Chokey. The big house. The pen. Movies.ie may be far too pretty to go to jail but that doesn't mean we don't like to visit occasionally in film form! This week sees the release of the critically acclaimed French prison drama, A Prophet. The film follows a young Arab man as he rises through the ranks of a brutal French prison to become a mafia kingpin.
With this in mind it's time to hand over your worldly belongings and throw on your stripy jumpsuit as we count down our top ten prison films.
The Shawshank Redemption
The Shawshank Redemption finds itself at the top of our list - something that is certainly not unusual for the Frank Darabont modern classic! Tim Robbins plays Andy Dufresne, an inmate serving two life sentences for the murder of his wife and her lover. Having difficulty adjusting to life inside, another prisoner Red (Morgan Freeman) takes him under his wing and the two develop a friendship that makes their time a little more bearable.
2. Papillon
Based on the autobiography of a rather unfortunate chap, Papillon stars Steve McQueen as Henri Charriere, a man unjustly convicted of murder and sent to one of the most notorious prison facilities in the world, on Devil's Island, Papua New Guinea. The film follows him through ten years of his sentence, during which he makes several unsuccessful attempts at escape and befriends fellow prisoner Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman). In the end he succeeds, with a daring cliff dive, which of course McQueen insisted on performing himself.
Dead Man Walking
Probably the best film we were ever shown in religion class in school, Dead Man Walking could easily be dismissed as an "issue movie". Well it definitely has emotional weight to it but the fantastic performances of Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon mean it never descends into schmaltz. Unusually for prison movies, the prisoner at its heart (Penn) actually has committed his crime. Enter Sarandon as a compassionate nun who helps him through his final days.
The Birdman of Alcatraz
Robert Stroud (Burt Lancaster) was by all accounts a very angry young. Jailed for murder and placed in Leavenworth Prison he then kills a guard after being told his mother came to visit him but was refused. This slight over-reaction meant that he ended up in solitary confinement in Alcatraz for the rest of his sentence. Luckily he changes his ways when he starts to care for sick birds who pass by his cell - his cures soon bringing him fame and accolades. A great performance from Lancaster as the unusual inmate.
Midnight Express
If you're soon planning on taking a holiday it's probably best not to look at Midnight Express before hand. This Alan Parker film tells the story of a young American traveller called Billy (Brad Davies) who is imprisoned in Turkey for attempting to smuggle some hashish out of the country. Needless to say the prison isn't the most humanitarian of places and Billy's experiences of abuse and corruption at the hands of the Turkish system are upsetting to say the least!