Prison - The real list!
by adragon999 | created - 25 Aug 2013 | updated - 27 Aug 2013 | PublicNot the same 20 movies on every other list...
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Midnight Express (1978)
R | 121 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Billy Hayes, an American college student, is caught smuggling drugs out of Turkey and thrown into prison.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Brad Davis, Irene Miracle, Bo Hopkins, Paolo Bonacelli
Votes: 88,131 | Gross: $35.00M
2. Pusher (1996)
Not Rated | 110 min | Crime, Thriller
A drug pusher grows increasingly desperate after a botched deal leaves him with a large debt to a ruthless drug lord.
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn | Stars: Kim Bodnia, Zlatko Buric, Laura Drasbæk, Slavko Labovic
Votes: 44,465 | Gross: $0.00M
3. A Prophet (2009)
R | 155 min | Crime, Drama
A young Algerian man is sent to a French prison.
Director: Jacques Audiard | Stars: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif, Reda Kateb
Votes: 102,123 | Gross: $2.08M
4. Cell 211 (2009)
113 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The story of two men on different sides of a prison riot -- the inmate leading the rebellion and the young guard trapped in the revolt, who poses as a prisoner in a desperate attempt to survive the ordeal.
Director: Daniel Monzón | Stars: Luis Tosar, Alberto Ammann, Antonio Resines, Manuel Morón
Votes: 70,738
5. Elite Squad (2007)
R | 115 min | Action, Crime, Drama
In 1997 Rio de Janeiro, Captain Nascimento has to find a substitute for his position while trying to take down drug dealers and criminals before the Pope visits.
Director: José Padilha | Stars: Wagner Moura, André Ramiro, Caio Junqueira, Milhem Cortaz
Votes: 110,038 | Gross: $0.01M
6. Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within (2010)
Not Rated | 115 min | Action, Crime, Drama
After a prison riot, former-Captain Nascimento, now a high ranking security officer in Rio de Janeiro, is swept into a bloody political dispute that involves government officials and paramilitary groups.
Director: José Padilha | Stars: Wagner Moura, Irandhir Santos, André Ramiro, Milhem Cortaz
Votes: 86,651 | Gross: $0.10M
7. Chopper (2000)
R | 94 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Chopper tells the intense story of Mark "Chopper" Read, a legendary criminal who wrote his autobiography while serving a jail sentence in prison. His book, "From the Inside", upon which the film is based, was a best-seller.
Director: Andrew Dominik | Stars: Eric Bana, Simon Lyndon, Vince Colosimo, Renée Brack
Votes: 41,450 | Gross: $0.23M
8. El apando (1976)
83 min | Drama
In Mexico city, the most infamous jail "Lecumberri" three prisoners make a plan to introduce drugs.
Director: Felipe Cazals | Stars: Salvador Sánchez, José Carlos Ruiz, Manuel Ojeda, Delia Casanova
Votes: 330
9. Scum (1979)
R | 98 min | Crime, Drama
An uncompromising story of life in a British juvenile offender institution in the '70s.
Director: Alan Clarke | Stars: Ray Winstone, Mick Ford, Julian Firth, John Blundell
Votes: 13,054
10. Bronson (2008)
R | 92 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A young man who was sentenced to seven years in prison for robbing a post office ends up spending three decades in solitary confinement. During this time, his own personality is supplanted by his alter-ego, Charles Bronson.
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn | Stars: Tom Hardy, Kelly Adams, Luing Andrews, Katy Barker
Votes: 140,740 | Gross: $0.10M
11. Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1 (2008)
R | 133 min | Action, Biography, Crime
The story of the notorious French gangster Jacques Mesrine, with the focus on his life and death as France's Public Enemy No. 1 in the 1970s.
Director: Jean-François Richet | Stars: Vincent Cassel, Ludivine Sagnier, Mathieu Amalric, Samuel Le Bihan
Votes: 31,204 | Gross: $0.28M
12. American Me (1992)
R | 125 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A Mexican-American Mafia kingpin is released from prison, falls in love for the first time, and grows introspective about his gangster lifestyle.
Director: Edward James Olmos | Stars: Edward James Olmos, William Forsythe, Sal Lopez, Vira Montes
Votes: 10,340 | Gross: $13.09M
13. Animal Kingdom (2010)
R | 113 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A seventeen-year-old navigates his survival amongst an explosive criminal family and the detective who thinks he can save him.
Director: David Michôd | Stars: James Frecheville, Guy Pearce, Joel Edgerton, Bryce Lindemann
Votes: 60,444 | Gross: $1.04M
14. American History X (1998)
R | 119 min | Crime, Drama
Living a life marked by violence, neo-Nazi Derek finally goes to prison after killing two black youths. Upon his release, Derek vows to change; he hopes to prevent his brother, Danny, who idolizes Derek, from following in his footsteps.
Director: Tony Kaye | Stars: Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly D'Angelo, Jennifer Lien
Votes: 1,184,861 | Gross: $6.72M
15. Carandiru (2003)
R | 145 min | Crime, Drama
Stories of crime, revenge, love, and friendship at the Carandiru Penitentiary, the largest prison in Latin America.
Director: Hector Babenco | Stars: Enrique Diaz, Wagner Moura, Caio Blat, Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos
Votes: 21,876 | Gross: $0.21M
16. Day Break (2005)
Not Rated | 82 min | Drama
Since the Islamic Revolution in Iran, capital punishment is carried out according to Islamic law, which gives the family of the victim ownership of the offender's life. Day Break - based on... See full summary »
Director: Hamid Rahmanian | Stars: Hosein Yari, Zabi Afshar, Hoda Nasseh, Atash Taghipour
Votes: 332
17. Mesrine: Killer Instinct (2008)
R | 113 min | Action, Biography, Crime
The story of the notorious French gangster Jacques Mesrine, with the focus on his life before the early 1970s and the events that led to him being declared Public Enemy No. 1 in France.
Director: Jean-François Richet | Stars: Vincent Cassel, Cécile de France, Gérard Depardieu, Gilles Lellouche
Votes: 35,256 | Gross: $0.55M
18. A Better Life (2011)
PG-13 | 98 min | Drama, Romance
A gardener in East L.A. struggles to keep his son away from gangs and immigration agents while trying to give his son the opportunities he never had.
Director: Chris Weitz | Stars: Demián Bichir, José Julián, Eddie 'Piolin' Sotelo, Joaquín Cosio
Votes: 16,535 | Gross: $1.76M
19. Ghosts... of the Civil Dead (1988)
93 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Prison gangs clash in a high-tech security jail where there are no rules.
Director: John Hillcoat | Stars: David Field, Mike Bishop, Chris DeRose, Kevin Mackey
Votes: 1,958
20. Reform School Girls (1986)
R | 94 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A new group of girls arrives at Pridemore Juvenile Facility, where the brutal warden plays favoritism with a few, and treats the rest like animals. But one girl is not taking this horrible treatment lying down.
Director: Tom DeSimone | Stars: Linda Carol, Wendy O. Williams, Pat Ast, Sybil Danning
Votes: 2,983 | Gross: $2.51M
21. The Consequence (1977)
Not Rated | 100 min | Drama, Romance
Thomas, the son of a prison warden, falls for and seduces inmate Martin. When Martin is released from jail, they try to build a relationship and a life together but no one will let them alone.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Jürgen Prochnow, Ernst Hannawald, Werner Schwuchow, Hans-Michael Rehberg
Votes: 1,034
22. Felon (2008)
R | 104 min | Crime, Thriller
Locked up for killing an intruder in self-defense, a family man must cope with life in the violent penal system.
Director: Ric Roman Waugh | Stars: Stephen Dorff, Marisol Nichols, Vincent Miller, Anne Archer
Votes: 83,508 | Gross: $0.04M
23. The Life of David Gale (2003)
R | 130 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A man against capital punishment is accused of murdering a fellow activist and is sent to death row.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet, Laura Linney, Cleo King
Votes: 125,956 | Gross: $19.59M
24. A Proper Violence (2011)
Not Rated | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
When one man's dark secret becomes the obsession of three strangers, how far will they go to commit A Proper Violence?
Directors: Chris Faulisi, Matt Robinson | Stars: Randy Spence, Justin Morck, Shawn Mahoney, Will Brunson
Votes: 66
25. Dog Pound (2010)
Not Rated | 91 min | Crime, Drama
Three juvenile delinquents are sentenced to a correctional facility where they encounter gang violence, death, and harassment from staff and other inmates.
Director: Kim Chapiron | Stars: Adam Butcher, Shane Kippel, Matthew Morales, Slim Twig
Votes: 13,512
26. Poor Boy's Game (2007)
R | 104 min | Drama
On his release from prison for the brutal beating of a black man, Donnie, a young white boxer, is coached by his victim's father, George for an upcoming fight against a talented and vengeful opponent, Ossie.
Director: Clement Virgo | Stars: Rossif Sutherland, Danny Glover, Flex Alexander, Greg Bryk
Votes: 1,400
27. The Glass House (1972 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama
A young guard and a college professor convicted of manslaughter both start their first day in prison.
Director: Tom Gries | Stars: Vic Morrow, Alan Alda, Clu Gulager, Billy Dee Williams
Votes: 930
28. Papillon (1973)
R | 151 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A French convict in the 1930s befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence in the South American penal colony on Devil's Island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner | Stars: Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman, Victor Jory, Don Gordon
Votes: 138,250 | Gross: $53.27M
29. Brubaker (1980)
R | 131 min | Crime, Drama
The new warden of a small prison farm in Arkansas tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate.
Director: Stuart Rosenberg | Stars: Robert Redford, Yaphet Kotto, Morgan Freeman, Jane Alexander
Votes: 19,420 | Gross: $37.12M
30. The Panic in Needle Park (1971)
PG | 110 min | Drama
Follows the lives of heroin addicts who frequent "Needle Park" in New York City.
Director: Jerry Schatzberg | Stars: Al Pacino, Kitty Winn, Alan Vint, Richard Bright
Votes: 20,170
31. Bound by Honor (1993)
R | 180 min | Crime, Drama
Based on the true life experiences of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, the film focuses on step-brothers Paco and Cruz, and their bi-racial cousin Miklo.
Director: Taylor Hackford | Stars: Damian Chapa, Jesse Borrego, Benjamin Bratt, Enrique Castillo
Votes: 33,963 | Gross: $4.50M
32. The Basketball Diaries (1995)
R | 102 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A teenager finds his dreams of becoming a basketball star threatened after he free falls into the harrowing world of drug addiction.
Director: Scott Kalvert | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Lorraine Bracco, Marilyn Sokol, James Madio
Votes: 120,885 | Gross: $2.42M
33. The Magdalene Sisters (2002)
R | 114 min | Drama
Three young Irish women struggle to maintain their spirits while they endure dehumanizing abuse as inmates of a Magdalene Sisters Asylum.
Director: Peter Mullan | Stars: Eileen Walsh, Dorothy Duffy, Nora-Jane Noone, Anne-Marie Duff
Votes: 28,441 | Gross: $4.89M
34. Cavale (2002)
R | 117 min | Thriller, Crime, Drama
After nearly fifteen years behind bars, lefty revolutionary Bruno escapes and heads back to Grenoble, France. His plan? Settle some old scores, hook up with his foxy ex-lover, and avoid the... See full summary »
Director: Lucas Belvaux | Stars: Catherine Frot, Lucas Belvaux, Dominique Blanc, Ornella Muti
Votes: 1,245 | Gross: $0.06M
35. Pixote (1980)
TV-MA | 128 min | Crime, Drama
The life of a boy on the streets of Sao Paulo, involved with crimes, prostitution, and drugs.
Director: Hector Babenco | Stars: Fernando Ramos da Silva, Jorge Julião, Gilberto Moura, Edilson Lino
Votes: 9,202
36. Sherrybaby (2006)
R | 96 min | Drama
Sherry tries to integrate again into society and become a good mother.
Director: Laurie Collyer | Stars: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ryan Simpkins, Sam Bottoms, Michelle Hurst
Votes: 12,059 | Gross: $0.20M
37. R (2010)
Unrated | 99 min | Crime, Drama
The R of the title stands for the young protagonist, Rune, fearlessly played by Pilou Asbæk. Imprisoned for violent assault, he's a cocky, good-looking young man placed in the hardcore ward... See full summary »
Directors: Tobias Lindholm, Michael Noer | Stars: Pilou Asbæk, Dulfi Al-Jabouri, Roland Møller, Jacob Gredsted
Votes: 5,287
38. Angst (I) (1983)
Not Rated | 87 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A troubled man gets released from prison and starts taking out his sadistic fantasies on an unsuspecting family living in a secluded house.
Director: Gerald Kargl | Stars: Erwin Leder, Robert Hunger-Bühler, Silvia Ryder, Karin Springer
Votes: 13,426
Tell Your Friends