Movies About Being Behind Bars & Life In Prison

I had the very good fortune to watch an early Burt Lancaster movie recently called ' Brute Force '.
It was very good and the story centered around Lancaster and his cell mates planning a prison escape. Hume Cronyn was in it as well as a sadistic guard.
Watching it got me to thinking about another prison movie Lancaster was in which was also excellent. ' The Birdman of Alcatraz ' , of course.
And that got me to further thinking what a fine genre movies about prison is.
The one I've probably seen the most and never tire of is ' The Great Escape '. Probably seen it about 50 times and I could watch it right now and enjoy it.

 

Does In the Name of the Father count? I checked a list of prison pictures and that’s my favorite—though only the second half takes place behind bars.

 

A great one !
Minor complaint though...a tad too much of the barrack comedians.

 

" Nobody can eat 50 eggs "

 

Fugitive From A Chain Gang.

 

The Shawshank Redemption

 

RUNAWAY TRAIN is a good one, though only the first part is really in the prison.

 

By far , and I mean by far , the best Stephen King adaptation. Made even better by the fact that the original novella ain' t that great to begin with.

 

If you consider a WW2 Stalag a prison then another great one is VON RYAN'S EXPRESS.

 

This one cured me of every wanting to visit Turkey: MIDNIGHT EXPRESS

 

It ' s ok to visit Turkey. Just don' t tape five pounds of hashish to your body and try to get on a plane with it when you leave there.

 

I wouldn't be doing that anyway. Still scared me!

 

Run Away Train
Escape From Alcatraz
The Other Side Of Hell
Stir Crazy
Papillon
The Great Escape
Birdman of Alcatraz
American History X
Shawshank Redemption
Cool Hand Luke

 

Brute Force is very good.

A Man Escaped - very good
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence - above average

 

Caged with Eleanor Parker. It's a good one IMO

 

James woods in Fast Walking, 1982. was a Prison movie I remember. It was a gritty story with a saucy turn by Kay Lenz!

 

A few great films

1.I Want To Live(1956)...starred Susan Hayward in the role of real life gangster moll Barbara Graham who was executed by gas chamber during late 50s

2.King Rat(1962)...a continuation of James Clavell's Shogun series starring George Segal as hustling fast dealing prisoner of a Japanese war camp

3.Black Mama / White Mama (1971)...I love all Pam Grier films during the 1970s & this was her debut as escaped convict handcuffed to a rascist white chick, not great I admit but didn't matter to me it had Pam Grier in it

4.Eddie Murphy & Martin Lawrence / Life (1999)...a brilliant buddy comedy drama set in 1920s South but ends up in modern era

Honorable mentions : Birdman Of Alcatraz starring Burt Lancaster & Midnight Express starring Randy Quaid

 

Honorable mention - HBO's OZ!

 

A few British prison and borstal (a now-defunct young offender institution) films that come recommended:

Starred Up (David Mackenzie, 2013)
Scum (Alan Clarke, 1979)
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (Tony Richardson, 1962)
The Prisoner (Peter Glenville, 1955)

 

Le Trou (The Hole)

Le Trou (1960) - IMDb

Not only is it based on a true story but the main actor in it is actually an escapee from the real events.

 

"The Reader"