Time in Prison
Or, "Life in The Big House". The prison film has proved to be a popular subject for cinema and many superb titles are represented in this canon of work. Here the human spirit is often shown to thrive in what are generally hostile and oppressive settings. There are the tales of the 'wrongly accused man' protesting his innocence, the 'race against time' thrillers to save the condemned from execution, and the 'prison as hell' where your worst nightmares have come true. There are also the comedies where the familiar prison 'cliches' are parodied, and the science-fiction variants that show the possible shape of things to come...
Now, go directly to jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.
Pictured: Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins in "The Shawshank Redemption".
Call Northside 777 (1948)
7.4/10
Director: Henry Hathaway
Starring: James Stewart, Lee J Cobb, Richard Conte, Helen Walker
When a classified ad grabs the attention of Chicago Times editor Brian Kelly (Lee J. Cobb), he sends ace reporter P.J. McNeal (James Stewart) to dig u... Read more
Carandiru (2003)
7.6/10
Director: Hector Babenco
Starring: Rodrigo Santoro, Milton Goncalves, Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos, Maria Luisa Mendonca...
Carandiru, Brazil's largest correctional facility. Built to house 3,000 inmates, it is home to over 7,000 murderers, rapists, drug addicts and crimina... Read more
Colditz (2005)
6.8/10
Director: Stuart Orme
Starring: James Fox, Tom Hardy, Damian Lewis, Sophia Myles, Jason Priestley, Timothy West,...
While being held prisoner in Germany's Colditz Castle during World War II, an Allied officer (Tom Hardy) attempts a series of daring escapes when he l... Read more
Con Air (1997)
6.8/10
Director: Simon West
Starring: Nicolas Cage, John Malkovich, John Cusack, Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames, Colm Mean...
This mega movie stars Nicolas Cage as a wrongly imprisoned good guy who winds up on a plane carrying a group of heinous criminals, who once aloft take... Read more
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
8.1/10
Director: Stuart Rosenberg
Starring: Dennis Hopper, George Kennedy, Strother Martin, Paul Newman, Harry Dean Stanton
A taut honest drama greatly aided by Stuart Rosenberg's direction and a marvellously controlled and artful performance by Paul Newman as a gutsy priso... Read more
Cool Hand Luke ( Blu-ray ) (1967)
8.1/10
Director: Stuart Rosenberg
Starring: Dennis Hopper, George Kennedy, Harry Dean Stanton, Jo Van Fleet, Paul Newman, Ro...
A taut honest drama greatly aided by Stuart Rosenberg's direction and a marvellously controlled and artful performance by Paul Newman as a gutsy priso... Read more
Dead Man Walking (1995)
7.5/10
Director: Tim Robbins
Starring: Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, Robert Prosky
Sister Helen Prejean's 1993 bestseller is the basis for this harrowing account of her life's work'; a spiritual advisor for condemned killers awaiting... Read more
Death Race (2008)
6.4/10
Director: Paul W S Anderson
Starring: Jason Statham, Joan Allen, Ian McShane, Tyrese Gibson, Natalie Martinez
Barnstorming futuristic thriller with Jason Statham as ex-con Jensen Ames, forced by a notorious prison warden to compete in the post-industrial world... Read more
Death Race ( Blu-ray ) (2008)
6.4/10
Director: Paul W S Anderson
Starring: Ian McShane, Joan Allen, Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Natalie Martinez
Barnstorming futuristic thriller with Jason Statham as ex-con Jensen Ames, forced by a notorious prison warden to compete in the post-industrial world... Read more
Dog Pound (2010)
7/10
Director: Kim Chapiron
Starring: Adam Butcher, Shane Kippel, Mateo Morales, Lawrence Bayne
Three boys caught between youth and adulthood struggle to survive behind bars in this hard-hitting drama. Alex, Butch and David are three teenage crim... Read more