Best Prison Movies of All Time

They may not be at the top of everybody's list, and they certainly don't have any cult following of any kind, but prison films are often greatly overshadowed. Some of the best interpersonal confrontations are met in such a situation as being sent to prison, look at Denzel Washington's Hurricane. Despite it being more of a boxing movie, Rubin Carter's long stint in jail taught of a mix between finding hope in the darkest of times, while also learning when to use that hope wisely.

When it comes to prison movies, hope is by far one of the most motivating and archetypal of all symbols. This means that some of the very best prison movies will often either directly challenge the idea of hope or will greatly do their best at rendering it on-screen. In any case, these prison movies depict for us a sense of self-finding, outward strength and, most important of all, emboldened hope.

In my opinion it's the greatest film ever made, The Shawshank Redemption has a little bit taken from every genre packed into one of the most beautiful, awe-inspiring, and best prison movies of all time. It's actually a novella by Stephen King, which many people don't even know.

Andy Dufrane, played by Tim Robbins, is wrongly accused of murdering his wife and lover. He's sentenced to two life sentences in Shawshank, where he meets the illustrious 'Red,' Morgan Freeman's character, who can get his hands on practically anything the inmates want... like a Rita Hayworth poster, perhaps?

Another Stephen King novella made into an exceptionally filmed feature length adaption, The Green Mile is moving as it is thrilling. It tells the story of a lifetime, one that is still considered one of the best prison movies of all time.

Michael Clarke Duncan plays a convict sitting on death row named John Coffey. He meets one of the guardsmen who is one of the few souls to make the same walk as many previous convicts, yet still live. And though he knows a great many before him, Paul Edgecomb has never met anyone quite like John Coffey.

It couldn't be a list of the best prison movies of all time without the escape. Not just any escape, either, I'm talking about The Great Escape, starring Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson, two of Hollywood's most iconic actors.

The film tells the story of a group of allied soldiers imprisoned under a German WWII camp. A few of them plan on not only breaking free of their chains, but also want to create a diversion in drawing Nazis soldiers away from their war posts. It's not your everyday prison film, but it's got everything you could ask for in one.

As one of the grittiest and darkest films off this list, American History X expresses a load of symbolic ingenuity and self-analyzation of the American penal system. It's one of the best prison films in the modern era for gauging the level of discrimination and violence still rampant in many conventional American prisons.

The story revolves around Derek Vinyard, a neo-Nazi criminal who is sent to prison after brutally killing two men for stealing his car. After being released, Derek must overcome his own prejudices and shortcomings, while assisting his brother and mother in day to day life.

In this crime movie, Tom Hardy plays the true story retelling of Charles Bronson and his time in prison as Michael Peterson. As one of the best prison movies of all time, Bronson is unique in that it captures a real life human through one of Hollywood's most prolific modern actors.

With an angry temper, animalistic behavior, and a downright demonic attitude, Bronson is put into solitary confinement for most of his time spent, but what he learns there truly captures the imagination and inspires viewers on many more levels than one.

Though the remake with Adam Sandler may be a sight for sore eyes, The Longest Yard still makes the list as one of the best prison films, because it gives the well known genre a nice, and needed comical spin.

Burt Reynolds stars as disgruntled and rude ex-pro football player, Paul Crewe, falls into jail under the eyes of a determined warden, who no sooner recruits him as a sort of coach for his facility's team. A team of inmates is soon assembled, and the only thing stopping Crewe from making a name for himself is the team of guards he has to win against.

Paul Newman's eccentric and otherwise cool as can be character Luke Jackson is sentenced to two years in a Florida prison, but he just doesn't want to follow the rules. Neither listening to the warden or guards, Luke is consistently sentenced to solitary confinement, wherein he must find hope, or lost his mind.

Cool Hand Luke is expertly crafted and makes for an interesting addition on this list of the best prison films, since Luke Jackson's rebel ways make a name for himself on the yard and cellblock.

Starring George Clooney as Ulysses Everette McGill, O Brother, Where Art Thou maintains a satirical perspective on the everyday jailhouse flick. Based in Mississippi, the movie surrounds McGill's life of labor on the chain gang, before he and two other inmates escape in the hunt for pure treasure.

Unlike most others on the list of the best prison movies of all time, O Brother, Where Art Though is an immense story packed with hijinks, drama, and sorrow to match its boisterous plot. There's never a point where you're left disinterested.

The 1978 thriller and criminal film is an unusual pick, given that it tells the story of an American tourist who gets arrested smuggling pot out of Istanbul. After he is subjugated to four years of unruly torture and mental strain, feeling a final blessing in the wake of all this previous madness, the judge suddenly calls for an added 30 years to his prison sentence, leaving Billy Hayes absolutely lost and demoralized.

With ranging themes and wild perspectives of international legal relations and the discouraging manners of imprisonment worldwide, Midnight Express is a spellbinding picture of one man's descent into madness living in an overseas prison facility.

As the quintessential Alcatraz flick, Escape From Alcatraz brings Clint Eastwood to the screen as an inmate of one of the world's most dangerous prisons located in San Fransisco, which at one point houses some of America's famous serial killers.

Bringing one of America's most notorious prison escapes to real life, there should be no surprise that Escape from Alcatraz is one of the best prison films of all time. There's action, suspense, a whole lot of drama, making it an instant classic among crime movies.

Papillon discusses a similar theme of Escape from Alcatraz, in that one inmate's idea at creating his own freedom is put to action with the help of another lifelong convict. Like most of the best books about American prisons, Papillon shows just how vulnerable out system can be if used incorrectly.

As an addition to the best prison movies of all time, and one of the only ones that is in black and white, Papillon is unlike any other jail movie, because it showcases the struggles of one man's flight from a labor camp, in addition to his own mental self-escape from the wrongnesses of his past life.

Without a doubt the most action packed thrill ride on this list, Law Abiding Citizen will keep you on the edge of your seat well until the credits start rolling.

Telling the tale of one aggravated man's hunt for justice after his wife and daughter are murdered, Law Abiding Citizen is one of the best prison movies, because of its extreme level of suspense, cunning plot line, and action packed sequences.

With stars like Kevin Bacon, Brad Pitt, Robert de Niro, and Dustin Hoffman, it's not too difficult to see Sleepers on this list of the best prison movies of all time.

Despite it being more about revenge and the struggle for control, Sleepers still wields some very interesting prison like qualities. It's about a group of adolescent friends who get sent to a child detention center after a failed prank goes horribly wrong. Ten years after their release, a reunion is short in order, but not one the detention center would like to see.