A prison is a special world in which its own hierarchy, rules of conduct, etiquette, relationships are formed. Life behind the fence takes on a special meaning, and sometimes every day passes under the sign of the struggle for survival. Filmmakers often touch upon this sensitive topic by filming an exciting, psychological movie, but there are a number of films about places of imprisonment and comedy. Let's look at different genres and watch the best films about prisons and the zone.
1
Birds from the Alcatraz. USA. 1962
The film is about the most famous US prison, but not even about it, but about the fact that in prison a person should not lose his human appearance.
The real story of Robert Stroud, who is serving a life sentence. Once a wounded bird flies into his cell. He takes care of her, and in a few years the world will recognize the great ornithologist.
Robert does not stop his study of birds even after he is transferred to the impregnable "Rock" on the island of Alcatraz, photos of which we published not so long ago in this article. Here you will find other amazing photos of abandoned prisons.
2
Butterfly. France-USA. 1973
Safe-cracker Henri Charlier nicknamed the “Moth” was illegally imprisoned for murder.
The real story tells about the time of Henry's stay in one of the prisons of French Guinea. He repeatedly escapes, but he is returned back. In the last escape he manages to get to an uninhabited island, where he builds a raft and on it rushes to the long-awaited freedom.
In 2017, Hollywood released a remake of the popular film, but the new version, according to film critics, is much inferior to the first version of an exciting story.
3
Brubaker. 1980
Before taking up his post as head of the prison, Henry Brubaker gets into it as a prisoner.
Looking at everything from the inside, he finds many violations and is faced with the injustice of the jailers. Having revealed himself, he begins to reform the established order, but struggling with the system is not so simple. Many are already accustomed to the established order, and do not want to change anything.
The film was shot on the basis of real events, and the screenwriter was nominated for an Oscar.
4
Mayhem. THE USSR. 1989
The Soviet zones had their own rules, in which the majority of prisoners found themselves in the position of disenfranchised slaves, and thieves in law and the prison administration established the rules.
Director Igor Gostev based on the essays by Leonid Nikitinsky made an excellent movie about the struggle of prisoners for their rights. One of the officers, a former football player treats prisoners humanly, plays football with them. This behavior of the officer causes indignation of the authorities.
The conflict develops into open clashes. One of the first tough Soviet films where they showed a true story about life behind bars and about riot in prison.
5
Death warrant. USA-Canada. 1990
Jean Claude van Damme played fighters in almost every film. The “Order to the Death” action movie was no exception, where he showed all his skill, showing real kickboxing in the frame.
As an undercover agent, police officers are introduced into the prison as a prisoner. He must investigate the brutal murder of the assistant chief of the prison, as well as 9 prisoners. In the investigation, he has several Negro prisoners who are ready to fight the injustice of the rules established in prison.
As always, there are a lot of fights in the film with baths by Damm, as well as an unpredictable and exciting ending. The action movie was scripted by David Goyer, and this was the first manuscript he managed to sell to Hollywood.
6
Prison Romance. Russia. 1993
Not an action movie, there are no bloody fights and exciting chases, but the film keeps you in suspense and makes you empathize with the main characters.
The real story about the attempt to escape Sergei Maduev from the St. Petersburg "Crosses". The main character falls in love with a female investigator, who transfers weapons to him.
The psychological drama reveals the details of preparing a daring escape. The film is an amateur, but it is worth watching to enjoy the brilliant game of Alexander Abdulov and Marina Neyolova.
7
The Shawshank Redemption. 1994
Immediately after the premiere, the feature film about the banker accused of killing his wife and her lover took a leading position in the ranking of American films.
Once behind bars, the protagonist does not intend to put up with the existing lawlessness, and begins to develop a plan to get out of the brutally perimeter of the world.
“Shawshank Redemption” received numerous awards, and since 2008 topped the list of “250 best films according to the IMDb site,” and according to Kinopoisk, it is the best since 2010, and most-beauty.ru fully agrees with the opinion of many viewers who voted for film.
8
Hurricane. 1999
Many foreign films are based on real events. The film "Hurricane" directed by Norman Juison talks about the fate of the legendary boxer Rubin Carter, who was put on charges of triple murder.
Carter was sentenced to life imprisonment, but he was released after 19 years in prison. The case was reviewed and all charges were dropped.
The film is criticized for unreliability, but the creators did not try to recreate exactly the picture of what is happening, because in the cinema there is always room for fiction.
9
Green Mile. 1999
The American film, based on the novel by Stephen King, can rightfully lead the Top 10 best prison films. It happens infrequently when an adaptation of a very good book comes out as good and sensual as the original. But this case, one of the few when the film came out no worse than a book.
The picture tells about the Cold Mountain Prison, located in Louisiana. Dangerous criminals are awaiting the death sentence in Block “E”, and the floor in the corridor to the place of execution is painted green, hence the name of the film.
Psychological drama received 3 Saturn Prizes and was nominated for many other awards and film awards.
By the way, TopCafe.su has a list of the best adaptations of popular books!
10
Fighter. 2004
Marines Max Paladin, performed by Dmitry Maryanov, betrayed his best friend, as a result of which he is imprisoned.
Once in the colony, the former infantryman has to fight for survival, to fight, and most importantly - justice must be restored. An unjustly convicted person faces not only the lawlessness of prisoners, but also a biased attitude of the leadership. Maryanov did all the tricks himself, and the real boxing in the frame became a real test for the actor.
A prison consultant was specially invited to shoot, and one of the roles was played by Vladislav Demin.
11
Prison novel. 2006
The release of the first episodes of the Russian series caused a lot of controversy, and the film “Prison Romance” was removed from the program grid for a while.
Filming began after a manuscript was secretly transferred to the studio from places of deprivation of liberty, which described cruel orders, lawlessness, and hidden crimes in places of detention in Russia.
In addition to professional artists, the film starred real prisoners. The collective series about Russian zones received mixed reviews from experts and spectators, but the editors of most-beauty.ru recommend watching the series to lovers of domestic truthful movies.
12
New Earth. 2006
Alexander Melnik decided to make a kind of fantastic film-parable about an unprecedented experiment. The actions of the film are transferred to the future.
The death penalty is abolished throughout the world, and Russia decides to resettle some prisoners on a desert island. The settlement immediately establishes its own rules of existence, and the main one legally becomes "Last - Dead."
The film contains a magnificent constellation of actors, among which Konstantin Lavronenko and the unsurpassed Ingeborg Dapkunaite stand out.
13
Bastards. 2006
Not really about the prison, but in the military drama there is the main character - a former prisoner, as well as teenagers sentenced to death for violent crimes.
In the closed zone, Lt. Col. Vishnevetsky and his team are preparing groups of saboteurs from boys who will have to work in the enemy rear.
Immature souls undergo difficult trials. Many criticized the film, speaking about the inconsistency of the picture with real historical facts.
14
A flock. 2009
A successful businessman, his wife and best friend decide to take part in a kind of show in an abandoned prison during the period of Stalinist repression.
For a time they become prisoners, where they fully experience the hardships of imprisonment. But a kind of reconstruction did not go according to plan. During the “voluntary imprisonment” interesting and unexpected facts are revealed.
It all started as a game, and now for the hero the main thing is to stay alive. The series was shot based on the novel by Alexander Bushkov without the consent of the author, because of which the writer sued the plagiarism of the filmmakers.
15
Bitch War. 2014
Another Russian television series talks about the tragic pages of Soviet history. For ten years, from mid-1940 to mid-1950 there was a war between convicts.
“Females” called criminals who repented and cooperated with the authorities, and many of them fought in penal battalions on the fronts of World War II.
Thieves in law did not want to change the “thieves” laws and declared to everyone who did not want to live according to their rules a war. You can argue about the historical authenticity and professionalism of the actors, but the film is worth it to enter this list.
Finally
Naturally, any rating of the best films about prison will be subjective and incomplete, and therefore predictably cause a lot of controversy. For fans to debate under the article there is a comment section, and we will be glad if our reader presents his vision of the topic.
Posted by Valery Skiba