Prison movies. In particular, movies that take place within a penitentiary and not a POW camp or concentration camp. Do we have enough so there could be a boutique channel devoted to prison movies? Or, should we combine prison movies with heist movies for a specialized boutique channel?
If you asked me my favorite type of movies, prison movies would never come to mind. Yet, whenever a decent one is on, or even a bad one, I get sucked in.
I cannot help but put myself in the position of the protagonist, especially if that protagonist is innocent. How would I adapt to such a strange, insular society? Would I make it? Probably. Most do make it. But, how damaged would I be once released?
The society within a society theme is also fascinating, not just in a prison context. Then, for an ‘Escape’ film, there’s just that David v Goliath set-up that I can’t resist. On that note, Hollywood does a good job making the protagonist (many of them) innocent or victims of such disproportional punishment (Cool Hand Luke) that they may as well be innocent. Most of all, how does a society treat those that are under their complete control? Whether its children, the elderly or inmates, it can be an ugly self-portrait of ourselves.
The prison movie is a natural for Hollywood. Conflict is built right into the situation, whether administration versus inmate or inmate versus inmate (or inmate versus self). Television has even gotten into the act with shows like HBO’s Oz and the Netflix original, Orange is the New Black.
Here’s a few below that can be considered classics in this field. I have not listed any POW films, films about WWII concentration/death camps or even youth detention centers. They could be getting their own entry one day.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994):
This is one of the best known and popular prison movies, based on a novella by Stephen King. The Shawshank Redemption is the story of Andy Dufresne, an innocent man, given a life sentence in Maine’s most notorious prison. The movie begins in 1947 when banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is convicted of the murder of his wife. Dufresne seems like a man unprepared for life in a maximum security penitentiary. Yet, oddly enough, his mental makeup just might make him better prepared for a marathon sentence than anyone.
This movie has all of the tropes we’ve come to expect in a prison movie. The wise old veteran prisoner (Morgan Freeman), sexual assailants, the corrupt and hypocritical warden (Bob Gunton), the brutal guard (Clancy Brown) and the innocent convict. James Whitmore also stars as a sort of ‘Bird Man’ of Shawshank. Whitmore does have a rather poignant scene later in the movie. Quite effective.
Frank Darbont directed this big, commercial success. King allows student directors to purchase rights to his stories for $1.00 if the student product is not marketed commercially. In 1987 Darbont took advantage of this and purchased a short story. A few years later, according to our good friends at Wikipedia, Darbont purchased the film rights to Shawshank for $5,000. King didn’t think a story about one convict’s recollection of another convict was particularly filmable. Darbont did, making Darbont one of our smarter directors as well.
Despite dripping with sentimentality at times, Shawshank is perhaps the best King adaptation and there have been many, many King adaptations. The cast is top notch.
The movie is based on King’s novella, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, found in the four-story collection, Different Seasons.
Random Quote:
ANDY: You know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific?
RED: No.
ANDY: They say it has no memory. That's where I want to live the rest of my life. A warm place with no memory.
Unanswered question: Do Mexicans actually say that about the Pacific? If not, they should.
Cool Hand Luke (1966):
If you haven’t seen Cool Hand Luke you have at least heard about this film. Right? Um, right?
In the early 60’s, veteran, Luke Jackson (Paul Newman) finds himself sentenced to 2 years on a Florida chain gang. The warden (Strother Martin) is what you would expect, a stern disciplinarian. Walking Boss Godfrey (Morgan Woodward) runs the chain gang, with his rifle and mirrored sun glasses. That’s never a good combination.
Luke’s refusal to bow to authority, be it official authority or convict leader Dragline’s authority, puts him at odds with just about everyone in the system. This film is all about one person’s refusal to be broken by a brutal, unfair system, no matter what the odds and the effect that public refusal has on fellow inmates. The cast also includes a young Dennis Hopper and a young Wayne Rogers.
Random quote:
Boss: Sorry, Luke. I’m just doing my job. You gotta appreciate that.
Luke: Nah, calling it your job don’t make it right, Boss.
The character of Frazier Crane on Cheers once nominated Cool Hand Luke as the sweatiest movie of all time. It just might be.
Directed by Stuart Rosenberg (Voyage of the Damned, The Amityville Horror, The Pope of Greenwich Village). Rosenberg also directed…
Brubaker (1980):
A new inmate at Arkansas’ Wakefield Prison witnesses multiple acts of violence, cruelty and corruption. To the surprise of everyone, the new prisoner, Henry Brubaker, is also the new warden,
going undercover to get a real look at life inside his new assignment. Brubaker is a reformer. He listens to inmate complaints, believes in rehabilitation and advocates for basic human rights for those in his charges.
This person v establishment movie soon turns into a mystery when several unmarked graves are discovered on the penitentiary property. How did they get there? Who did it and who knows about it?
The film stars Yaphet Kotto, Jane Alexander, Murray Hamilton, David Keith and M.Emmett Walsh.
Random quote:
Henry Brubaker: What are you in for?
Abraham Cook: Manslaughter. Killed my baby brother with a rock
Henry Brubaker: How long were you sentenced?
Abraham Cook: 35 years.
Henry Brubaker: [looks over Abraham's file] How long have you been here?
Abraham Cook: You know the answer to that.
Henry Brubaker: Yeah, 38 years and six months.
Papillon (1973):
The somewhat true account of French convict Henri Charriere (Steve McQueen), sentenced to life imprisonment in France’s notorious penal colony in French Guiana for murdering a pimp. Charriere meets convicted forger Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman). Charriere agrees to protect Dega if Dega (via his wife) will finance their escape.
The two spend a few years in a brutal jungle labor camp. There is an escape but Charriere is eventually recaptured. He is ultimately sent to Devil’s Island, a small speck of rock off the coast of South America. The island is so isolated, the surrounding waters filled with sharks, that the prisoners here live by themselves, in small huts, without the need for permanent guards.
In truth, Devil’s Island has no cliffs but rather a gentle slope down to the ocean. It is not isolated either. There are three islands that were part of the colony, St. Joseph, Royal Island and Devil’s Island. St. joseph was for solitary confinement. Royal was a processing center. Political prisoners (such as Alfred Dreyfuss) were sent to Devil’s Island. The islands were just a few miles from the mainland. Now, back to our story.
Charriere is reunited with Dega and the dream of escape continues.
The real Papillon did escape from the French penal colony but his own account of what occurred has been seriously called into question. That shouldn’t take away from the movie, however. Steve McQueen gives a subtle performance. Hoffman is excellent. It’s a powerful, well-made film. Directed by Franklin Schaffner (Patton, Planet of the Apes).
The research into what actually happened to Charriere as opposed to what happened to other inmates, experiences he adopted for himself, would be a fascinating movie unto itself. Charriere claimed that 75% of his autobiography was true. Research suggests far less was true. Penal colony records, for instance, show that Charriere was never on Devil’s Island, but was in the mainland penal colony.
Random quote:
Warden Barrot: I know many of you are thinking about escape. Feel free to try whenever you like. There are two guardians who are always guilty. The bush, about the best thing that can happen to you is starvation, or you could choose the sea. The white sharks are always hungry. If you manage to survive your first attempt, you’ll get two years in solitary. Second attempt, you’ll get a life sentence at Devil’s Island. Strange things happen there, especially to those who cling to hope.
The penal colony was set to be closed prior to World War II. The war delayed its closing, thereby causing numerous deaths due to poor living and sanitary conditions.
Do you have a favorite prison flick? Please share.