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".
Last Ride (2009)
6.7/10
Director: Glendyn Ivin
Starring: Hugo Weaving, Tom Russell, Anita Hegh, John Brumpton, Sonya Suares, Kelton Pell
Australian director Glendyn Ivin's feature debut is a beautifully drawn, mood-filled drama describing the troubled relationship between a father and s... Read more
Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
7.8/10
Director: John Frankenheimer
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Karl Malden, Thelma Ritter, Neville Brand
Burt Lancaster beautifully assumes the real-life role of Robert Stroud, a world-hating convict sentenced to life in prison who becomes an authority on... Read more
The Shawshank Redemption ( Blu-ray ) (1994)
9.3/10
Director: Frank Darabont
Starring: Bob Gunton, Clancy Brown, Gil Bellows, James Whitmore, Morgan Freeman, Tim Robbi...
Director Frank Darabont's powerful adaptation of the novella by Stephen King stars Tim Robbins as a man serving two life sentences in New England's Sh... 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
Shakespeare Behind Bars (2005)
7.6/10
Director: Hank Rogerson
At the Luther Luckett Correctional Complex in LaGrange, Kentucky some well-behaved prisoners are taking part in the Shakespeare program. This year, t... Read more
Jailhouse Rock (1957)
6.5/10
Director: Richard Thorpe
Starring: Elvis Presley, Judy Tyler, Mickey Shaughnessy
Elvis Presley goes to prison for accidentally killing a man in a bar fight, and is signed to a musical contract following his performance on a TV show... 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
I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang (1932)
8.1/10
Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Starring: Glenda Farrell, Preston Foster, Paul Muni, Helen Vinson
Mervyn LeRoy's searing adaptation of Robert E. Burns' autobiography stars Paul Muni as a drifter unfairly sentenced to 10 years' hard labour on a Geor... Read more
The Defiant Ones (1958)
7.7/10
Director: Stanley Kramer
Starring: Theodore Bikel, Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier
Nominated for nine Academy Awards including Best Picture, Stanley Kramer's The Defiant Ones broke new ground by delivering its message of racial toler... Read more
Life (1999)
6.7/10
Director: Ted Demme
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence
Focuses on jailbirds Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence over five decades beginning in Harlem in 1930, where hustler Murphy and bank teller Lawrence are... Read more