The 15 Best Prison Movies Of All Time, Ranked

People have an innate desire for freedom of movement. We don’t like being stuck anywhere that we’re not allowed to leave — just look at how antsy people get after a plane has landed but isn’t done taxiing to the gate yet. That’s a huge part of what makes prison movies so compelling for audiences, watching characters put in a position that is inherently uncomfortable for us. And this is without even touching upon the high drama that necessarily accompanies these types of films, considering what must have happened to land our protagonists in this situation.

Because of this, prison films often present a challenge for their writers — they must make audiences empathize with their characters who have been convicted of terrible crimes, many of which they committed. But in emotionally connecting with these characters, we’re able to see their humanity and not just their misdeeds. It’s no wonder that so many prison films rank highly among viewers, and the ones on this list represent the very best of the best.

A lot of prison movies feature characters who have been falsely jailed for a crime they didn’t commit, but “The Mauritanian” has to be one of the few that’s about a guy imprisoned for no real reason at all. Based on a true story, “The Mauritanian” stars Tahar Rahim as Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a Mauritanian man who, in the wake of the September 11 attacks, was sent to Guantanamo Bay. 

Although he was kept under lock and key from 2002 until his release 14 years later, he was never actually charged with any particular crime, and was a party to some of the United States’ most frequently used “enhanced interrogation techniques.” Basically, his experiences in Guantanamo Bay represented all of the greatest hits from post-9/11 U.S. detention policies, from illegal detainment to actual torture. As you may have guessed, “The Mauritanian” isn’t what you might call an uplifting film, but Rahim’s performance in the lead role is so profoundly empathetic that it’s a must-watch.

Based on the true story of Rubin “The Hurricane” Carter, “The Hurricane” stars Denzel Washington as a successful boxer whose world is turned upside down when he’s wrongly convicted of murder. After being pulled over at the wrong place at the wrong time, Carter becomes a key suspect in the triple homicide of three bar patrons when the actual perpetrator told police that he had seen Carter and his friend at the scene of the crime. His burgeoning boxing career is cut short as he is swiftly sent to jail, given three consecutive life sentences. 

It’s only after he languishes in prison for the better part of two decades that there is a renewed effort to have him set free, as members of a new generation of lawyers become convinced of his innocence. Denzel Washington approached the role with his trademark commitment, bringing rage and fire to his performance as Carter. In 2000, he was nominated for an Academy Award for his work in “The Hurricane,” cementing it as one of his best films (and for Denzel Washington, that’s saying something).

For over a century now, journalists have been going undercover to expose abuse within certain institutional systems, whether they’re psychiatric hospitals or prisons. In “Brubaker,” Robert Redford as Henry Brubaker follows in their footsteps. Posing as an inmate in an Arkansas correctional facility, Brubaker gets a firsthand glimpse of the cruelty and inhumanity that so frequently festered within prisons. 

But before long, both the prisoners and the guards get an unexpected surprise: Brubaker is actually the new warden, and he’s determined to do his part to repair the broken system from the inside. Enacting this sort of institutional change, however, is easier said than done, and Brubaker is met with plenty of roadblocks along the way. Loosely based on the real experiences of warden Thomas Murton, who helped write the book, “Accomplices to the Crime: The Arkansas Prison Scandal,” is a poignant call to action for prison reform which still resonates today.

You have to hand it to “The Longest Yard,” there aren’t too many films that can pull off prison comedy. It stars Burt Reynolds as Paul Crewe, a former NFL player who is sent to jail after stealing (sorry, “borrowing”) his ex-girlfriend’s car, where he reluctantly agrees to participate in a football game between the prisoners and the guards. Putting together a proper team from a ragtag group of prisoners proves to be a challenge, but before long, he’s got a group of athletes who can go toe-to-toe with the prison guards. 

But although they have the talent and can-do attitude, the manager of the guards’ team (Warden Hazen, played by Eddie Albert) has all the institutional power and behaves in a thoroughly underhanded manner when it becomes clear that the prisoners’ team just might win. Still, what’s an underdog story without a few setbacks? Burt Reynolds is at the top of his game here, and “The Longest Yard” proved so popular that it has been remade multiple times, including a 2005 version starring Adam Sandler.

Many films often have a message for viewers buried within their narrative, and the one in “Midnight Express” is fairly obvious — never get mixed up with drug trafficking in Turkey. American tourists are simply not built to thrive in Turkish prisons circa 1978. This is the lesson that Billy Hayes (a real-life person who wrote the memoir the film was based on, played here by Brad Davis) learned after having the book thrown at him for attempting to smuggle hashish out of the country. 

Hayes spends years enduring brutal treatment behind bars, only to have his spirit crushed upon learning that he’s been resentenced and is now expected to sit in prison for 30 years. His only potential salvation is the Midnight Express, a term that the prisoners use for the escape route attempted by the desperate. “Midnight Express” was a critical success, earning six Academy Award nominations and ultimately winning two Oscars. Although some criticize the harshness of its portrayal of the Turkish prison, it’s nonetheless an especially harrowing entry in the genre.

What’s a prison movie without a little bit of magic? Based on a novel by Stephen King, “The Green Mile” stars Tom Hanks as a retired corrections officer looking back on his life and remembering one truly unforgettable prisoner, played by Michael Clarke Duncan in one of his most powerful roles. John Coffey (Duncan) has been sent to Cold Mountain Penitentiary for sexually assaulting and murdering two white girls, and his guilt is immediately called into question by corrections officer Paul Edgecomb (Hanks). This is partially because he comes across as an authentically kind person, but also because he’s a Black man in the 1930s South who was not likely to have been tried by an unbiased jury. 

But beyond simply being innocent, Coffey also seems to possess a mystical healing ability, albeit one that takes a toll on him. As Paul watches him conjure up unexplained miracle after miracle — such as resurrecting Mr. Jingles the mouse and healing the warden’s wife of brain cancer — the more he regards Coffey’s impending execution with horror. A thoughtful, moving piece of magical realism, “The Green Mile” is an underrated gem, earning four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Michael Clarke Duncan.

Although “American History X” doesn’t come across as quite as profound as it did back in the late 1990s when it first came out, it’s still a thoughtful examination of how racism and hate can take root in a person — and how they can be excised. Edward Furlong stars as Danny Vinyard, a teenager who years earlier watched his neo-Nazi older brother Derek (Edward Norton) go to jail for brutally curb-stomping a Black man who attempted to steal his car, and seems to be following in his white supremacist footsteps. But now that Derek has been released from prison, Danny is stunned to realize that his experiences in jail led him to question and ultimately disavow his racist belief structure.

“American History X” only spends part of its runtime in prison, as we see flashbacks to Derek’s time behind bars, but these moments inform his movement away from his neo-Nazi leanings. It would be an oversimplication of the film to suggest that Derek’s transformation is simply the result of actually spending time with a Black person (his fellow prisoner Lamont, played by Guy Torry) — he also begins to see the hypocrisy and cruelty of his fellow white supremacists while in jail, giving him a brain freeze of cognitive dissonance. And although “American History X” doesn’t exactly have a happy ending, there’s a sense of hope in the idea that a true believer like Derek could actually change and see the light.

Set in one of America’s most infamous prisons, “Birdman of Alcatraz” is based on the true story of Robert Stroud, the so-called Birdman of Alcatraz. Lots of prisoners end up taking up hobbies to fill the hours spent largely in solitude, and Stroud (Burt Lancaster) is no different. But while others might take up a sport or study for a law degree, Stroud discovers an interest in ornithology. 

After rescuing a baby sparrow during a massive storm, he nurses it back to health, discovering hidden reserves of compassion within himself and an intellectual capacity that is nourished by his study of birds. Although the title is perhaps a bit misleading — the one place Stroud wasn’t actually allowed to keep birds was at the maximum-security prison of Alcatraz, where he was held for 17 years — “Birdman of Alcatraz” is a fascinating look at a unique real-life figure, and proof that we all contain multitudes.

Often, prison films can be made on a modest budget, since they largely take place in one self-contained location. This was not the case with 1973’s “Papillon,” however, which cost $12 million to make (a huge sum at that time) primarily due to its exotic location shoots. It may not have made studio accountants happy, but it resulted in one of the most visually expansive prison films we’ve ever seen. 

Based on the autobiography of French criminal Henri Charrière, “Papillon” stars Steve McQueen as the titular character, a safecracker who is convicted of a murder he didn’t commit and shipped off to prison in French Guiana. While on the long journey, he meets fellow prisoner Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman), and their unlikely friendship survives a brutal jungle labor camp as well as several failed escape attempts. McQueen has a particular gift for playing characters who just won’t give up even when all the chips are down, which serves him well in “Papillon.” 

Often in prison films, we’re asked to sympathize with characters who have committed crimes and are, in one way or another, atoning for them behind bars. But in “Hunger,” this isn’t the case — instead, it focuses on the lives of political prisoners, and the ill treatment they received while being jailed, especially when they saw the opportunity to make political statements by going on hunger strikes. During the Troubles in Northern Ireland, this was a fairly common practice, and one that was often met with devastating consequences.

In “Hunger,” Michael Fassbender stars as Bobby Sands, an Irish Republican who was held at HM Prison Maze, where he led a hunger strike that captured international attention. The film is brutal in its depiction of the various hunger strikes and no-wash protests employed by the prisoners, and the cruel treatment inflicted on them by their guards. It received praise for Fassbender’s unfaltering and committed lead performance, and it’s also responsible for putting acclaimed director Steve McQueen on the map — this, incredibly, was his feature debut.

If you’ve ever seen pictures or video of Alcatraz, you can easily imagine that escaping the imposing prison island is no small matter. Few have tried, even fewer have succeeded (actually, just one person, who was promptly returned to Alcatraz days later). “Escape From Alcatraz” is a dramatization of one of the most famous escape attempts, where three prisoners in 1962 (played by Clint Eastwood, Fred Ward, and Jack Thibeau) hatched an outrageous plan to get off the island. 

They basically had nothing to do but dream up their escape, and you can tell by how involved it is, beginning with paper-mâché dummies to serve as their doubles and ending with a makeshift flotation device. And the most exciting part of “Escape From Alcatraz” is indeed in its imagination — we don’t actually know whether or not the prisoners survived their escape attempt, since they disappeared without a trace. The most common working theory is that they drowned, but hey, this is Hollywood — we can hold out hope that they made it.

So much of prison life reinforces behaviors and attitudes that contributed to people ending up behind bars in the first place. But “Sing Sing,” on the other hand, highlights the therapeutic benefits of the performing arts in jail. Colman Domingo stars as Divine G, a talented actor and de facto leader within the Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) program. Together, he and his fellow inmates put on productions that give them not just an activity to participate in, but a meaningful connection with other prisoners and an opportunity to tap into emotional vulnerability that they would otherwise try to hide.

Divine G has a wonderful community of support with his fellow actors — especially the newfound bond he cultivates with Divine Eye (Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin) himself, despite his prickly personality — but like most prisoners, he would still rather be living on the outside. But getting granted parole is a convoluted, mysterious, and often contradictory process, made so opaque that Divine G almost gives up. As usual, Domingo’s performance is revelatory, but the real coup of “Sing Sing” is the powerful ensemble of non-professional actors, many of whom were part of the real RTA program while in prison.

Set in the midst of World War II, “A Man Escaped” is both painstakingly thorough in its depiction of a prison break, while also being breathtakingly thrilling. An imprisoned member of the French Resistance, Fontaine (François Leterrier), is living on borrowed time. Although he hasn’t been sentenced to death yet, his reprieve from execution by the German guards is by no means assured, making escape very important.

But despite the very real threat of death, Fontaine is somehow able to summon tremendous reserves of patience, resisting every temptation to beat a hasty exit, instead committing himself to the agonizingly tedious process of a good escape plan. It takes him just this side of forever to work through each and every step, from using a spoon to carve away at his cell door over the course of weeks to making rope out of threads from his bedsheets. But although these efforts are painfully slow, this also imbues them with incredible tension, making it impossible for us to look away as his plans finally come to fruition.

One of the most definitive anti-hero films of all time, “Cool Hand Luke” stars Paul Newman as Luke Jackson, a chain gang prisoner whose charisma (and his ability to eat a shocking amount of eggs) makes him popular amongst his fellow inmates, even as his desperate bids for freedom put his life in danger. Because here’s the thing about Luke: He just can’t stop trying to get away, standing out as a figure of resistance against overbearing authority figures. 

As we see from his failed fistfight that only ends because he keeps stubbornly getting back up despite being beaten half to death, Luke isn’t a quitter. And even though he’s returned to the chain gang time and time again, each escape earning him more chains, he can’t seem to stop himself. Cleverly written and shot with an eye for visual metaphor, “Cool Hand Luke” is a classic of the anti-authoritarian 1960s, earning four Academy Award nominations, including one win for George Kennedy in Best Supporting Actor, and it’s one of Paul Newman’s absolute best.

Often considered one of Stephen King’s best film adaptations (interestingly, considering that it’s not based on one of his horror novels, the genre he’s best known for), “The Shawshank Redemption” stars Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne, a mild-mannered accountant in jail for allegedly murdering his wife and her lover. He claims not to have done it, and even though he’s certainly not the first convicted criminal to say that, there’s something about Andy that makes people think he might just be telling the truth. During his time in jail, he befriends Red (Morgan Freeman), the narrator of the story, who has been behind bars since he was a very young man, and is a respected presence within the sensitive prison ecosystem. 

And although Andy eventually carves out a place for himself at Shawshank, he never stops dreaming of escape — a fantasy that is famously realized behind a Raquel Welch poster. Despite the fact that it initially bombed at the box office, “The Shawshank Redemption” is not just a great prison movie — it’s one of the best films of all time. It earns that title alone on the strength of James Whitmore’s supporting turn as Brooks, the mild-mannered prison librarian who is granted parole only to discover that he is ill-equipped to survive on the outside after a lifetime in a cage.