Act II, Scene II - Prison Movies, Part Deux

The second half of the Prison Movie category is all about criminals. Same rules as Prisoner of War movies, predominant action in the film must take place in the slammer, so movies like The Blues Brothers, Bad Boys, Face Off or 48 Hours would not make my list but are on many others. There are again, like POW movies, hundreds of films to choose from but many fall in the Grade B (if that) area. Some notables: Slammer Girls, Caged Heat, Women of Cell Block 9, and The Big Bust Out. One reviewer said this about Bust Out - "This movie is so confusing, ridiculous, and absurd that it is liable to cause temporary insanity."


Fortunately there are some really excellent movies on this subject.


In this category four films rise to the top.

1 - Cool Hand Luke - This is my favorite Paul Newman film (and there are a bunch of great Newman films - like Butch Cassidy, Hud, The Hustler, Torn Curtain, Cat on A Hot Tin Roof and Exodus). He was nominated for best actor but Rod Steiger won the award for the film In The Heat of the Night. Well deserved but a tough call still. 1967 was a pretty strong Best Actor year with Dustin Hoffman (The Graduate), Warren Beatty (Bonnie & Clyde) and Spencer Tracy (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner). Newman only ever won one Oscar; Best Actor in The Color of Money. "Takin' it off here boss" is a well-known phrase from the film that has endured over many years as is "What we have heyah is a failyuh ta communicate." And, the hard boiled egg sequence would be in contention for best all-time individual scenes. (Trailer)

2 - Shawshank Redemption - This movies could just as easily be number one on my list. By far, Morgan Freeman's best work. Tim Robbins also did a terrific job in this film. It was nominated for 7 Oscars, including Best Actor and Best Picture. And, this movie is rated #1 on IMDb's Top 250 List. One of the few where almost the entire picture takes place in the prison. This film can be watched several times. (Trailer)


3 - Midnight Express - The first 15 minutes of this film are as heart pounding as you will ever see. They even use a beating heart as part of the soundtrack and it really works. If you weren't convinced before that foreign prisons are not a great place to hang out, you will be after seeing William Hayes (try pronouncing it the way the Turks do) in there for a while. (Trailer) Excellent soundtrack and theme song. Whatever happened to star Brad Davis (maybe top 10 for One Hit Wonders in the movies)?


4 - The Green Mile - This film is a bit unusual for a prison movie. But it is powerful. Tom Hanks performs beautifully as the righteous southern prison guard. Nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture. I think the most memorable line is "Coffey...just like the drink only spelt different." Michael Duncan does a fabulous job as John Coffey and somehow they make him seem 7 feet tall from every angle. (Trailer)


The remaining films getting 5 to 10 ;-) are:

Carandiru - Subtitle alert - but worth it. The most brutal prison in Brazil, through the eyes of an AIDS doctor. VERY intense movie.

Papillion - Steve McQueen as Henri Charrier, The Butterfly. And, Dustin Hoffman as his compatriot, Louis Dega. See Steve run and run and run. Seems very realistic in terms of the conditions they must have endured. And, watch out for that self-abuse stuff; it can be very dangerous.

Murder in the First - Christian Slater, Gary Oldman, William Macy and Kevin Bacon (another excellent one for the Seven Degrees game) in a very creepy film. Based on a true story that led to the closing of Alcatraz.

Dead Man Walking - Susan Sarandon gets the Best Actress Oscar. Sean Penn also stars and Tim Robbins directed (and got nominated).

The Hurricane - Denzel as Ruben "Hurricane" Carter, made somewhat more famous by the Bob Dylan tune of the same name. Outstanding song. Movie not quite as good; but it did help get the guy out of jail.

Stir Crazy - This may violate my own rule (because it is not predominantly filmed at the prison) but Pryor and Wilder are just too funny together to leave this one off the list.

Nearly got paroled but didn't make it include:


In the Name of the Father - Daniel Day Lewis in another strong performance. Where did he get that hairdo?

Brubaker - A little over-the-hill, Robert Redford plays con and warden. Somehow he is too clean cut for either part. Still entertaining.

The Last Castle - James Gandolfini is excellent as the warden. Another one with Robert Redford pretty far past his prime.

In Cold Blood - This is a chilling movie. Based (very closely) on a true and grisly story. Truman Capote wrote the book and inspired multiple movies on the subject. Robert Blake was freaky as a murderer years before he did it for real.

The Count of Monticristo - This movie has been made about 18 different times - literally. There is an animated and an anime' version, one made for TV and a mini-series; one made in 1908 and several more made in the 40's and 50's. I like the 2002 version.

Special Mention: Primal Fear - a great performance by Edward Norton, Jr., but I put this in the Courtroom Drama Category (Top 10).

Don't ask about: Escape from Alcatraz or The Birdman of Alcatraz - I just didn't like them (too slow...)

Also, Gideon's Trumpet was good but it was made for TV so it doesn't count.

And, last, The Rock. A very entertaining film with Sean Connery and Nicholas Cage, but breaking into a museum that used to be a prison doesn't qualify for this category.

Act II, Scene I - Prison Movies, Part I

For me, prison movies revolve around two themes. Either war-related or crime-related. So, this issue focuses on war-related prison films. There are a large number of films in this category. Wikipedia only lists 35 such films ("prisoner of war" movies) but interestingly enough does not list the movie Prisoner of War, a 1954 film starring Ronald Reagan.

The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) lists 272 movies under this topic and they missed several I was able to think of. Definitions can be tricky. IMDB lists The Pianist as a "prison" movie - and it was an outstanding film - but the protagonist was "imprisoned" in the Warsaw Ghetto, and doesn't fit my arbitrary line. My definition includes significant movie time inside a POW camp.

My top three movies in this category are:

The Deer Hunter - Vietnam War - I was lucky enough to just miss this war - for real (in the last year of the draft lottery my birthdate was picked number 6, so if they had not canceled the draft a few months later I was going...). Maybe that's why I have always been interested in movies about 'Nam. It won five Oscars, including Best Picture and was nominated for four more. Christopher Walken was phenomenal as Nick. Deer Hunter is on both my best War Movie list as well as this list. Almost certainly on MOST lists of the top 10 films of the 1970's. (Trailer).

If you want to see the most famous scene from the movie - called the MOW MOW scene - click here. [And, if the subject of Russian roulette fascinates you then you really need to watch the movie 13 Tzameti, one of the most tense movies of all time. Starts slow but then...really tense. Don't watch the trailer if you want to be surprised (Trailer).]

The Great Escape - WWII (Europe) - One of Steve McQueen's best efforts and a great all-around cast. No gore but plenty of edge-of-your-seat suspense. (Trailer). The movie was hardly noticed by the Academy and there weren't that many blockbusters that came out in 1963. Tom Jones won best pic that year so it's hard to see why this film wasn't at least nominated. Highly entertaining movie. It almost makes my best Longest Films list, but at 172 minutes just misses (three hours is the cutoff).

The Bridge on the River Kwai - WWII (Asia) - If you can whistle, you won't get this movie's theme song out of your head. If you can't whistle you'll want to learn. "Bridge" WON seven Oscars, including: best actor, director, writer, music and picture. Although not a great year for movies (12 Angry Men, Sayonara, The Spirit of St. Louis, Witness for the Prosecution, and Three Faces of Eve were the other "big" pictures that year), winning seven is a lot. (Trailer)

Know which movies have won the most Oscars and how many they won? There are three tied for the lead. See below for the answer.


And the rest of the top 10 (somewhat in order) are:

King Rat -WWII (Asia) - Great acting job by George Segal. Film rarely seen on TV. Might not want to see it while eating but this is a really entertaining film.
Rescue Dawn - Vietnam War (Laos) - Christian Bale gets real skinny - again.
The Dirty Dozen - WWII (Europe) - Outstanding all-star cast. Telly Savalas makes a great insane guy.
Stalag 17 - WWII (Europe) - William Holden won Oscar for Best Actor.
The Great Raid - WWII (Asia) - Unsung movie starring Benjamin Bratt and James Franco.
Taxi to the Dark Side - The War on Terror - Documentary, Abu Ghraib and Gitmo. This is a very intense film.
Empire of the Sun - WWII (Asia) - Another Christian Bale movie (he's not the star). A little weird at times but still worth the time.


Two others get Honorable Mention

Life is Beautiful or La Vita e Bella (subtitle alert) takes place in a Nazi concentration camp so it isn't really about POW's. But this is an incredible film and certainly worth mentioning. Very powerful, sad, poignant and even funny at times. I would be amazed if it doesn't move you. It was nominated for seven and won three Oscars. If you can stand the subject matter it is well worth the time. (Trailer)

Andersonville - I don't usually include "Made-for-TV" movies which is why this doesn't technically make the list, but as far as POW camps go, this movie worked for me. The real place must have been a living hell. Couldn't find a working trailer. Movie directed by John Frankenheimer (Birdman of Alcatraz, The Manchurian Candidate, French Connection II). One of the few really good Civil War movies.

Only a few others were very close to the top 10 for me as lots of this genre are films like Rambo, First Blood and Missing In Action (Sly Stallone and Chuck Norris pics). But, a couple of near misses:

La Grande Illusion - French film (duh) - WWI, directed by Jean Renoir; a classic.
Hart's War - Bruce Willis plays his standard hero's role, just not so unbelievable as Die Hard series.

Slaughterhouse Five - Vonnegut story goes to the movies. And, it doesn't work like the book but is still entertaining.
The Road to Guantanamo - Another intense movie - unusual in that it is a dramatization-documentary about the so-called Tipton Three. The film is certainly biased, but regardless, it is a strong indictment of US foreign policy under the Bush administration.

Answer: Titanic, LoTR - Return of the King and Ben-Hur each won ELEVEN Oscars.

Next Issue: Prison Movies, Part II

Launch of Movie Musings - Best in Basketball

There are so many great movies it is hard to know where to start. Deciding among a group of movies which is the best one is a challenge and so is deciding on THE top ten movies to recommend in a category. But that isn't going to stop me from doing so. Every couple of weeks I will post a new list. I will try to identify the top one, two or three in a category and then list "the rest of the top ten" in no particular order.

The spotlighted categories will be arbitrary and, in some cases unusual. Most will be pretty narrow since it is too hard to pick just 10 in broad categories (like sports - so there will be lists for several different sports).

I encourage comment and suggestions. It is amazing how long you can think about a category and not recall some of the most obvious nominees so please lob back your own favorites. And, of course, movies are art and thus what I like will be very different from what even my best friend might like. I look forward to hearing your comments.

Since it is currently basketball season my first list is best movies featuring basketball. Unlike many other categories, documentaries and biopics are mixed in with dramatic movies.

The best hoops film ever made - and one of the best sports movies of all time - is Hoosiers. Everything else in this category pales by comparison. Even the presence of Barbara Hersey doesn't change my mind on this one.
- See trailers at:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hoosiers+hackman&search_type=&aq=f

The rest of my top 10 (in no particular order) are:

Rebound: The Legend of Earl "The Goat" Manigault - Make sure not to get Rebound - starring Martin Lawrence. One of the best sports documentaries of them all. (Trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWA9-j4fAb4)

Glory Road - Story of the 1966 UTEP NCAA champs - first all black starting five vs. Adolph Rupp and all those "white boys." (Trailers at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385726/trailers)

Above the Rim - High school star about to self destruct; ends up having it out with local gang leader played (well) by Tupac. (Trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvTCndL5cX4)

One on One - Highly touted recruit - Robby Benson - questions rigors of college ball in heyday of the 60's/70's campus revolution. The coach gets supporting actor award.
(Review at: http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/36463/One-on-One/overview - requires free registration to view entire article)

The Pistol: The Birth of a Legend - Decent biopic of the greatest white scorer and playmaker ever. Amazing little kid they got to play the part.
(Trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSEMAL4OknM)

Hoop Dreams - Moving documentary of the paths of two inner-city high school stars with pro potential (Arthur Agee and William Gates). On Siskel & Ebert's "best Films of the 90's list." (Trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph2Y-epihlk)

Soul in the Hole - Excellent documentary starring Kenny of Kenny's Kings and his star - but troubled player - Ed "Booger" Smith. Compared favorably with Hoop Dreams. (Review at: http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/136189/Soul-in-the-Hole/overview - Free registration required to view full review) or (Full Movie at: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22soul+in+the+hole%22&search_type=&aq=f)

Love & Basketball - Boy and girl next door both become stars and have a complex relationship. Mostly told from a black female's point of view.
(Trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCdPCt_gPn4)

He Got Game - Denzel is the convict, his son, Jesus (no less) is the second coming on the court. To reduce his sentence Denzel must convince the kid to go to Big State U.
(Trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GofVmD5lNAI)

Also rans:

Heaven is a Playground
Coach Carter
White Men Can't Jump
Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story

And, honorable mention - Fast Break, a lousy movie but it was written by I guy I knew growing up. It starred Gabe Kaplan who now announces High Stakes Poker and was better known as Mr. Kotter on TV. And, it did feature UCLA star Mike Warren and NY Net and Knick Bernard King. (Trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieqWHWOk8Xo)

Next List - Best Prison Movies - Part I