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- The Shawshank Redemption. It had to be "Shawshank." The extraordinary film adapted from a Stephen King novella is a hopeful, nearly perfect experience about an unexpected friendship formed behind prison walls.
- A Man Escaped. French master filmmaker Robert Bresson has a notably distant style, and he employs largely non-professional actors, limited music and stylistic choices to tell his stories.
- Cool Hand Luke. "What we've got here is... failure to communicate" goes the famous line from the effortlessly cool movie "Cool Hand Luke," which features an incredible performance from screen icon Paul Newman.
- Starred Up. David Mackenzie's "Starred Up" is the most recent film in the top reaches of the list, but it's a rare example of a movie that becomes an instant classic upon release.
- The Shawshank Redemption. Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton. 2,886 votes. In this iconic film, a wrongly convicted banker finds himself in a high-stakes game of espionage battling against the corrupt prison authorities.
- The Green Mile. Tom Hanks, David Morse, Michael Clarke Duncan. 2,265 votes. Set in the 1930s, this masterpiece combines supernatural elements with top-notch humor, proving that even death row inmates can have a knack for espionage.
- American History X. Ed Norton, Edward Furlong, Fairuza Balk. 1,360 votes. An intense, gritty examination of the extent to which spying and deception can infiltrate the lives of ordinary people.
- Escape from Alcatraz. Clint Eastwood, Patrick McGoohan, Jack Thibeau. 1,451 votes. This thrilling classic follows a group of inmates as they plot a daring escape from the notorious island prison.
1. The Shawshank Redemption. 1994 2h 22m R. 9.3 (2.9M) Rate. 82 Metascore. A Maine banker convicted of the murder of his wife and her lover in 1947 gradually forms a friendship over a quarter century with a hardened convict, while maintaining his innocence and trying to remain hopeful through simple compassion.
- Cool Hand Luke (1967) One of Paul Newman’s most iconic roles, Luke Jackson is a chain-gang prisoner who refuses to buckle to authority, repeatedly attempting to escape and keep his individualistic spirit in an environment designed to crush exactly that.
- The Shawshank Redemption (1994) So this one is a total no brainer, as it’s widely considered to be one of the best movies of all time full stop. You’ve probably seen it ten times already, but if you haven’t it stars Tim Robbins as a man wrongly imprisoned for the murder of his wife – and tracks his experiences in jail, his friendship with Morgan Freeman’s lifelong convict and ultimately his… well, that would be saying too much.
- Hunger (2008) Before Shame, Steve McQueen and Michael Fassbender burst onto the scene with this gut-wrenching tale of Irish republican Bobby Sands, who led the 1981 IRA Hunger Strike at Belfast’s Maze Prison in an attempt to gain political prisoner status.
- The Rock (1996) Michael Bay’s action romp has Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery breaking into prison – specifically, Alcatraz – rather than out of it, in order to stop Ed Harris’ rogue general from unleashing a deadly nerve gas on San Francisco.
- Caged
- Escape from Alcatraz
- Starred Up
- Lion’s Den
- In The Name of The Father
- The Hill
- Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence
- Kiss of The Spiderwoman
- The Green Mile
- Cell 211
John Cromwell’s Cagedtells the story of 19-year old Mary Ellen(played by the extraordinary Eleanor Parker). She is accused of aiding and abetting her husband in a crime. The husband is killed during the robbery and the pregnant Marygets stuck in the cruel penal system. While the warden Ruth Bentonis a caring woman, the brutish matron Evelynbullies ...
Escape from Alcatrazwas the fifth and final collaboration between actor Clint Eastwood and writer/director Don Siegel. The narrative dramatises the only allegedly successful escape attempt of a prisoner from San Francisco Bay’s Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in the 29 years of its operation (1934-1963). Clint Eastwood playsFrank Morris, a criminal o...
David Mackenzie’s gritty prison drama Starred Uprevolves around Eric Love(Jack O’ Connell), a youngster transferred from juvenile prison to adult facility due to his violent behaviour. Eric’s absentee father Nevilleis a hardened criminal and is also kept in the same prison. While the system has decided to lock up Ericand throw away the key, a priso...
Argentinean filmmaker Pablo Trapero’s Lion’s Denis a painful portrait of a young mother’s life inside prison. The pregnant university student Juliais said to have murdered her partner. But the shocked and dazed Juliadoesn’t remember what happened. While waiting for the trial, Juliais locked up in the maternity ward of prison. Convicted women prison...
Jim Sheridan’s In the Name of the Fatheris based on the heartbreaking true story of Irish youngster Gerry Conlon. Gerry(Daniel Day-Lewis) and his friends are wrongfully convicted for the IRA bombing of a London pub. They serve 15 years in prison for a forced confession. The riveting docudrama doesn’t focus much on the ethnic and political conflicts...
Sidney Lumet’s The Hillis set in a North African prison-camp for British deserters during WWII. The narrative, based on a play by Ray Rigby and R.S. Allen, draws from Rigby’s own experiences as a war prisoner. The ‘hill’ in the title is a large sand mound that’s built by prisoners and utilised as the means to dispense brutal punishments. The story ...
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrencewas the first English language project of radical Japanese master Nagisa Oshima. Two biggest musicians of the era played the central roles: David Bowie and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Multi-hyphenate Japanese artist Takeshi Kitano also played a key role. The narrative is set during World War II and provides British POWs experience...
Pixote fame Hector Babenco’s Kiss of the Spiderwomanis based on Manuel Puig’s 1976 novel. The film tells the tale of two different men who share a cell at a Brazilian prison. Luis Molinais locked up for a homosexual affair. Valentinis a political prisoner who is part of a radical underground movement. The prisoners gradually become close as Molinat...
The Green Milemarks Frank Darabont’s yet another successful adaptation of Stephen King’s story. Similar to Darabont’s Shawshank Redemption, this film is also set inside a prison. However, in Green Milethe narrative unfolds from the perspective of a humane prison guard. Tom Hanks plays Paul Edgecomb, a prison guard assigned to the death row cell blo...
Daniel Monzon’s edge-of-the-seat prison-riot thriller is based on a novel by Francisco Perez Gandul. The narrative revolves around Juan, a trainee prison officer who gets accidentally injured when he is given a tour of his new workplace. Soon, a riot breaks out, and the panicked guards leave the unconscious Juanin an empty prison cell. Juanis not d...
Jun 15, 2024 · The 25 best prison movies of all time. Updated June 15, 2024 | By Matt Sulem. It has been over 25 years since the release of “The Shawshank Redemption,” a prison escape film based on...
1. The Green Mile. 1999 3h 9m R. 8.6 (1.4M) Rate. 61 Metascore. A tale set on death row, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the lead guard, Paul Edgecombe, recognizes John's gift, he tries to help stave off the condemned man's execution.
