Best prison films

[moqui]

inspired by all the love for Shawshank in another thread (love which I do not share, by the way; I think Shawshank is just an OK film, but that's just me).

Right off the top: the best prison film ever made was Cool Hand Luke.

my next three are sub-genres: Stalag 17 and Bridge On the River Kwai are prisoner of war flicks, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a mental ward, but McMurphy was a prisoner.

for number 5 I am going to list a guilty pleasure: Escape from New York.

 

[jekelish]

Does No Escape qualify?

It's a horrible, yet tremendously enjoyable "prison" movie with Ray Liotta, Ernie Hudson, and Lance Henriksen. If you have never seen it and have Netflix Instant, I highly recommend watching it. So great. So bad. But so great.

 

[jekelish]

inspired by all the love for Shawshank in another thread (love which I do not share, by the way; I think Shawshank is just an OK film, but that's just me).

Right off the top: the best prison film ever made was Cool Hand Luke.

my next three are sub-genres: Stalag 17 and Bridge On the River Kwai are prisoner of war flicks, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a mental ward, but McMurphy was a prisoner.

for number 5 I am going to list a guilty pleasure: Escape from New York.

Escape from New York is starting on AMC right now, coincidentally.

 

[JJReddawg]

Caged Heat

 

[moqui]

Does No Escape qualify?

It's a horrible, yet tremendously enjoyable "prison" movie with Ray Liotta, Ernie Hudson, and Lance Henriksen. If you have never seen it and have Netflix Instant, I highly recommend watching it. So great. So bad. But so great.

if Escape from New York qualifies, then so does No Escape. The "island-prison fight for your life" flick is another sub-genre at this point

 

[CuseTroop]

I've never seen Cool Hand Luke. It was on AMC the other night, but the wife wasent down to watch it. Something I need to get on?

 

[CuseTroop]

I know its not a "film" but if you havent seen OZ, you need to make that happen

 

[jekelish]

Does In the Name of the Father count as a prison movie? Much of the movie takes place behind bars.

 

[Toga]

I've never seen Cool Hand Luke. It was on AMC the other night, but the wife wasent down to watch it. Something I need to get on?

uhh yeah

 

[Marsh01]

I know its not a "film" but if you havent seen OZ, you need to make that happen

I was an oz Junkie. Like a crack addict junkie.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

All of these.

http://www.imdb.com/list/csKeytJ7Kok/

There is a series on HBO Latino that I have been watching despite the fact I don't actually speak Espanol called Capadocia. It revolves around women in prison and I always watch just to see if it turns into one of these exploitation movies.

 

[Marsh01]

I live for Prison movies/shows. Always have.

Cool Hand Luke, Shawshank, American History X, Green Mile (cheesy but good), Escape from Alcatraz, No Escape. Hell I even watched that crappy show Prison Break on Fox.

One of my guilty pleasures after the games on Saturdays, I stay up until like 3AM and watch the Lockup shows on MSNBC.

 

[Jables]

Maybe not top notch, but how about Law Abiding Citizen with Butler and Foxx? Always enjoy a good vigilante movie.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Dead Man Walking was a very good movie as well.

 

[Marsh01]

Hell I even liked the movies Lock up with Stallone and In Hell and Death Warrant with Van Damme

 

[jekelish]

I live for Prison movies/shows. Always have.

Cool Hand Luke, Shawshank, American History X, Green Mile (cheesy but good), Escape from Alcatraz, No Escape. Hell I even watched that crappy show Prison Break on Fox.

One of my guilty pleasures after the games on Saturdays, I stay up until like 3AM and watch the Lockup shows on MSNBC.

Hey now, let's be easy on Prison Break. The first season was pretty great. The fact that they tried to stretch out the premise beyond one season is what made it crappy.

 

[Marsh01]

Hey now, let's be easy on Prison Break. The first season was pretty great. The fact that they tried to stretch out the premise beyond one season is what made it crappy.

Oh I agree. I watched it every week so it grabbed my attention. It got really stupid at the end.

 

[CuseTroop]

Hey now, let's be easy on Prison Break. The first season was pretty great. The fact that they tried to stretch out the premise beyond one season is what made it crappy.

I think I did the first two seasons.. When they were running around Mexico or w/e is when I started losing it

 

[Marsh01]

I think I did the first two seasons.. When they were running around Mexico or w/e is when I started losing it

It reminded me a lot of lost. Great idea that they didnt think would make it past a season and then they just went in a completely different direction which sort of ruined the show. I literally watched every episode of lost until the last 7 episodes where I just gave up because it got so ridiculously stupid and I never have watched them.

 

[ImperialOrange]

If the criteria that the movie simply must contain a prison for part of the movie I'll got with "Sleepers" and "The Rock".

Sleepers has a pretty good story and an solid cast. The Rock isn extremely watchable action movie and stars Sean Connery which more than makes up for the fact that it also stars Nick Cage.

 

[jekelish]

If the criteria that the movie simply must contain a prison for part of the movie I'll got with "Sleepers" and "The Rock".

Sleepers has a pretty good story and an solid cast. The Rock isn extremely watchable action movie and stars Sean Connery which more than makes up for the fact that it also stars Nick Cage.

Sleepers is pretty great. Did you know the main character, played by Jason Patric, is in real life a producer of the Law and Order series?

 

[Fireball Jr.]

Stir Crazy, Longest Yard, and Animal Factory.

 

[jekelish]

Stir Crazy, Longest Yard, and Animal Factory.

I hope you mean the original Longest Yard.

 

[ImperialOrange]

Sleepers is pretty great. Did you know the main character, played by Jason Patric, is in real life a producer of the Law and Order series?

I did not. I just know that Sleepers is necessary when playing the Kevin Bacon game.

 

[4evaOrange]

Half Past Dead...nothing special really