The 12 Greatest Prison Films We Have Ever Watched

      These prison films are truly engrossing. Get it?

      Some of the finest movies actually delve into life outside, where the prison symbolizes the mental constraints imposed by society or our own anxieties.

      Other prison films depict actual prisons, built for both the deserving and the innocent.

      Here are 13 films that you’ll find difficult to escape from.

      Caged (1950)

      Credit: C/O

      An early example of the women-in-prison subgenre, John Cromwell’s Caged tells the story of a 19-year-old married woman (Eleanor Parker) who is incarcerated following a failed bank robbery that results in her husband's death.

      Hope Emerson portrays the cruel prison matron, Evelyn Harper, in a narrative that suggests prison may be the most corrupting force of all.

      The film garnered three Oscar nominations.

      The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

      Credit: C/O

      Is this a prison film or a war film? We argue it’s both — David Lean’s The Bridge on the River Kwai is a movie that consistently defies expectations.

      Set in a Japanese prison camp in Thailand, the film depicts a clash of wills between captured British P.O.W. Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guiness) and his captor, Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa). Saito insists that Nicholson and his men construct a railroad bridge over the River Kwai, leading to ethical dilemmas regarding honor and maintaining humanity in captivity.

      It was the top-grossing movie of 1957 and rightfully won seven Oscars, including Best Picture. It’s one of those timeless gems from the 1950s that is both a classic and a pleasure to watch.

      Escape From Alcatraz (1979)

      Paramount Pictures – Credit: C/O

      Recognized as one of the greatest prison films, this Clint Eastwood project is his fifth and final collaboration with Dirty Harry director Don Siegel. It compellingly recreates the circumstances of a real-life escape from the supposedly unescapable Alcatraz Island in 1962.

      Eastwood takes on the role of actual prisoner Frank Morris, whose fate has been unclear since that chilly night in the early '60s. If he's still alive, he'll turn 98 this year.

      The FBI's probe into the escape remains ongoing.

      The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

      Columbia Pictures – Credit: C/O

      You knew this would be included, so we’re presenting it early on.

      This beloved film, drawn from the Stephen King collection Different Seasons (which also inspired Stand by Me and Apt Pupil), tells a story of maintaining one's spirit.

      Tim Robbins stars as Andy Dufresne, a banker sentenced to consecutive life terms for the murders of his wife and her lover. He befriends Ellis “Red” Redding (Morgan Freeman) and devises a plan to escape through a hole concealed behind a poster of Rita Hayworth.

      It’s regarded as one of the greatest prison films and one of the best movies overall—IMDb ranks it No. 1 on its list of the Top 250 Movies.

      Cool Hand Luke (1967)

      Warner Bros.-Seven Arts – Credit: C/O

      Paul Newman captivates as the titular character, a quiet man (and hardboiled egg enthusiast) who refuses to succumb to the brutality of his Florida prison camp.

      Strother Martin, portraying the camp captain, earned a place on the American Film Institute’s 100 Years… 100 Movie Quotes for a monologue that begins, “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.”

      Guns N' Roses fans might recognize it from the opening of the band’s “Civil War.”

      Penitentiary III (1987)

      Cannon Films Distributors – Credit: C/O

      The third installment in a successful series of independent prison films written and directed by Jamaa Fanaka, Penitentiary III is definitely worth viewing for the Midnight Thud fight alone.

      Not familiar with the Midnight Thud? Thud is the toughest fighter in prison, a formidable little person (played by Raymond Kessler, aka WWE’s Haiti Kid) who delivers one of the most captivating fight scenes ever filmed against our protagonist, Too Sweet (Leon Isaac Kennedy).

      This film is also the first of two on this list to feature the remarkable Danny Trejo, who plays See Veer.

      Con Air (1997)

      Buena Vista Pictures Distribution – Credit: C/O

      Trejo is part of an ensemble cast in Con Air, a prison-on-a-plane film where Cameron Poe (played by Nicolas Cage, exuding coolness) confronts a plane full of criminals when Cyrus “The Virus” Grissom orchestrates a hijacking.

      This is one of those films that makes you think, “He’s in this too?” if you haven't seen it in a while.

      The cast features John Cusack, Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames, Dave Chappelle, and many