Prison cinema
by ulf-635-523367 | created - 01 Mar 2015 | updated - 6 months ago | Public"It's time to debate images, especially when someone's going to prison for downloading them." (David Hockney)
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1. Carandiru (2003)
R | 145 min | Crime, Drama
Stories of crime, revenge, love, and friendship at the Carandiru Penitentiary, the largest prison in Latin America.
Director: Hector Babenco | Stars: Enrique Diaz, Wagner Moura, Caio Blat, Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos
Votes: 21,927 | Gross: $0.21M
2. Starred Up (2013)
Not Rated | 106 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Eric Love, 19, is locked up in prison. On his first day, he assaults another inmate and several guards. He's offered group therapy and his dad, an inmate as well, tries to talk sense into him. Can he be rehabilitated?
Director: David Mackenzie | Stars: Jack O'Connell, Ben Mendelsohn, Rupert Friend, Sam Spruell
Votes: 48,685 | Gross: $0.03M
3. A Prophet (2009)
R | 155 min | Crime, Drama
A delinquent Muslim man struggles to get by in prison until he is taken under the wing of a powerful mob boss. But his gradual rise through the mob's ranks brings him in conflict with his mentor.
Director: Jacques Audiard | Stars: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif, Reda Kateb
Votes: 102,177 | Gross: $2.08M
4. Caged (1950)
Not Rated | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A gentle, naive, pregnant 19-year-old widow is slowly, inexorably ground down by the hardened criminals, sadistic guards, and matron at a woman's prison. Will she be the same person when her sentence is up?
Director: John Cromwell | Stars: Eleanor Parker, Agnes Moorehead, Ellen Corby, Hope Emerson
Votes: 4,708
5. Felon (2008)
R | 104 min | Crime, Thriller
Locked up for killing an intruder in self-defense, a family man must cope with life in the violent penal system.
Director: Ric Roman Waugh | Stars: Stephen Dorff, Marisol Nichols, Vincent Miller, Anne Archer
Votes: 83,555 | Gross: $0.04M
6. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
R | 142 min | Drama
Over the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.
Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler
Votes: 2,888,337 | Gross: $28.34M
7. The Green Mile (1999)
R | 189 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy
A tale set on death row, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the lead guard, Paul Edgecombe, recognizes John's gift, he tries to help stave off the condemned man's execution.
Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt
Votes: 1,407,198 | Gross: $136.80M
8. Scum (1991 TV Movie)
R | 78 min | Crime, Drama
This is the hard and shocking story of life in a British borstal for young offenders. The brutal regime made no attempt to reform or improve the inmates and actively encouraged a power ... See full summary »
Director: Alan Clarke | Stars: Ray Winstone, David Threlfall, Martin Phillips, Davidson Knight
Votes: 2,785
9. At Night I Fly (2011)
Not Rated | 88 min | Documentary
In At Night I Fly: Images from New Folsom, inmates at one of California's most maximum security prisons let us see their world. This world is less about dangerous drama and more, as one of ... See full summary »
Director: Michel Wenzer | Stars: Jim Carlson, Spoon Jackson, Rick Misener, Charles Owens
Votes: 380
10.
Lockdown (2007–2012)
Episode:
Inside a Mexican Prison
(2010)
TV-14 | 46 min | Documentary, Reality-TV
Just a few miles south of the U.S. border lies one of Mexico's most notorious penitentiaries. Meet Rogelio, a suspected gang member; Raul and Rosi, who fell in love behind bars; and Vincent, an American in solitary for his own protection.
Votes: 11
11. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
GP | 127 min | Crime, Drama
A laid-back Southern man is sentenced to two years in a rural prison, but refuses to conform.
Director: Stuart Rosenberg | Stars: Paul Newman, George Kennedy, Strother Martin, J.D. Cannon
Votes: 188,513 | Gross: $16.22M
12. The Hill (1965)
Approved | 123 min | Drama, War
In a North African military prison during World War II, five new prisoners struggle to survive in the face of brutal punishment and sadistic guards.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Sean Connery, Harry Andrews, Ian Bannen, Alfred Lynch
Votes: 15,159
13. The Hole (1960)
Not Rated | 131 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Distrust and uncertainty arise when four long-term inmates cautiously induct a new prisoner into their elaborate prison-break scheme.
Director: Jacques Becker | Stars: André Bervil, Jean Keraudy, Michel Constantin, Philippe Leroy
Votes: 20,371 | Gross: $0.03M
14. In Your Hands (2004)
101 min | Drama
Anna begins as a rookie chaplain in a women's prison and meets an inmate who can perform miracles and cure drug addicts with a touch. She says Anna is pregnant and a test confirms it. But not all is well.
Director: Annette K. Olesen | Stars: Ann Eleonora Jørgensen, Trine Dyrholm, Nicolaj Kopernikus, Sonja Richter
Votes: 1,194
15. Women's Prison (2002)
106 min | Drama
Spanning 18 years in an Iranian women's prison, this follows two women: the new prison warden, a tough as nails devout Muslim who has served in the army on the Iraqi front, and a young ... See full summary »
Director: Manijeh Hekmat | Stars: Roya Nonahali, Roya Teymourian, Pegah Ahangarani, Golab Adineh
Votes: 1,002
16. Hunger (2008)
Not Rated | 96 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Irish republican Bobby Sands leads the inmates of a Northern Irish prison in a hunger strike.
Director: Steve McQueen | Stars: Michael Fassbender, Liam Cunningham, Stuart Graham, Laine Megaw
Votes: 73,546 | Gross: $0.15M
17. The Visit (I) (2000)
R | 107 min | Drama
A young man dying in prison brings his family together for a fateful visit, and proceeds to put his life back together.
Director: Jordan Walker-Pearlman | Stars: Obba Babatundé, Rae Dawn Chong, Charmin Lee White, Terrell
Votes: 286 | Gross: $0.19M
18. Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)
R | 120 min | Drama
A gay man and a political prisoner are together in a prison. The gay man narrates the stories of two fake movies and his own life.
Director: Hector Babenco | Stars: William Hurt, Raul Julia, Sonia Braga, José Lewgoy
Votes: 17,350 | Gross: $17.04M
19. Caesar Must Die (2012)
Unrated | 77 min | Drama
Inmates at a high-security prison in Rome prepare for a public performance of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar."
Directors: Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani | Stars: Cosimo Rega, Salvatore Striano, Giovanni Arcuri, Antonio Frasca
Votes: 6,812
20. Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
Not Rated | 147 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A surly convicted murderer held in permanent isolation redeems himself when he becomes a renowned bird expert.
Director: John Frankenheimer | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Karl Malden, Thelma Ritter, Neville Brand
Votes: 19,301
21. Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
PG | 112 min | Action, Biography, Crime
Alcatraz is the most secure prison of its time. It is believed that no one can ever escape from it, until three daring men make a possibly successful attempt at escaping from one of the most infamous prisons in the world.
Director: Don Siegel | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Patrick McGoohan, Roberts Blossom, Jack Thibeau
Votes: 147,422 | Gross: $43.00M
22. Stone (2010)
R | 105 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
A convicted arsonist looks to manipulate a parole officer into a plan to secure his parole by placing his beautiful wife in the lawman's path.
Director: John Curran | Stars: Edward Norton, Milla Jovovich, Robert De Niro, Frances Conroy
Votes: 42,908 | Gross: $1.80M
23. Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
Not Rated | 80 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Fed up with the inhumane prison living conditions, a general prison riot breaks out, leading to hostage-taking, a stand-off with the guards and eventual negotiations with the prison administration officials.
Director: Don Siegel | Stars: Neville Brand, Emile Meyer, Frank Faylen, Leo Gordon
Votes: 2,427
24. Women in Cell Block 7 (1973)
R | 81 min | Crime, Drama
A woman goes behind bars in order to save her father's life.
Director: Rino Di Silvestro | Stars: Anita Strindberg, Eva Czemerys, Olga Bisera, Jenny Tamburi
Votes: 290
25. Cellblock Sisters: Banished Behind Bars (1995)
R | 95 min | Crime, Drama
A sympathetic detective helps reunited sisters (Annie Wood, Gail Harris) out of trouble as they avenge their mother's death.
Director: Henri Charr | Stars: Annie Wood, Gail Thackray, Jenna Bodnar, Dean Howell
Votes: 469
26. King of Devil's Island (2010)
Not Rated | 116 min | Action, Drama
Norwegian winter, early 20th century. On the boys home Bastoy, a new inmate leads the boys to a violent uprising against a brutal regime. How far is he willing to go to attain freedom?
Director: Marius Holst | Stars: Benjamin Helstad, Trond Nilssen, Stellan Skarsgård, Kristoffer Joner
Votes: 19,956 | Gross: $0.01M
27. Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019)
TV-MA | 59 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Convicted of a decade-old crime of transporting drug money, ordinarily law-abiding Piper Chapman is sentenced to 18 months behind bars and quickly discovers the realities of life-changing prison time.
Stars: Taylor Schilling, Danielle Brooks, Taryn Manning, Emma Myles
Votes: 320,139
28. Prison Break (2005–2017)
TV-14 | 44 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A structural engineer installs himself in a prison he helped design, in order to save his falsely accused brother from a death sentence by breaking themselves out from the inside.
Stars: Dominic Purcell, Wentworth Miller, Amaury Nolasco, Robert Knepper
Votes: 579,266
29. Oz (1997–2003)
TV-MA | 55 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A series chronicling the daily activities of an unusual prison facility and its criminal inhabitants.
Stars: Ernie Hudson, J.K. Simmons, Lee Tergesen, Dean Winters
Votes: 106,663
30. Doing Time (2002)
93 min | Comedy, Drama
A man serving a sentence in a minimum-security prison. Life in the jail is rigid and organized, eventually leading all of the cell-mates to abandon their individuality.
Director: Yôichi Sai | Stars: Tsutomu Yamazaki, Teruyuki Kagawa, Tomorô Taguchi, Yutaka Matsushige
Votes: 331
31. Prison (1949)
79 min | Drama
A film director tries to create the best film in history, but finds out that human abilities have their limits.
Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Doris Svedlund, Birger Malmsten, Eva Henning, Hasse Ekman
Votes: 2,141
32. Abashiri Prison (1965)
92 min | Crime, Drama
Shinichi is a good guy serving three years and approaching the end of his time. He escapes handcuffed to dangerous Gunda, who instigated the escape. Thus tethered, they start out on a journey across the desolate snow country of Hokkaido.
Director: Teruo Ishii | Stars: Ken Takakura, Kôji Nanbara, Tetsurô Tanba, Tôru Abe
Votes: 292
33. Jailbait (2004)
R | 90 min | Drama
A young man is sent to prison for 25 years and is taken under the wing of Jake, a lifer with dark intentions.
Director: Brett C. Leonard | Stars: Stephen Adly Guirgis, Michael Pitt, Laila Robins, David Zayas
Votes: 437 | Gross: $0.01M
34. Against the Wall (1994 TV Movie)
R | 111 min | Action, Drama, History
Based on the true story of the Attica Prison uprising of 1971.
Director: John Frankenheimer | Stars: Kyle MacLachlan, Samuel L. Jackson, Clarence Williams III, Frederic Forrest
Votes: 3,283
35. Eduart (2006)
104 min | Drama
Eduart, a young man raised in a cruel and oppressive family environment, leaves Albania with the dream of becoming a rock star and living a better life
Director: Angeliki Antoniou | Stars: Eshref Durmishi, André Hennicke, Ndriçim Xhepa, Ermela Teli
Votes: 449
36. Day Break (2005)
Not Rated | 82 min | Drama
Since the Islamic Revolution in Iran, capital punishment is carried out according to Islamic law, which gives the family of the victim ownership of the offender's life. Day Break - based on... See full summary »
Director: Hamid Rahmanian | Stars: Hosein Yari, Zabi Afshar, Hoda Nasseh, Atash Taghipour
Votes: 332
37. Dog Pound (2010)
Not Rated | 91 min | Crime, Drama
Three juvenile delinquents are sentenced to a correctional facility where they encounter gang violence, death, and harassment from staff and other inmates.
Director: Kim Chapiron | Stars: Adam Butcher, Shane Kippel, Matthew Morales, Slim Twig
Votes: 13,519
38. Slam (1998)
R | 100 min | Drama
Grand Jury Prize, 1998 Sundance Film Festival. A talented youth (Saul Williams) copes with urban crime and despair by competing in poetry slams. Sonja Sohn of "The Wire" costars.
Director: Marc Levin | Stars: Saul Williams, Sonja Sohn, Bonz Malone, Lawrence Wilson
Votes: 2,451 | Gross: $0.98M
39. Ergastolo (1952)
90 min | Drama
Director: Luigi Capuano | Stars: Marisa Merlini, Sandro Ruffini, Leda Gloria, Leopoldo Valentini
Votes: 14
40. Prison (1965)
70 min | Drama
Inspired by Bibbe Hansen's experiences in a juvenile detention center.
Director: Andy Warhol | Stars: Bibbe Hansen, Marie Menken, Edie Sedgwick
Votes: 13
41. If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle (2010)
Unrated | 94 min | Drama
Two weeks before his release, a teenage prisoner learns that his mother has returned home. Meanwhile, he finds himself in love with a student working in the penitentiary as an intern.
Director: Florin Serban | Stars: George Pistereanu, Ada Condeescu, Mihai Constantin, Clara Voda
Votes: 6,553 | Gross: $0.01M
42. Une part du ciel (2002)
85 min | Drama
The story of two women, one a prisoner and the other a corporate representative, who discover that their lives are defined by compromise.
Director: Bénédicte Liénard | Stars: Séverine Caneele, Sophia Leboutte, Josiane Stoléru, Naïma Hirèche
Votes: 112
43. On the Yard (1978)
R | 102 min | Drama
In prison, one prisoner buys some smokes from another. Then he admits he can't pay for it and becomes indebted to him and the interest is rising daily.
Director: Raphael D. Silver | Stars: John Heard, Thomas G. Waites, Mike Kellin, Richard Bright
Votes: 268
44. Life (1996)
85 min | Drama
Life is a 1996 Australian film about life in a section of a prison reserved for those infected with HIV.
Director: Lawrence Johnston | Stars: John Brumpton, David Tredinnick, Kevin Hopkins, Robert Morgan
Votes: 74
45. Cell 211 (2009)
113 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The story of two men on different sides of a prison riot -- the inmate leading the rebellion and the young guard trapped in the revolt, who poses as a prisoner in a desperate attempt to survive the ordeal.
Director: Daniel Monzón | Stars: Luis Tosar, Alberto Ammann, Antonio Resines, Manuel Morón
Votes: 70,767
46. Cellmates (2011)
TV-14 | 85 min | Comedy, Drama
Leroy Lowe, grand dragon of the Texas Ku Klux Klan confronts everything he's been taught to hate when he's sentenced to three years of hard labor on a prison work farm, where Warden ... See full summary »
Director: Jesse Baget | Stars: Tom Sizemore, Stacy Keach, Kevin P. Farley, Héctor Jiménez
Votes: 647
47. Attica (1980 TV Movie)
97 min | Drama
The true story of the events leading up to and during the 1971 Attica Correctional Facility riot and the aftermath.
Director: Marvin J. Chomsky | Stars: Henry Darrow, Charles Durning, Joel Fabiani, Morgan Freeman
Votes: 541
48. Head-On (2004)
R | 121 min | Drama, Romance
With the intention to break free from the strict familial restrictions, a suicidal young woman sets up a marriage of convenience with a forty-year-old addict, an act that will lead to an outburst of envious love.
Director: Fatih Akin | Stars: Birol Ünel, Sibel Kekilli, Güven Kiraç, Zarah Jane McKenzie
Votes: 57,665
49. Tangier (2006)
105 min | Drama
In August 1996, bus drivers Marcel Van Loock and Wim Moreels are apprehended by the Moroccan Customs for drug trafficking. Inside their bus, hidden behind a false compartment, they have ... See full summary »
Director: Frank van Mechelen | Stars: Filip Peeters, Els Olaerts, Kyoko Scholiers, Emile Van Hamme
Votes: 1,746
50. Midnight Express (1978)
R | 121 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Billy Hayes, an American college student, is caught smuggling drugs out of Turkey and thrown into prison.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Brad Davis, Irene Miracle, Bo Hopkins, Paolo Bonacelli
Votes: 88,233 | Gross: $35.00M
51. In the Name of the Father (1993)
R | 133 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
An Irish man's coerced confession to an I.R.A. bombing he did not commit results in the imprisonment of his father as well. Meanwhile, a British lawyer fights to clear their names and free them.
Director: Jim Sheridan | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Pete Postlethwaite, Alison Crosbie, Philip King
Votes: 187,097 | Gross: $25.01M
52. Dead Man Walking (1995)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama
A nun, while comforting a convicted killer on death row, empathizes with both the killer and his victim's families.
Director: Tim Robbins | Stars: Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, Robert Prosky, Raymond J. Barry
Votes: 101,773 | Gross: $39.39M
53. Jail (2009)
Not Rated | 131 min | Drama
Remanded to policy custody, a man reviews his options in an overcrowded jail while awaiting trial.
Director: Madhur Bhandarkar | Stars: Manoj Bajpayee, Atul Kulkarni, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Mugdha Godse
Votes: 1,395
54. Bronson (2008)
R | 92 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A young man who was sentenced to seven years in prison for robbing a post office ends up spending three decades in solitary confinement. During this time, his own personality is supplanted by his alter-ego, Charles Bronson.
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn | Stars: Tom Hardy, Kelly Adams, Luing Andrews, Katy Barker
Votes: 140,874 | Gross: $0.10M
55. Lockout (2012)
PG-13 | 95 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A man wrongly convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage against the U.S. is offered his freedom if he can rescue the President's daughter from an outer-space prison taken over by violent inmates.
Directors: James Mather, Steve Saint Leger | Stars: Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace, Peter Stormare, Vincent Regan
Votes: 100,939 | Gross: $14.33M
56. Maundy Thursday (2006)
Not Rated | 120 min | Drama, Romance
A suicidal girl started to visit a convicted murderer awaiting execution every Thursday.
Director: Hae-sung Song | Stars: Lee Na-young, Gang Dong-won, Youn Yuh-jung, Kang Shin-il
Votes: 1,487
57. My Six Convicts (1952)
Approved | 104 min | Comedy, Drama
A psychologist pioneers a research study at a prison. He seeks the help of six savvy inmates including a safe-cracker, a mobster, a pair of armed robbers and psychopath. Could he trust them? What's in it for them?
Director: Hugo Fregonese | Stars: Millard Mitchell, Gilbert Roland, John Beal, Marshall Thompson
Votes: 403
58. Deathrow (2000)
TV-MA | 118 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Having strung along with delinquent friends to a home robbery that ends in a wealthy old woman's death, Manila slum youth Sonny is too stunned to get away while the others elude police ... See full summary »
Director: Joel Lamangan | Stars: Eddie Garcia, Cogie Domingo, Jaclyn Jose, Alan Paule
Votes: 65
59. Deathrow Gameshow (1987)
R | 83 min | Comedy
Chuck Toedan's the host of a game show featuring death row convicts competing in life-or-death contests in hopes of cheating the executioner or, at the very least, winning some nice prizes ... See full summary »
Director: Mark Pirro | Stars: John McCafferty, Robyn Blythe, Beano, Darwyn Carson
Votes: 907
60. White Night (1995)
92 min | Drama
Charlie tries to clean himself off drugs, with the help of his prison cell mate Shlomo. Althou coming from different background they manage to build a true friendship.
Director: Arnon Zadok | Stars: Shalom Shmuelov, Sharon Alexander, Idan Alterman, Liora Rivlin
Votes: 27
61. Prison on Fire (1987)
R | 98 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Inside a Hong Kong prison, two inmates form a friendship and face the difficulty of life on the inside.
Director: Ringo Lam | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Tony Ka Fai Leung, Ka-Kui Ho, Roy Cheung
Votes: 3,263
62. Screwed (2000)
PG-13 | 81 min | Comedy, Crime
A chauffeur kidnaps his rich boss's dog to hold it for ransom, but when she accidentally gets the dog back, she thinks that it's the chauffeur who's been kidnapped.
Directors: Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski | Stars: Norm MacDonald, Dave Chappelle, Elaine Stritch, Danny DeVito
Votes: 9,539 | Gross: $7.03M
63. Vägen ut (1999)
105 min | Comedy, Drama
Reine quits his job because he's tired of his boss. He takes a job at the Kumla Prison in hope that he can set up a play acted by the prisoners, who are not very interested. But they ... See full summary »
Director: Daniel Lind Lagerlöf | Stars: Björn Kjellman, Viveka Seldahl, Peter Haber, Thomas Hanzon
Votes: 2,318
64. The Experiment (2001)
R | 120 min | Drama, Thriller
For two weeks, 20 male participants are hired to play prisoners and guards in a prison. The "prisoners" have to follow seemingly mild rules, and the "guards" are told to retain order without using physical violence.
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel | Stars: Moritz Bleibtreu, Christian Berkel, Oliver Stokowski, Wotan Wilke Möhring
Votes: 96,094 | Gross: $0.14M
65. Le party (1990)
103 min | Drama
At a maximum security prison, there is preparation for the annual party where entertainers and strippers are scheduled to perform. But not everyone is having fun. A man is sent to solitary,... See full summary »
Director: Pierre Falardeau | Stars: Charlotte Laurier, Benoît Dagenais, Julien Poulin, Lou Babin
Votes: 584
66. Murder in the First (1995)
R | 122 min | Drama, Thriller
An eager and idealistic young attorney defends an Alcatraz prisoner accused of murdering a fellow inmate. The extenuating circumstances: his client had just spent over three years in solitary confinement.
Director: Marc Rocco | Stars: Christian Slater, Kevin Bacon, Gary Oldman, Embeth Davidtz
Votes: 30,674 | Gross: $17.38M
67. The Keeper (1995)
92 min | Crime, Drama
Paul Lamont, a corrections officer and law student, leads a comfortable if culturally bankrupt, middle-class existence. Lamont's marriage is already in trouble when he bails out a ... See full summary »
Director: Joe Brewster | Stars: Giancarlo Esposito, Regina Taylor, Isaach De Bankolé, Ron Brice
Votes: 326
68. Goodbye Bafana (2007)
R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, History
Goodbye Bafana is the true story of a white South African racist whose life was profoundly altered by the black prisoner he guarded for twenty years. The prisoner's name was Nelson Mandela.
Director: Bille August | Stars: Joseph Fiennes, Dennis Haysbert, Diane Kruger, Patrick Lyster
Votes: 12,235
69. Zonzon (1998)
102 min | Drama
In a French prison, three men are coming to terms with the emotional and physical torment which their incarceration brings them.
Director: Laurent Bouhnik | Stars: Pascal Greggory, Gaël Morel, Jamel Debbouze, Fabienne Babe
Votes: 363
70. The Longest Yard (1974)
R | 121 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A sadistic warden asks a former pro quarterback, now serving time in his prison, to put together a team of inmates to take on (and get pummeled by) the guards.
Director: Robert Aldrich | Stars: Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert, Ed Lauter, Michael Conrad
Votes: 21,428 | Gross: $7.13M
71. The Consequence (1977)
Not Rated | 100 min | Drama, Romance
Thomas, the son of a prison warden, falls for and seduces inmate Martin. When Martin is released from jail, they try to build a relationship and a life together but no one will let them alone.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Jürgen Prochnow, Ernst Hannawald, Werner Schwuchow, Hans-Michael Rehberg
Votes: 1,036
72. House of Women (1962)
Approved | 85 min | Crime, Drama
Drama about a young woman, Erica, who is wrongly implicated in a crime and sent to prison for five years, where she faces deplorable conditions. With the aid of the warden, she sets out to prove her innocence.
Directors: Walter Doniger, Crane Wilbur | Stars: Shirley Knight, Andrew Duggan, Constance Ford, Barbara Nichols
Votes: 354
73. Human Experiments (1979)
R | 86 min | Crime, Horror, Thriller
A demented prison doctor performs gruesome shock therapy experiments on inmates.
Director: Gregory Goodell | Stars: Linda Haynes, Geoffrey Lewis, Ellen Travolta, Lurene Tuttle
Votes: 882
74. I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
Passed | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Wrongly convicted James Allen serves in the intolerable conditions of a Southern chain gang, which later comes back to haunt him.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Paul Muni, Glenda Farrell, Helen Vinson, Noel Francis
Votes: 14,435 | Gross: $1.42M
75. Fortress (1992)
R | 95 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
In a future, private underground prison/Fortress, the inmates are computer controlled with CCTV, dream readers and devices that can cause pain or death. John and his illegally pregnant wife are inside but want to escape before birth.
Director: Stuart Gordon | Stars: Christopher Lambert, Loryn Locklin, Kurtwood Smith, Clifton Collins Jr.
Votes: 30,466 | Gross: $6.74M
76. Riot (1969)
R | 96 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A riot in a state prison is staged to cover up an escape attempt, during which many inmates and guards are killed. Shot on location at Arizona State Prison.
Director: Buzz Kulik | Stars: Jim Brown, Gene Hackman, Mike Kellin, Gerald S. O'Loughlin
Votes: 657
77. Wentworth (2013–2021)
TV-MA | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The confronting look into the lives of the inmates and prison staff of Wentworth Correctional Centre as they navigate the ups and downs of their lives in the prison system.
Stars: Kate Atkinson, Katrina Milosevic, Robbie Magasiva, Jacquie Brennan
Votes: 24,576
78. The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015)
R | 122 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 1971, twenty-four male students are selected to take on randomly assigned roles of prisoners and guards in a mock prison situated in the basement of the Stanford psychology building.
Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez | Stars: Ezra Miller, Tye Sheridan, Billy Crudup, Olivia Thirlby
Votes: 46,124 | Gross: $0.64M
79. Furnace (2007)
Unrated | 86 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
Detective Michael Turner investigates mysterious deaths that occur in and around a maximum-security prison. What begins as just another suicide and murder case unfolds into a furious ... See full summary »
Director: William Butler | Stars: Michael Paré, Ja Rule, Jenny McShane, Danny Trejo
Votes: 768
80. Down by Law (1986)
R | 107 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Two men are framed and sent to jail, where they meet a murderer who helps them escape and leave the state.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: Tom Waits, John Lurie, Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi
Votes: 55,288 | Gross: $1.44M
81. Ghosts... of the Civil Dead (1988)
93 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Prison gangs clash in a high-tech security jail where there are no rules.
Director: John Hillcoat | Stars: David Field, Mike Bishop, Chris DeRose, Kevin Mackey
Votes: 1,959
82. Animal Factory (2000)
R | 94 min | Crime, Drama
A young man goes to prison and a tough, older convict takes him under his wing as a mentor.
Director: Steve Buscemi | Stars: Willem Dafoe, Edward Furlong, Danny Trejo, Mark Boone Junior
Votes: 14,638 | Gross: $0.04M
83. Left to Die (2012 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama
A woman takes an innocent vacation in Ecuador but ends up being wrongly imprisoned for drug trafficking.
Director: Leon Ichaso | Stars: Barbara Hershey, Rachael Leigh Cook, Vincent Irizarry, Nicholas Gonzalez
Votes: 578
84. Deathwatch (1965)
88 min | Drama
A small-time thief battles with his gay cellmate over a third illiterate, muscular convict.
Director: Vic Morrow | Stars: Leonard Nimoy, Michael Forest, Paul Mazursky, Robert Ellenstein
Votes: 118
85. F Tipi Film (2012)
118 min | Drama
Nine stories of resistance against solitary confinement of political prisoners in Turkey.
Directors: Ezel Akay, Mehmet Ilker Altinay, Aydin Bulut, Hüseyin Karabey, Baris Pirhasan, Grup Yorum, Reis Çelik, Sirri Süreyya Önder, Vedat Özdemir | Stars: Arda Tekin, Behic Asçi, Bülent Emrah Parlak, Civan Canova
Votes: 733
86. Men Without Souls (1940)
Approved | 62 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Johnny Adams arrives in a brutal prison under an assumed name after deliberately framing himself in order to kill White, a captain of the guards, because he had beaten Johnny's father to ... See full summary »
Director: Nick Grinde | Stars: Barton MacLane, John Litel, Rochelle Hudson, Glenn Ford
Votes: 83
87. 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932)
Passed | 78 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Brash hoodlum Tom Connors enters Sing Sing cocksure of himself and disrespectful toward authority, but his tough but compassionate warden changes him.
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Bette Davis, Arthur Byron, Lyle Talbot
Votes: 2,960
88. Convict 99 (1938)
Not Rated | 91 min | Comedy
A disgraced school master, Benjamin Twist, is mistaken for a tough prison governor and assigned the charge of a prison for particularly hardened criminals. Believing he is being sent to a ... See full summary »
Director: Marcel Varnel | Stars: Will Hay, Moore Marriott, Graham Moffatt, Googie Withers
Votes: 542
89. Runaway Train (I) (1985)
R | 111 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Two escaped convicts and a female railway worker find themselves trapped on a speeding train with no brakes and nobody driving.
Director: Andrey Konchalovskiy | Stars: Jon Voight, Eric Roberts, Rebecca De Mornay, Kyle T. Heffner
Votes: 32,993 | Gross: $7.94M
90. Monster's Ball (2001)
R | 111 min | Drama, Romance
After a family tragedy, a racist prison guard re-examines his attitudes while falling in love with the African-American wife of the last prisoner he executed.
Director: Marc Forster | Stars: Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry, Taylor Simpson, Gabrielle Witcher
Votes: 94,070 | Gross: $31.27M
91. Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison (2008)
90 min | Documentary
Cash performs a concert for the inmates of California's Folsom Prison, and the show was recorded for a live album.
Director: Bestor Cram | Stars: Gene Beley, Jim Brown, June Carter Cash, John Carter Cash
Votes: 241
92. Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison (1951)
Approved | 87 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
At California's Folsom Prison, escape attempts and riots are on the rise due to the old-school sadistic style of management of a brutal warden.
Director: Crane Wilbur | Stars: Steve Cochran, David Brian, Philip Carey, Ted de Corsia
Votes: 413
93. San Quentin (1946)
Passed | 66 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Ex con Lawrence Tierney, hunts a supposedly reformed inmate, MacLane who escapes during a trip to San Francisco.
Director: Gordon Douglas | Stars: Lawrence Tierney, Marian Carr, Barton MacLane, Harry Shannon
Votes: 391
94. Women of San Quentin (1983 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 100 min | Drama
A young female prison guard finds out that her first assignment is to San Quentin, one of the toughest prisons in the country.
Director: William A. Graham | Stars: Stella Stevens, Debbie Allen, Hector Elizondo, Amy Steel
Votes: 114
95. San Quentin (1937)
Approved | 70 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
An army trainer becomes captain of the prison yard and in time, falls for the sister of a hardened inmate.
Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: Pat O'Brien, Ann Sheridan, Humphrey Bogart, Barton MacLane
Votes: 2,238
96. Johnny Cash in San Quentin (1969 TV Special)
60 min | Documentary, Music
A capture of Johnny Cash's famous concert at San Quentin prison, performed on 24 February 1969.
Director: Michael Darlow | Stars: June Carter Cash, Johnny Cash, Marshall Grant, W.S. Holland
Votes: 223
97. Stalag 17 (1953)
Not Rated | 120 min | Comedy, Drama, War
After two Americans are killed while escaping from a German P.O.W. camp in World War II, the barracks black marketeer, J.J. Sefton, is suspected of being an informer.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: William Holden, Don Taylor, Otto Preminger, Robert Strauss
Votes: 58,805
98. American Me (1992)
R | 125 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A Mexican-American Mafia kingpin is released from prison, falls in love for the first time, and grows introspective about his gangster lifestyle.
Director: Edward James Olmos | Stars: Edward James Olmos, William Forsythe, Sal Lopez, Vira Montes
Votes: 10,359 | Gross: $13.09M
99. Brute Force (1947)
Passed | 98 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
At a tough penitentiary, prisoner Joe Collins plans to rebel against Captain Munsey, the power-mad chief guard.
Director: Jules Dassin | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn, Charles Bickford, Yvonne De Carlo
Votes: 11,536
100. The Jericho Mile (1979 TV Movie)
97 min | Crime, Drama, Sport
A prisoner gets a chance to take part in the Olympics.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Peter Strauss, Richard Lawson, Roger E. Mosley, Brian Dennehy
Votes: 2,061
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