritt), a teen girl, Sylvie Cooper (Sara Gilbert), grows closer to a fiery fellow student named Ivy (Drew Barrymore). But as much as ...more - 14Bruce Willis, Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake
- Released: 2006
- Directed by: Nick Cassavetes
Teenage dealer Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch) and his friends kidnap the impressionable younger brother (Anton Yelchin) of a junkie (Ben Foster) who refuses to pay his drug debt. Things change ...more - 15Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, Ellen Greene
- Released: 1990
- Directed by: Allan Moyle
In Arizona, an introverted and insightful teenager, Mark Hunter (Christian Slater), finds an outlet for his viewpoints through a shortwave radio. Broadcasting as "Hard Harry," Hunter uses his pirate ...more - 16Andrew McCarthy, Jami Gertz, Robert Downey
- Released: 1987
- Directed by: Marek Kanievska
Clay (Andrew McCarthy) comes home to Los Angeles after his first semester of college and encounters some disturbing developments. His former lover, burgeoning model Blair (Jami Gertz), has begun to ...more - 17Sunny Suljic, Lucas Hedges, Na-kel Smith
- Released: 2018
- Directed by: Jonah Hill
In 1990s Los Angeles, a 13-year-old spends his summer navigating between a troubled home life and a crew of new friends he meets at a skate shop. - 18Melanie Lynskey, Kate Winslet, Sarah Peirse
- Released: 1994
- Directed by: Peter Jackson
Wealthy and precocious teenager Juliet (Kate Winslet) transfers from England to Christchurch, New Zealand, with her family, and forms a bond with the quiet, brooding Pauline (Melanie Lynskey) through ...more - 19Macaulay Culkin, Elijah Wood, Wendy Crewson
- Released: 1993
- Directed by: Joseph Ruben
Mark (Elijah Wood), a young boy who loses his mother, must stay with his extended family while his father is away on business. Mark becomes acquainted with his cousin Henry (Macaulay Culkin). ...more - 20Glenn Ford, Vic Morrow, Anne Francis
- Released: 1955
- Directed by: Richard Brooks
World War II veteran Richard Dadier (Glenn Ford) takes a teaching position at a rough New York City school for boys. The staff warns him that the students are nearly impossible to control, but the ...more - 21Brad Renfro, Rachel Miner, Nick Stahl
- Released: 2001
- Directed by: Larry Clark
As Bobby Kent lay bleeding on July 14, 1993, he called out for help, and then mercy from his friends. Their response was quick and deliberate. Larry Clark's "Bully" chronicles the incident that would ...more - 22James Mason, Shelley Winters, Sue Lyon
- Released: 1962
- Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
With a screenplay penned by the author himself, Stanley Kubrick brings Vladimir Nabokov's controversial tale of forbidden love to the screen. Humbert Humbert (James Mason) is a European professor who ...more - 23Dave O'Brien, Carleton Young, Harry Harvey Jr.
- Released: 1936
- Directed by: Louis J. Gasnier
Reefer Madness is a 1936–1939 American propaganda exploitation drama film revolving around the melodramatic events that ensue when high school students are lured by pushers to try marijuana—from a ...more - 24Ray Winstone, Mick Ford, Julian Firth
- Released: 1979
- Directed by: Alan Clarke
Perverse conditions within a British reform school reach a boiling point. - 25Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lukas Haas, Nora Zehetner
- Released: 2005
- Directed by: Rian Johnson
After receiving a frantic phone call from his ex-girlfriend, teenage loner Brendan Frye (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) learns that her dead body has been found. Vowing to solve her murder himself, he must ...more
