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Name your favourite prison/jail themed film/movie

Posted by conroyvanwinkle • 8/20/08 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: films, jail, lists, movies, prison, top ten

i am pretty obsessed with prison films, actually prison in general. Please let me know your favourite prison films of all time suggestions. I can start you off with my top ten here-

thebonanza.blogspot.com/

I would be glad to here your suggestions and comments on my own top 10

thanks

User Comments

8/20/08

ThriftShopRomantic

Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile are two of my faves.

Also, if you want to go on the silly side, "Stir Crazy."

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1. 8/20/08
  
  shagnast2100
  
  agreed! the green mile gives me the "old apple in the throat."
2. 8/20/08
  
  ThriftShopRomantic
  
  Not a bad book, either, if you haven't read it yet.
3. 8/20/08
  
  DrowseyMonkey
  
  Yep, Shawshank ... the best. Altho to be honest I haven't seen a lot of prison movies.
4. 8/20/08
  
  rmaxwell142
  
  I'll cast my vote for the Shawshank Redemption. It's such a great movie!
5. 2/25/09
  
  JamCan
  
  I have to go with your first two as well.
8/20/08

bhargava747

ya shawshank redemption was the best

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8/20/08

Delaney55

Ditto: Shawshank and Green Mile as I am a total Stephen King fan and think those are the best hands down except for maybe the Paul Newman movie what was that? Cool Hand Luke??

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8/20/08

MidwestMom

Papillon: A Steve McQueen classic!
Bird Man of Alcatraz

*****
Hey... looked at the list -- In the Name of the Father is a great one, too.

Escape from New York is maximum cheese -- but a decent choice nonetheless...

I guess my taste is better suited to classic films. Have a look at the first 2. You may like them.

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1. 8/20/08
  
  conroyvanwinkle
  
  thanks for your recommendations i'll check some of them out
8/20/08

hiteshrawat

same with me........shwashank is the best for me too

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8/20/08

MadameX

Brubaker.

I think. I actually haven't seen it for many, many years, but I remember really liking it at the time.

I also really liked Murder in the First.

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1. 8/20/08
  
  ThriftShopRomantic
  
  I enjoyed "Murder in the First" as well. Very nicely done.
8/20/08

braincatcher

As was said, Shawshank Redemption and Green Mile.

Can Prison Break counts?

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8/20/08

dlowe

I love prison flicks!
Papillon
Escape from Alcatraz
Midnight Express
Longest Yard (Burt Reynolds version)
The Great Escape
Victory
Shawshank

I can go on forever!

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8/20/08

harleyblues

those are weak examples of true prsion Life: American Me.. shows Prison life/culture the way it really is...... close second Blood in Blood out~
hb~

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1. 8/20/08
  
  conroyvanwinkle
  
  blood in blood out is in the list, but thanks for the other recomendation
2. 8/20/08
  
  dlowe
  
  American Me was weak!
8/20/08

craftymug

Brubaker and Shawshank Redemption

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8/20/08

positivb

If I were to watch all the seasons of Oz consecutively could I count that as a prison movie?

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1. 8/20/08
  
  conroyvanwinkle
  
  yes its number ten in my list if you check original post, i agree with you
8/20/08

nishant92

I know it is not a movie but the best prison theme flick ive eer seen has to be prison break

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8/20/08

RTBjr73

Shawshank Redemption and Cool Hand Luke.

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1. 8/20/08
  
  dlowe
  
  Cool Hand Luke. Excellent!
8/20/08

mantiz

how about "The Longest Yard"? It has Adam Sandler

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8/20/08

aningeniousname

Like all the ones mentioned, I'd add the British film Scum and the brilliant Burt Reynolds film Mean machine.

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8/20/08

howardbannister

If you're looking for a book, I'd highly recommend "Fish: A memoir of a boy in a man's prison" by T.J. Parsells. It's non-fiction, but a total page-turner.

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8/20/08

Arashmania

Shawshank and Papillon, for sure.

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8/20/08

wandadog13

porridge

the great escape

the man in the iron mask

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1. 8/20/08
  
  ThriftShopRomantic
  
  Does that mean we could also include "The Count of Monte Cristo"? I ended up rather enjoying that one, too.
2. 8/20/08
  
  MadameX
  
  Was that a movie, Jenn? I would have listed it if I'd known that it was--it's one of my all-time favorite novels (though I enjoyed it much more in French than I did when I re-read it years later in English). I've never seen the film, though.
3. 8/20/08
  
  ThriftShopRomantic
  
  It was, it had Guy Pearce, Jim Kaviezel and Richard Harris. Rather nicely done!
4. 2/25/09
  
  wandadog13
  
  thought that was richard chamberlain in the count of monte cristo? with patrick mcgoohan as the baddie .
5. 2/25/09
  
  rickbman
  
  @wandadog13 Richard Chamberlain was in a 1975 version of The Count of Monte-Cristo. www.imdb.com/title/tt0072824/
  Guy Pearce and James Caviezel would have been in the 2002 version. www.imdb.com/title/tt0245844/
  There have been almost 30 filmed versions of The Count of Monte Cristo.
8/20/08

RTBjr73

Used to watch the HBO series "Oz"

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8/20/08

Theresa111

The Clint Eastwood movie, where he is a reporter and there is a man on death row, he figures out he is innocent and saves the day.

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2/25/09

harisaryono

I like prison break, but where I can download it?

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2/25/09

gentledove

There was a film on telly once starring Paul Newman, where he was always escaping, he also stood up to the bully prisoner and kept coming back even though he was getting a pasting

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1. 2/25/09
  
  gtally
  
  Wasn't that Cool Hand Luke? I haven't seen it in ages!
2/25/09

gtally

Three O'Clock High -- An American teen movie from 1987 that is a remake of a high noon western showdown with a bully. The protagonist spends his whole day trying to escape his prison-like school and can't.

Either that, or Escape From New York.
"The Duke of New York, A-Number-1!"
Deeply silly, yet satisfying.

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2/25/09

wandadog13

can we be really silly and add Chicken Run?

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1. 2/25/09
  
  busylizzy
  
  Chicken Run was loosely based on The Great Escape (I think) so why not!
2/25/09

melindaville

Probably one of the scariest movies I ever saw was one called Midnight Express--about an American who was busted for hashish in Turkey. The hell he went through--amazing. It's also a true story.

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2/25/09

rickbman

I'll try to add a couple less obvious choices that no one has mentioned yet.

A Man Escaped (1957) is a which is a very good and rather suspenseful french prison break movie.

Down by Law (1986) is a really great movie about 3 guys that meet in prison. (probably not exactly what you would expect from a prison movie though)

Rescue Dawn (2006) is really good. It is more about prisoners of war then prison but I think it fits.

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2/25/09

Stillthinking

I am going to go with "Brokedown Palace" and "Dead Man Walking" since Shawshenk Redemption has been listed multiple times. I would also suggest "Truman"

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2/25/09

educatedvagabond

Does it have to be a movie? Because the BBC television show, "Bad Girls," was the greatest thing ever!

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2/25/09

Shy

Murder in the First, Directed by Marc Rocco, Staring: Kevin Bacon,Christian Slater and obviously others I really loved this movie. www.imdb.com/title/tt0113870/

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2/25/09

jshaw1134

Crybaby with Johnny Depp and Ricki Lake. Does that count? LOL. I love it!

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1. 2/25/09
  
  educatedvagabond
  
  Oh my gods, yes! Anything and everything by John Waters is awesomeness!
2/25/09

steafan

midnight express was always my favourite.

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2/25/09

sunnyberra

I have to agree with Shy--my favorite prison movie is Murder in the First (had forgotten the title, since it's been awhile since I've seen it). My other would be Shawshank Redemption

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2/25/09

warnie

I loved the Green Mile, Shawshank is an obvious classic and a frightening one for me was Bangkok Hilton with Nicole Kidman.

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2/25/09

calais50

Cool Hand Luke, hands down.

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2/25/09

makeshiftspaces

Green Mile and Shawshank are AMAZING
I would also say that O Brother Where Art Thou

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2/26/09

SweetViolet

Shawshank Redemption and Green Mile do it for me.

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2/26/09

riverstyxxx

Yep, Shawshank. Stephen King

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2/26/09

riverstyxxx

(Stupid internet)

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