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".
Silmido (2003)
7.2/10
Director: Kang Woo-Suk
Starring: Sung-kee Ahn, Kyung-gu Sol, Jun-ho Heo, Jae-yeong Joeng, Seong-jin Kang
In 1968, a group of North Korean commandos crossed the border in a failed attempt to assassinate South-Korean president Park Chung-hee. Outraged, Sou... 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
Blind Flight (2003)
7/10
Director: John Furse
Starring: Ian Hart, Linus Roache
The true account of the kidnapping of Brian Keenan and his subsequent captivity with John McCarthy in Lebanon in 1986. The men spent four and a half y... Read more
The Life of David Gale (2003)
7.6/10
Director: Alan Parker
Starring: Gabriel Mann, Kate Winslet, Kevin Spacey, Laura Linney, Matt Craven
In this gripping drama, Kevin Spacey is a former philosophy professor and death penalty opponent who finds himself on death row for killing associate... Read more
A Young Prisoner's Revenge (2002)
Director: Mu Deyuan
Starring: Zhao Youliang, Chen Si Cheng, Xi Mei Juan
A fifteen year old boy is charged with a robbery, in order to reduce his sentence the family offer the judge a bribe, but unbeknowns to them the lawye... Read more
The Hard Word (2002)
6/10
Director: Scott Roberts
Starring: Guy Pearce, Rachel Griffiths, Joel Edgerton
Three fraternal bank robbers languishing in jail, discover a profitable (if not dodgy) way to spend their time. Crime can most certainly pay, if you "... 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
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 Experiment (2001)
7.7/10
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Starring: Moritz Bleibtreu, Maren Eggert, Christian Berkel
Aka "Das Experiment". An undercover reporter signs up to be a paid volunteer in a two-week scientific research project designed to test the psychologi... Read more
The Last Castle (2001)
6.9/10
Director: Rod Lurie
Starring: Robert Redford, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Delroy Lindo
This powerhouse suspense/drama tells of a charismatic army general (Robert Redford) who is sent to a military prison for disobeying orders. Once there... Read more