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".
Live Flesh (1997)
7.4/10
Director: Pedro Almodovar
Starring: Angela Molina, Francesca Neri, Javier Bardem, Liberto Rabal, Penelope Cruz
During a fight with his junkie girlfriend, police intervene and an officer is shot. Six years later the wrongly convicted Victor is shocked to learn h... Read more
Lock Up (1989)
6.4/10
Director: John Flynn
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Donald Sutherland, John Amos, Darlanne Fluegel, Frank McRae,...
It's the most hellish prison in America, and when inmate Sylvester Stallone is brought there for six months of torture at the hands of sadistic warden... Read more
McVicar (1980)
6.8/10
Director: Tom Clegg
Starring: Roger Daltrey, Adam Faith
The Who Films present this portrayal of John McVicar (Roger Daltrey), whose real-life escape from the high-security wing of a British prison led to hi... Read more
Mean Machine (2002)
6.5/10
Director: Barry Skolnick
Starring: Vinnie Jones, Jason Statham, David Hemmings, David Jelly, Jason Flemyng
Transporting the basic plot of the 1974 Burt Reynolds hit "The Longest Yard" across the Atlantic, this smash British comedy stars soccer legend Vinnie... Read more
Midnight Express (1978)
7.6/10
Director: Alan Parker
Starring: Randy Quaid, John Hurt, Brad Davis, Bo Hopkins
From director Alan Parker ('Birdy', 'Mississippi Burning') and based on a true story, this hyper-violent and grim portrait of American student Billy H... Read more
Midnight Express ( Blu-ray ) (1978)
7.6/10
Director: Alan Parker
Starring: Bo Hopkins, Brad Davis, John Hurt, Randy Quaid
From director Alan Parker ('Birdy', 'Mississippi Burning') and based on a true story, this hyper-violent and grim portrait of American student Billy H... Read more
Mrs Soffel (1984)
6.3/10
Director: Gillian Armstrong
Starring: Diane Keaton, Mel Gibson, Matthew Modine
Diane Keaton is the sheltered wife of a stern prison warden who surrenders to the powerful attraction of a death-row convict (Mel Gibson); both become... Read more
Natural Born Killers (1994)
7.3/10
Director: Oliver Stone
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr, Tommy Lee Jones, Tom Sizemore
Dubbed 'A Clockwork Orange' of the 90s, this all-out audio-visual experience is something that comes along all too rarely. Oliver Stone has, with the... Read more
Natural Born Killers: The Director's Cut ( Blu-ray ) (1994)
7.3/10
Director: Oliver Stone
Starring: Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr, Tom Sizemore, Tommy Lee Jones, Woody Harrelson
Dubbed 'A Clockwork Orange' of the 90s, this all-out audio-visual experience is something that comes along all too rarely. Oliver Stone has, with the... Read more
Ocean's Eight (2018)
6.3/10
Director: Gary Ross
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Elliott Gould, Helena Bonham Carter, Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaw...
Five years, eight months, 12 days and counting -- that's how long Debbie Ocean has been devising the biggest heist of her life. She knows what it's go... Read more