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".
Fled (1996)
5.3/10
Director: Kevin Hooks
Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Stephen Baldwin, Will Patton
Stephen Baldwin's a movie-obsessed computer expert. Laurence Fishburne is a no-nonsense criminal. Together they're linked on a chain gang, and togethe... Read more
Tango and Cash (1989)
Director: Andrei Konchalovsky
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell, Teri Hatcher
Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell star in this slick formulaic police thriller about two supercops framed by a megalomanic drug dealer. Read more
Ocean's Eight (Blu-ray) (2018)
6.3/10
Director: Gary Ross
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway
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
Brute Force (1947)
7.7/10
Director: Jules Dassin
Starring: Ann Blyth, Burt Lancaster, Charles Bickford, Hume Cronyn, Yvonne De Carlo, Ella...
As hard-hitting as its title, "Brute Force" was the first of Jules Dassin's forays into the crime genre, a prison melodrama that takes a critical look... Read more
The Longest Yard (1974)
7.1/10
Director: Robert Aldrich
Starring: Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert, Ed Lauter, Mike Conrad
A.k.a. 'The Mean Machine'. In this hilarious, rough-and -tumble comedy Burt Reynolds is a former American football pro who winds up behind bars after... Read more
Leo (2006)
6.5/10
Director: Mehdi Norowzian
Starring: Joseph Fiennes, Dennis Hopper, Sam Shepard, Elisabeth Shue, Justin Chambers, Deb...
After being released from prison, convicted felon Stephen (Joseph Fiennes) attempts to get his life back on track while helping a young pen-pal cope w... Read more
American History X ( Blu-ray ) (1998)
8.5/10
Director: Tony Kaye
Starring: Avery Brooks, Beverly D'Angelo, Edward Furlong, Edward Norton, Elliott Gould, Fa...
A hard-hitting drama about former skinhead Edward Norton who, having been released from prison after serving three years for the shooting of two black... Read more
Pinero (2001)
6.4/10
Director: Leon Ichaso
Starring: Benjamin Bratt, Giancarlo Esposito, Talisa Soto, Nelson Vasquez, Michael Wright,...
After doing hard time in prison for drug-dealing and petty theft, Miguel Pinero turned his prison experiences into the '70s Tony Award-winning play "S... Read more
The Last Man Hanged (1992)
6.5/10
Director: Lewis Fitz-Gerald
Starring: Colin Friels, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Angie Milliken
This dramatized documentary features Colin Friels as Ronald Ryan, the last man to be hanged in Australia, in 1967. A gambler who turned to crime to s... Read more
In the Name of the Father ( Blu-ray ) (1993)
8.1/10
Director: Jim Sheridan
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Emma Thompson, Pete Postlethwaite
"In the Name of the Father" tells the true saga of Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day-Lewis), a petty thief in strife-torn '70s Belfast. After angering the IRA... Read more