Looper's 45 Best Prison Movies of All Time Ranked
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BY BARRY LEVITT / MARCH 24, 2022 12:59 AM EST
There's something compelling about a look behind bars –- for many movie fans, prison films are their only experience with the world of incarceration. Prison movies take audiences to places unknown, often bringing us face to face with hardened criminals. Many great prison movies take us deeper, showing us things we didn't expect, whether it's a criminal with surprising kindness, or the brutal conditions faced by inmates the world over. Films about prison can transport us to unique and fascinating worlds, and many successfully hold a mirror up to society, exposing our bizarre desires to see people suffer.
Great prison movies go deeper than this, of course, exposing the remarkable humanity that can exist in prisoner-of-war camps, jails, and chain gangs. They provide insight into this unknown society, and while there are certainly heavy connotations to the prison movie, many subvert them with wicked, often clever humor. Exploring the genre of prison movies yields rich results, especially in a surprisingly diverse slate of films that cover every facet of a life behind bars. In honor of this fascinating, frightening, thrilling, challenging, and sometimes heartwarming genre, here are the 45 best prison movies of all time ranked.
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1 new
The Shawshank Redemption
1994, in 24 top lists Check -
2 new
Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent...
1956 — a.k.a. A Man Escaped, in 20 top lists Check -
3 new
Cool Hand Luke
1967, in 13 top lists Check -
4 new
Starred Up
2013, in 0 top lists Check -
5 new
La grande illusion
1937 — a.k.a. The Grand Illusion, in 30 top lists Check -
6 new
Chicken Run
2000, in 9 top lists Check -
7 new
Stalag 17
1953, in 7 top lists Check -
8 new
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
1932, in 14 top lists Check -
9 new
Un prophète
2009 — a.k.a. A Prophet, in 10 top lists Check -
10 new
The Bridge on the River Kwai
1957, in 32 top lists Check -
11 new
Escape from Alcatraz
1979, in 1 top list Check -
12 new
The Great Escape
1963, in 14 top lists Check -
13 new
The Green Mile
1999, in 15 top lists Check -
14 new
Le trou
1960 — a.k.a. Le Trou, in 15 top lists Check -
15 new
In the Name of the Father
1993, in 7 top lists Check -
16 new
Brute Force
1947, in 6 top lists Check -
17 new
Midnight Express
1978, in 4 top lists Check -
18 new
Birdman of Alcatraz
1962, in 2 top lists Check -
19 new
Brawl in Cell Block 99
2017, in 1 top list -
20 new
Bad Boys
1983, in 1 top list Check -
21 new
Hunger
2008, in 6 top lists Check -
22 new
Rescue Dawn
2006, in 0 top lists Check -
23 new
Scum
1979, in 3 top lists Check -
24 new
Twelve Monkeys
1995 — a.k.a. 12 Monkeys, in 14 top lists Check -
25 new
Kiss of the Spider Woman
1985, in 5 top lists Check -
26 new
American History X
1998, in 12 top lists Check -
27 new
The Hurricane
1999, in 1 top list Check -
28 new
Caged
1950, in 3 top lists Check -
29 new
Riot in Cell Block 11
1954, in 2 top lists Check -
30 new
Papillon
1973, in 6 top lists Check -
31 new
King Rat
1965, in 1 top list Check -
32 new
The Longest Yard
1974, in 2 top lists Check -
33 new
Bronson
2008, in 1 top list Check -
34 new
The Big House
1930, in 2 top lists Check -
35 new
Brubaker
1980, in 0 top lists Check -
36 new
Chopper
2000, in 3 top lists Check -
37 new
Sleepers
1996, in 0 top lists Check -
38 new
American Me
1992, in 1 top list Check -
39 new
The Hill
1965, in 1 top list Check -
40 new
I Love You Phillip Morris
2009, in 0 top lists Check -
41 new
The Prisoner of Shark Island
1936, in 2 top lists Check -
42 new
The Big Doll House
1971 — a.k.a. Bamboo Dolls House, in 0 top lists Check -
43 new
Stir Crazy
1980, in 2 top lists Check -
44 new
The Last Castle
2001, in 0 top lists Check -
45 new
Law Abiding Citizen
2009, in 0 top lists Check
Last updated on Dec 29, 2022; source