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One False Move (1991)

6.6 IMDb 93% RT 87/100 MC
IMDb Trailer

Following a series of drug deals and murders, three criminals -- Fantasia, Ray Malcolm and Pluto -- travel from Los Angeles to Houston, finally arriving in a small Arkansas town to go into hiding. Two detectives from the LAPD, who are already on the case, contact the town's sheriff, Dale Dixon, to alert him of the fugitives' presence in the area. Underestimating Dixon, the criminals have no idea what they are about to face.

Best Release

Criterion Collection · 4K + Blu-ray

S-Tier

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Director

Carl Franklin

Genre

Crime, Drama, Thriller

Box Office

$1,543,112

Runtime

1 hour and 45 minutes (105 minutes)

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Editor's Notes

Note

S-Tier Criterion 4K. Carl Franklin's crime film, frequently paired with Lone Star as a recommendation. People describe it as brutal where Lone Star is more of a tall tale. The Criterion disc scores 4.0 overall. People who discovered it through the Criterion sale are finding it's one of the better neo-noir films of the 90s.

noted Apr 9, 2026

Mentions

Which should I start with first — One False Move or Lone Star? 49 Was searching for one of my favorite movies, One False Move, when I discovered this gem. It just arrived. I’m in Heaven! 18 Criterion break - This film is so moving it’s a constant fight for me to hold myself from tears sitting in the theater tonight. There is no false note, not even one right to the perfect ending. And the credit goes to the lead actor. He did it just so wonderfully. Love him! 16 A great haul is here with the No False Move Criterion Blu Ray and the To Live and Die in L.A. 4K. 10 I just picked up Fear and Loathing, One False Move and The Long Good Friday during the last sale bringing my criterion collection to 11! All have been great movies, can you tell im a neo noir fan? 12

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