“Wait a minute. You aren’t seriously suggesting that if I get through the wire… and case everything out there… and don’t get picked up… to turn myself in and get thrown back in the cooler for a couple of months so you can get the information you need?”
– Steve McQueen, The Great Escape

Most guys enjoy a good prison break film. The stories capture the notions of freedom and the indomitable human spirit. One of my favorites is The Great Escape starring the uber-cool Steve McQueen. That said, few movies are set entirely in prisons, so I, like others, are kind of curious what the criteria were when Gunaxin assembled their list of The 15 Best Prison Movies. Was The Rock not included simply because it takes place at a decommissioned prison? And does not enough of Malcolm X take place in a prison? And what about Assault on Precinct 13, is it because it has more to do with holding cells than prisons?

Here is Gunaxin’s list with plot summaries from IMDb and occasionally our comments:

1. Cool Hand Luke (1967) – Lucas Jackson, natural born world shaker, someone with more guts than brains, a man who refuses to conform to the rules he has been given. Sent to a prison camp for a misdemeanor Luke soon gains respect and becomes an idol. He has some fun in jail doing things for the hell of it, after his mother dies the Bosses put him in the box afraid he might want to attend the funeral. When he gets out he runs and gets caught and runs and gets caught, the bosses try to break him but he just won’t break.
2. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) – After the murder of his wife, hotshot banker Andrew Dufresne is sent to Shawshank Prison, where the usual unpleasantness occurs. Over the years, he retains hope and eventually gains the respect of his fellow inmates, especially longtime convict “Red” Redding, a black marketeer, and becomes influential within the prison. Eventually, Andrew achieves his ends on his own terms.
3. The Great Escape (1963) – Based on a true story, a group of allied escape artist type prisoners of war are all put in an ‘escape proof’ camp. Their leader decides to try to take out several hundred all at once. The first half of the film is played for comedy as the prisoners mostly outwit their jailers to dig the escape tunnel. The second half is high adventure as they use boats and trains and planes to get out of occupied Europe.
4. Escape from Alcatraz (1967) – The true story of Frank Morris, a convict who was sent to Alcatraz, the most feared prison in the world. Although nobody had ever escaped from Alcatraz, Frank did it.
5. Midnight Express (1978) – Billy Hayes is caught attempting to smuggle drugs out of Turkey. The Turkish courts decide to make an example of him, sentencing him to more than 30 years in prison. Hayes has two opportunities for release: the appeals made by his lawyer, his family, and the American government, or the “Midnight Express.” Interesting movie , but a rather inaccurate adaptation of the book, Midnight Express. In 1999, Hayes expressed his disappointment with the film adaptation, especially its portrayal of all Turks as bad, and his regret that Turkey’s image was negatively affected by the film. The interview can be seen here (part 1, part 2).
6. The Longest Yard (1974) – A football player-turned-convict organizes a team of inmates to play against a team of prison guards. His dilemma is that the warden asks him to throw the game in return for an early release, but he is also concerned about the inmates’ lack of self-esteem.
7. Bad Boys (1983) – Chicago crime kid Mick O’Brien has been sent to a juvenile prison for vehicular manslaughter. Most unfortunately, the person he kills is the kid brother of his nemesis Paco Moreno, who vows revenge by raping Mick’s girlfriend. Paco is caught and sent to the same prison where he re-works his revenge plan, and Mick has no choice but to defend himself.
8. Dead Man Walking (1995) – A convicted murderer on Death Row and the nun who befriends him. Through the portrayal of finely drawn characters and their interactions as the days, hours, and minutes tick down to the condemned man’s execution, powerful emotions are unleashed. While Matthew Poncelet and Sister Prejean desperately try to gain a stay of execution from the governor or the courts, scenes are intercut from the brutal crime, gradually revealing the truth about the events that transpired. In addition to her temporal help, the nun also tries to reach out spiritually and assist as a guide to salvation.
9. Papillon (1973) – Based on the true story of Henri Charriere, also known as Papillon, which is French for ‘butterfly’ (the character even sports a large tattoo of a butterfly). A petty criminal, Papillon is wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to life in a French penal colony in ‘Guiane’ (French Guiana, South America). Papillon is determined to escape but attempt after attempt meets with difficulty, resulting in eventual recapture. He continues his attempts to escape despite incarcerations in solitary confinement as punishment.
10. Brubaker (1980) – When the new Warden comes in disguised as an inmate, he sees first hand all the corruption and scams the guards and prison officials and running. When he reveals himself, and starts to implement reforms to stop the corruption, the local community business, who had been benefiting from the scams, fights back, and the corrupt southern prison system, starts making political trouble for the new warden.
11. The Green Mile (1999) – Paul Edgecomb is a slightly cynical veteran prison guard on Death row in the 1930′s. His faith, and sanity, deteriorated by watching men live and die, Edgecomb is about to have a complete turn around in attitude. Enter John Coffey, He’s eight feet tall. He has hands the size of waffle irons. He’s been accused of the murder of two children… and he’s afraid to sleep in a cell without a night-light. And Edgecomb, as well as the other prison guards – Brutus, a sympathetic guard, and Percy, a stuck up, perverse, and violent person, are in for a strange experience that involves intelligent mice, brutal executions, and the revelation about Coffey’s innocence.
12. American History X (1998) – Derek Vinyard returns from prison to find his younger brother, Danny, caught in the same web of racism and hatred that landed him in prison. After Derek’s father is killed in the line of duty by a minority, Derek’s view of mankind is altered, but while in prison, he discovers that there is good and bad in every race. The task before him now is to convince Danny of his newfound enlightenment.
13. The Hurricane (1999) – This film tells the story of Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, an African-American man who rose above his troubled youth to become a top contender for the middle-weight boxing title. However, his dreams are shattered when he is accused of a triple murder, and is convicted to three natural-life terms. Despite becoming a cause celeb’ and his dogged efforts to prove his innocence through his autobiography, the years of fruitless efforts have left him discouraged. This changes when a boy and his Canadian mentors read his book and are convinced of his innocence enough to work for his exoneration.
14. Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) – Luis Molina and Valentin Arregui are cell mates in a South American prison. Luis, a homosexual, is found guilty of immoral behaviour and Valentin is a political prisoner. To escape reality Luis invents romantic movies, while Valentin tries to keep his mind on the situation he’s in. During the time they spend together, the two men come to understand and respect one another.
15. Aliens3 (1992) – Despite the efforts of Ripley and the space marines in the film Aliens, an embryonic alien infiltrates the starship. It accidentally triggers the ship’s emergency systems, dropping the escape capsule to the surface of a nearby planet. Ripley finds herself in a prison colony peopled by a religious cult composed of former murderers and rapists. Meanwhile, the alien has managed to grow into a new and deadly form, and is picking off the weaponless prisoners. Ripley soon discovers, much to her horror, that the real danger is much more personal.

Other lockup movies that Gunaxin didn’t include, but we feel deserve a mention:

• The Last Castle (2001) – Three-star General Irwin, a renowned military tactician, has been court-martialed and sentenced to a maximum security military prison run with an iron fist by its warden, Colonel Winter. Winter can’t help but respect the once-legendary general, but that respect turns to hostility as Irwin defiantly confronts the warden on his methods. Their confrontation escalates into war when the general organizes his fellow inmates into an army to take over the prison.
• Felon (2008) – The family man Wade Porter is living the American Dream with his girlfriend Laura and their son Michael: they have a nice house, he has just raised a loan to make his company grow and they are going to get married. However their dream becomes a nightmare when Wade unintentionally kills a burglar that had broken into their house in the middle of the night on his lawn. He is sent to trial and accepts a deal proposed by the prosecutor, being sentenced to three years in prison. During the transportation, there is an incident in the bus and Wade is framed and sent to the maximum security wing under the command of the corrupt Lieutenant Jackson. His cell-mate John Smith that was sentenced to life revenging the death of his family befriends Wade and gives helpful advices and hope to Wade to return to his family.
• Bound by Honor (1993) – Based on the true life experiences of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, the film focuses on half-brothers Paco and Cruz, and their bi-racial cousin Miklo. It opens in 1972, as the three are members of an East L.A. gang known as the “Vatos Locos”, and the story focuses on how a violent crime and the influence of narcotics alter their lives. Miklo is incarcerated and sent to San Quentin, where he makes a “home” for himself. Cruz becomes an exceptional artist, but a heroin addiction overcomes him with tragic results. Paco becomes a cop and an enemy to his “carnal”, Miklo.
• Victory (1981) – In World War II, a group of Nazi officers come up with a propaganda event in which an all star Nazi team will play a team composed of Allied Prisoners of War in a Soccer (Football) game. The Prisoners agree, planning on using the game as a means of escape from the camp.
• The Hanoi Hilton (1987) – A drama focusing on the suffering, torture, and brutal treatment the American P.O.W.s had to deal with daily while in North Vietnam’s Hoa Lo Prison, the most infamous P.O.W. camp in Hanoi. The film focuses on the resistance the prisoners gave to their captors and the strong bonds formed by the Americans during their captivity.
• The Last Mile (1932) – Richard Walters is condemned to death for a murder he claims not to have committed. He arrives on death row just before a brutal inmate leads the other convicts in a violent uprising. Walters gets caught up in the riot, while on the outside his friends are trying to find evidence of his innocence.
• Short Eyes (1977) – A young man who is charged with child molestation is placed in New York City’s infamous “Tombs” jail system. When the other inmates in his cell block find out what he is charged with, life becomes extremely difficult for him.
• La Grande Illusion (1937) – During 1st WW, two French officers are captured. Captain De Boeldieu is an aristocrat while Lieutenant Marechal was a mechanic in civilian life. They meet other prisoners from various backgrounds, as Rosenthal, son of wealthy Jewish bankers. They are separated from Rosenthal before managing to escape. A few months later, they meet again in a fortress commanded by the aristocrat Van Rauffenstein. De Boeldieu strikes up a friendship with him but Marechal and Rosenthal still want to escape…
• American Me (1992) – This epic depiction of thirty years of Chicano gang life in Los Angeles focuses on a teen named Santana who, with his friends Mundo and the Caucasian-but-acting-Hispanic J.D., form their own gang and are soon arrested for a break-in. Santana gets into trouble again and goes straight from reform school to prison, spending eighteen year there, and becoming leader of a powerful gang, both inside and outside the prison, while there. When he is finally released, he tries to make sense of the violence in his life, in a world much changed from when last he was in it.
• Lock Up (1989) – Frank Leone is nearing the end of his prison term for a relatively minor crime. Just before he is paroled, however, Warden Drumgoole takes charge. Drumgoole was assigned to a hell-hole prison after his administration was publicly humiliated by Leone, and has now arrived on the scene to ensure that Leone never sees the light of day.
• The Wooden Horse (1950) – In a POW camp, the Nazis have placed the huts far from the boundary so that any escape tunnel would have to be a long one. One British officer has the idea of starting a daily gynmastics routine using a vaulting horse: they can place it near the boundary and start a tunnel from under it. He and two others do escape the camp by this means and plan to make for neutral Sweden. To do that, they’ll not only have to move around without arousing any suspicions, but also find a stranger from a neutral or occupied country who’ll be willing and able to help them.
• The Count of Monte Cristo (1934) – Edmond Dantes is imprisoned in the Chateau d’If without trial, for carrying a message from Napoleon in exile on Elba. After being told that he died in prison, his fiancé Mercedes is forced to marry his rival Count Mondego. Twenty years later, Dantes escapes with the help of the Abbe Faria, who leaves him the treasure of Monte Cristo. Dantes, now called the Count of Monte Cristo, plans his revenge on the three who framed him. The best of the movie adaptations of Alexandre Dumas’ novel, this version faithfully retells the story of the betrayed and wrongfully imprisoned Edmond Dantes. Though the film’s happy ending may seem a little weak by today’s standards, Count provides ample reasons why Dumas and his timeless themes of faith, love and vengeance continue to spawn popular adaptations

For the kids:

Ernest Goes to Jail

Ernest Goes to Jail (1990) – Bumbling Ernest P. Worrell is assigned to jury duty, where a crooked lawyer notices a resemblance with crime boss Mr. Nash, and arranges a switch. Nash assumes Ernest’s job as a bank employee, while Ernest undergoes Nash’s sentence to the electric chair. But instead of killing him, the electrocution gives Ernest superhuman powers, enabling him to escape from jail and foil Nash’s attempt to rob the bank. Yes, Jim Varney is goofy, but his movies are loveable and parents can rest assured that kids are safe watching his movies. In comparison to his other movies, Ernest Goes To Jail is likely the best of the “Ernest” films.

Women in Prison Films:

Prison Heat (1993)

And now for something completely different… Women in Prison films, WiP, is a a well-known subgenre prison films that began in the late 1960s and continues to the present day. The movies feature imprisoned women who are subjected to sexual and physical abuse, typically by sadistic male or female prison wardens and guards. The genre also features many films in which imprisoned women engage in lesbian sex. The format allows filmmakers to choose from an extensive menu of misogynistic taboos. From voyeurism (strip searches, group shower scenes, cat-fights) to sexual fantasies (lesbianism, rape, sexual slavery), to fetishism (bondage, whipping, degradation), and outright sadism (beatings, torture, cruelty).

• Caged Heat (1974) – A girl is caught in a drug bust and sent to the hoosegow. The iron-handed superintendent takes exception to a skit performed by the girls and takes punitive steps, aided by the sadistic doctor who is doing illegal electroshock experiments and raping drugged prisoners. After a while the prisoners put away their petty differences and plan the big prison escape.
• Caged Heat 2: Stripped of Freedom (1994) – King Lim is the oppressive ruler of a country on the verge of revolution. The CIA arranges a fake assassination to get him safely out of the country, but his daughter is captured in the ensuing melee and sent to The Rock, an island penitentiary known for its harshness. Agent Amanda commits a local crime in order to infiltrate the prison and rescue Princess Marga. Within, she predictably encounters official corruption, shifting allegiances, and a sleazy warden that make her task more challenging.
• Prison Heat (1993) – Four American babes on vacation in the Middle East run into trouble when they are imprisoned by corrupt army officials and that’s where the fun begins.
• Reform School Girls (1986) – Jenny is sent to a women’s reform school. It is run by evil warden Sutter and her henchwoman Edna. Jenny will stop at nothing to escape but she also has to deal with Charlie the bully.
• Chained Heat (1983) – Linda Blair plays Carol, a young woman who must serve 18 months in prison after killing a man (by accident). The prison turns out to be brimming with decadence, corruption and sleaze, where the other female inmates are sadistic crack-selling lesbian rapists and the guards and warden are no better. Racial tensions are high as the inmates is divided into two factions, blacks and whites, who must either join together against the management or kill each other trying.
• Slammer Girls (1987) – A young girl is framed for a crime she didn’t commit and sent to the state penitentiary, which is run by a crooked warden and a corrupt staff. A reporter manages to get herself sent to the prison so she can expose the brutal conditions and prove the girl’s innocence.
• Caged Fury (1989) – Discontent leads to a daring escape plan in a women’s prison where the inmates are all lingerie clad models and the lesbian warden demands unusual favors for early parole.
• Black Mama, White Mama (1973) – When two trouble-making female prisoners (one a revolutionary, the other a former harem-girl) can’t seem to get along, they are chained together and extradited for safekeeping. The women, still chained together, stumble, stab, and cat-fight their way across the wilderness, igniting a bloody shootout between gangsters and a group of revolutionaries.
• Girls in Prison (1956) – Protesting innocence, 21-year-old Anne Carson, convicted as an accomplice to a bank robbery, finds herself in prison with three equally glamorous cellmates in form-fitting uniforms: tough Jenny, unbalanced Dorothy, and deceptive, sweet-talking Melanee who makes unwanted lesbian advances toward Anne. The prison chaplain takes an interest in her case…or is it in her? As Anne meets the darker side of prison life, she learns that her greatest danger is the existence, somewhere out there, of unrecovered bank loot everyone thinks she hid.
• Bad girls dormitory (1986) – Inmates at a women’s prison run by a corrupt warden and her gang of sadistic guards plan a breakout.
• Nymphos Behind Bars, a DVD double feature: Escape from Hell / Femmine Infernali (1980) – A women’s prison camp is located deep in the tropical rain forest. Sadistic guards and a warden from hell make life almost unbearable for the inmates, and any infraction of the rules is dealt with swiftly and savagely. The camp doctor is horrified at what he sees happening, and drinks heavily to push the horror away. Finally the inmates have had had enough, and they enlist the help of the doctor to try and escape. Lust For Freedom (1987) – A former female cop is framed by corrupt police, acting in collusion with the local judge, and has to fight her way out of the pen, alone, against tough inmates, and the people in charge.

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