You know that pages of the prison-issued Holy Bible is good for rolling up joints to smoke?

Anyway, Pizzaboy told me in a PM to open up a thread on Movies involving Prison, and either I comply, or I get raped at the next Aryan Brotherhood group meeting in the showers.

So I thought, its a good idea AFTER ALL.

SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION made the updated AFI Top 100 films list, and its deserving.

But its not the only prison flick. I'll do short reviews, and anyone else that want a shout out this side of a rap radio station, go for it.

You know, there are two of you, so there shouldn't be an 's' at the end of "present".

One of the best prison movies (and coincidentally another Stephen King offering) is "The Green Mile"... I absolutely LOVE that movie!! It has stories within a story (as only King could write them) and the acting was superb.

Can't forget James Cagney in "White Heat"... when he goes beserk in prison (after learning that his mother died) it was one of the best "flipouts" I've ever seen on the screen!

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (1981)

In the future, within the totaltarian paramilitary police state that is now America, the ruins of New York City have become the all-purpose escape-proof prison for the worst of the worst criminals and political dissidents.

Kurt Russell grows up from Disney movies to action hero as the awesomely selfish outlaw Snake Plissken, who is about as anti-hero as you can be, and thats the charm that attracts people to that character.

He doesn't care about you, he doesn't care that the country is now Stalin Russia, he watches only for his own neck and next major score. Thats it.

Anyway, so he gets caught by the police and basically forced at gunpoint to conduct a near-impossible operation: Locate and Rescue the American President (adrift inside the city) within 24 hours. If he pulls it off, he gets a Pardon. If not, poisoned capsules blow up his blood vessels.

Ouch.

John Carpenter's ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK is a lean, mean, low budget grungy B-action movie infused with influences from Sergio Leone's work and that of Carpenter's anti-authority view of reality, and really its got a cool B-cast to boot, from Isaac Hayes as the awesome Duke of New York to paycheck-bread basket Donald Pleasance as the President (how many movies have British-accent U.S. Presidents anyway?) and national acting treasures Ernest Borgnine and Harry Dean Stanton having fun with their parts.

But the ending...the one time when Snake Plissken isn't a totally selfish bastard, he throws off the government at the most critical moment.

That's badass.

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (1981) - ***1/2

Love both of those, SC. SHAWSHANK is my personal favorite, I also love the original KISS OF DEATH, which opens in prison. ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES, too. However, I'm thinking the thread should revolve around films which were steeped in a prison setting. On that basis, I'll stick with SHAWSHANK. And don't forget Stallone's LOCK-UP.

Great review, Ronnie.

Its not that good, but thanks anyway.

Funny how the only shot of EFNY actually shot in New York City was a brief camera-crane shot of the Statue of Liberty. Thats it, the rest shot in the ghetto urban hell of St. Louis.

Two come to mind immediately:

"Cool Hand Luke" - Paul Newman is absolutely wonderful as an anti-establishment guy who is smart enough to know better but doesn't.... [Edit: he actually just doesn't care]. One of his best movies!

"Midnight Express" - A very dark film.... it almost was enough to make me stop smoking those funny cigarettes.

"What we have here...is a failure to communicate."

One of the best movie lines EVER!

I know it.

What about Eastwood's Escape From Alcatraz? And how can we forget Papillon? Loved both of those.

The book by Henri Charriere (sp?) was outstanding.... I didn't care that much for the movie though....

I thought AMERICAN ME (1992) was a particularly brutal, yet entertaining film. The prison scenes were a bit of a precursor to OZ.

VERY scary shit.

Shawshank is ofcourse my favorite. I like green mile a lot. Another movie which could have been great, but eventually went the cliched hollywood way is "The Last Castle". Even good acting by James Gandolfini couldn't beat the stupidity of hollywood.

I didn't care for THE LAST CASTLE. However, I think the best performance came from the then unknown Mark Ruffalo. He was great.

Shawshank and Dead Man Walking are my faves.

Was there a Cagney prison movie where Cagney says to a guard "You dirty screw?" or is that an urban legend?

My three all-time favorite prison movies:
1. "Brute Force" (attention, Don Cardi!!): Early Burt Lancaster playing a superior con, leader of a group of "noble cons." Fine performance by Burt, but stolen by Hume Cronyn, nominally a little twerp, as a truly scary, brutal captain of the guards. Great finish!
2. "Women's Prison": A great B-movie with a cast that you have to love. Ida Lupino nails it as a dykey prison captain, plus Jan Sterling, Howard Duff, Juanita Moore, every cliche in the book, told with pace and conviction. Irresistable.
3. "Riot in Cell Block 11": Neville Brand, Eternal Thug, here plays a thug with a social conscience--leading a riot for better conditions. What's more, the warden agrees with him! At once unusual and typical. Solidly done.

It just occured to me, that technically, STALAG 17 might be considered a prison movie, so I just have to throw it into the mix. For that matter, THE PURPLE HEART, too.

"Stalag 17" is an awesome flick!! If you're gonna include war camp movies you must think of "The Great Escape" and "Bridge on the River Kwai" too.

So THAT did the trick Remember my request for slasher roadtrip

I love STALAG 17, SC. I think it was one of the first ever "black comedies." Plus, it gave way to HOGAN'S HEROES, one of my all-time favorite tv shows. Bob Crane was a freak!

Sure, but you didn't threaten to pop my cherry.

I've got to concur on THE LAST CASTLE.

One of the first films I wished I could have written, instead of it ending up as an underwhelming flick (and I blame Rod Lurie too.)

Two of my favorites are "Escape From Alcatrazz" and "Shawshank." Although I must say, TNT ruined "Shawshank" for me by showing it so often. I love the scene SB mentioned where Robbins locks out the warden and guards to play the classical music. I also like where he got everyone beer after they repaired the roof.

NO ESCAPE (1994) - ***

What utter B-trash, but its B-trash made by people giving a shit, and thats what seperates the good B-trash from the...well, trash.

The whole movie about a future island prison where the prisoners are divided between a very violent cannibalistic tribe that lives out in the trees and pacifist guys who lost their balls years back....its cliche as bloody hell (hell, svsg should see NO ESCAPE, just so I can see his head explode.)

But what makes it from average as hell into watchable is two factors.

One, Ray Liotta. He was a great actor when he gave a shit about acting, and not simply accepting any job for a paycheck. He is badass, and you buy it.

Two, Director Martin Campbell. A year before successfully relaunching the Bond franchise with GOLDENEYE (and 11 years later with CASINO ROYALE), Campbell sharpened his action cinema craft.

What about The Longest Yard (1974)?

Also a personal favorite of mine, Life. Not sure if it's worth mentioning in here because it's a comedy, but I still like it. It's underrated in my opinion. Not that it should be highly rated, but it's still underrated.

Turnbull, I opened this topic with the intent of posting that Brute Force was one of my all time favorite prison movies and was going to say "Ever see that one TB?"

And then I scroll down and see the attention Don Cardi!!! shout by you!

"Munsey!" Oh, what a twerp he was!

I also have to go with SC with the prison scene from White Heat.

Shawshank is another great one as well as The Green Mile.

And if we are including prisoner of war movies, then I have to go with almost every "Tom" "Dick" and "Harry" and vote for The Great Escape.

Nobody's mentioned "Birdman of Alcatraz" yet. I was somewhat disappointed in the story but was highly impressed by Burt Lancaster's portrayal in it.

Boy, I never realized how many prison movies there were. It's hard to think of them off the top of my head, but you guys have mentioned many good ones. The Shawshank Redemption is among one of my favorites. I never knew by the title of the movie, what it was and never saw it until it was on tv.

Anyway have "Escape From Alcatraz" and "The Great Escape" been mentioned. Also many years back there was one with Robert Redford, I believe titled Brubaker. It's been years since I've seen it but liked it at the time.

TIS