Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- tense
- cool
- paranoid
- crime movie night
- 1970s cinema deep dive
What critics said
Critics generally found the film professionally directed, intelligent, and entertaining, though divided over the surveillance structure and narrative coherence.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Audio and video monitoring captures Duke Anderson's robbery preparations as collateral observation rather than a targeted investigation.
Anderson organizes a building-wide robbery while surveillance, police systems, and other observers introduce forces beyond his control.
The film repeatedly foregrounds electronic recording and institutional observation across the robbery's unfolding.
Duke has just completed ten years in jail and attempts to resume a relationship before returning to organized theft.
Films like The Anderson Tapes, and why
The Killing
urban heist tension, procedural detail, and morally compromised criminal protagonists
Dog Day Afternoon
methodical robbery planning, surveillance anxiety, and grounded crime drama
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
professional criminality, ensemble plotting, and cool procedural suspense
Thief
stylish urban crime, surveillance themes, and an ex-con protagonist pursuing a major score
Movie Details
- Director
- Sidney Lumet
- Release Date
- 1971-06-17
- Runtime
- 99 min
- Rating
- 6.1 / 10 (189)
Cast
- Sean Connery
- Dyan Cannon
- Martin Balsam
- Ralph Meeker
- Alan King
- Christopher Walken
- Val Avery
- Dick Anthony Williams
- Garrett Morris
- Stan Gottlieb
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, FlixFling, IndieFlix, IndieFlix Shorts Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Anderson Tapes about?
- A recently paroled thief assembles an ambitious apartment-building robbery while an unseen web of surveillance records the operation from every angle.
- What is The Anderson Tapes like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Anderson Tapes as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Anderson Tapes violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Anderson Tapes as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Anderson Tapes?
- Critics generally found the film professionally directed, intelligent, and entertaining, though divided over the surveillance structure and narrative coherence.
- Which films are like The Anderson Tapes?
- Films with a similar feel include The Killing, Dog Day Afternoon, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, and Thief.
- How long is The Anderson Tapes?
- The Anderson Tapes runs 99 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Anderson Tapes?
- In United States, The Anderson Tapes streams on fuboTV, FlixFling, IndieFlix, IndieFlix Shorts Amazon Channel.
