Essential Prison Movies Indie. Wire. Kyle Patrick Alvarezs The Stanford Prison Experiment, now playing in limited release, took fourteen years to get made, and finally arrived at Sundance 2. Billy Crudup, Ezra Miller, Olivia Thirlby, Tye Sheridan and Michael Angarano. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the uncompromising nature of the film, the reception was divided our own rave is here but even those on the more negative end of the spectrum tended to use words like compelling, vivid and effective in their critiques. And those are adjectives that this film which scooped the Screenwriting award for Tim Talbott shares with the best in the wide and variegated genre of the prison movie. The microcosmic possibilities of life on the inside have been mined many times for dramas, comedies, spoofs and thrillers that, while set in penal institutions or situations that resemble them, actually comment on human psychology or on the society outside those walls. And we got to thinking about our own favorite prison movies through the ages. Here are 2. 5 wed consider a great primer in the genre. Army of Shadows 1. Thanks to a much deserved critical reevaluation by Cahiers du Cinema in the 9. Jean Pierre Melville masterpiece was restored and finally given a proper US theatrical release in 2. Criterion that cover, be still our cinephile hearts, nearly forty years after it was made and fell foul of the French political and social climate in the upheaval after May 1. It stands shoulder to shoulder with Melville classics like Bob le Flambeur, Le Samoura and Le Cercle Rouge in being, like many of his films, focused on the nitty gritty of process of usually criminal work, while balancing a cool, composed artfulness. Shadows zeroes in on the French resistance during World War II, following a small band of fighters as they dodge and weave into and out of captivity by brutal Gestapo agents. Melvilles trademark existentialism is in full swing here, as is a brutally honest fatalistic streak. These characters including the great Lino Ventura know that death is around the corner, yet they continue to fight and scratch through an unromantic, bleak existence that is somehow rendered deeply compelling by Melvilles muscular style. Birdman Of Alcatraz 1. The most famous prison in the history of the U. S. was unquestionably Alcatraz, the island fortress off the coast of San Francisco, and its most famous inmate beyond Al Capone was probably Robert Stroud, the subject of John Frankenheimers Birdman Of Alcatraz. In an excellent performance by Burt Lancaster, Stroud, sent to prison at 1. Thomas E. Gaddis book, becomes a model of reform thanks to his interest in ornithology, which saw him become a world renowned, published expert in bird diseases, despite never again leaving jail. The film is admirably liberal in its support of prison rehabilitation and it condemnation of the inhumanity of imprisonment Karl Malden makes a great villain as the warden, but theres a disingenuousness to its approach to Stroud, which overlooks the more troubling aspects of his personality in favor of a more mild mannered persona, even if Lancaster occasionally sprinkles in some edge. Frankenheimer seems a touch wasted on the quieter material, bar a late prison riot that brings some needed energy to the film, but its still an engaging prison biopic if you can overlook the probably to be expected glossed over nature of the scripting. The Bridge On The River Kwai 1. It might not be David Leans finest film Lawrence Of Arabia surely tops that list but The Bridge On The River Kwai comes damn close. One of the earliest films to tackle the experience of soldiers in Japanese POW camps, it sees a group of mostly British soldiers interred in a camp in Burma, where theyre put to work on a construction of the titular railway bridge, with senior officer Alec Guinness initially resisting, before deciding to keep up his mens morale, and show their captors the British spirit, by complying, while an American soldierWilliam Holden plots to destroy the completed structure. Based on a novel by Planet Of The Apes author Pierre Boulle, and written in secret by blacklisted writers Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson though initially credited to Boulle, who couldnt speak English, its an epic, deeply complex tragedy that examines heroism, compromise, sacrifice, national pride and class, and does so in a deeply gripping, surprising and emotionally potent manner, and with all the lavish spectacle that Lean was known for. Watch The Life And Mind Of Mark Defriest StepmotherAnd of course, theres the famous and devastating conclusion, undercutting the seemingly pro imperial elements earlier in the film with one of the more indelible images ever to capture the savage pointlessness of war. Bronson 2. 00. 8Nicolas Winding Refns pop art nightmare biopic tells the true ish story of Michael Peterson, who at 1. Dont worry, son, youll be out in four, his mother tells him. But Peterson loves prison and yearns to be famous, taking on the name Charles Bronson and turning his many violent tendencies into art. As the title character, Tom Hardy gives a career making performance, that combines perfectly with Refns thrilling direction, which sees him at his most full tilt operatic violent, gorgeously photographed, hilarious, embroidered with animation and slow motion that borders on still photography. Plunging the viewer into the dark recesses of Bronsons maniacal mind Hardy and Refn deliver a funny, scary, psychotic jolt which yielded a surprisingly lukewarm critical reaction at the time. But that will probably be revised, as the film is discovered by a wider audience for being the movie that launched Tom Hardys career out of a cannon, and marked the opening salvo in a new, higher profile phase of Refns. It seems destined for cult appreciation, if its not already there. Brubaker 1. 98. A dramatization of real life  events, Stuart Rosenbergs return to the prison genre after the peerless Cool Hand Luke he replaced director Bob Rafaelson, who was fired after allegedly punching the head of the studio never reaches that touchpoints standards, but despite an overlong, made for TV feel, it deserves its spot here at least for showing us the other side of the coin. Following Robert Redfords crusading reform warden, its a harsh, unsparing, ultimately depressing look at the systemic corruption, deprivation and brutality in a Southern prison, and at how comprehensively the new wardens efforts to clean it up are blocked and parried by the higher ups whove managed to turn it into a profit making private enterprise. Dealing in squalid details and admitting very little characterization, though, despite an early non gravitas showcase from Morgan Freeman, and a supporting turn from Yaphet Kotto so good it threatens to become his film, Redfords Brubaker, and too many of the other characters remain frustratingly out of reach as people, as opposed to archetypes. This anonymity is ironic, since it mirrors the best part of the film the opening half hour when Brubaker, disguised as a convict, wordlessly observes the horrors in the prison hes come to change. The Mind of Mark DeFriest is about a prison Houdini. Credit City Drive Entertainment Group. Mr. DeFriest appears to be a mechanical genius, capable. Homicide Hunter. Goodnatured custodian Eric Houston is found dead in a seedy motel with 27 stab wounds to the chest. Lt. Joe Kenda employs a network of informants to. Please can we stop drawing attention to the fact that Dave Grohl wasnt featured in Montage of Heck if you watch any interviews with Brett Morgen youll see that. Watch The Life And Mind Of Mark Defriest ReleasedBrute Force 1. Burt Lancaster was a great choice to lead this Jules Dassin Rififi, Naked City prison break drama. Perhaps only rivalled by the likes of Robert Mitchum or Sterling Hayden as a star who knew how to leverage his natural physically imposing presence, here Lancaster uses that bulk and strength to dominate the screen while throwing punches and fighting his way out of a bad situation. The film leads up to a shockingly violent at least for the time prison riot, when the inmates can no longer take Capt. Kyle Patrick Alvarezs The Stanford Prison Experiment, now playing in limited release, took fourteen years to get made, and finally arrived at Sundance 2015. This trailer is of a film project that took 13 years to document the life of the man known as the Houdini of Florida it exposes the travesty of justice and the. No. overall No. in season Title Directed by Written by Original air date 1 1 The Girl in the Sea Mark DeFriest Peter Hepworth 29 August 1994 In order to. Scoot McNairy, Actor 12 Years a Slave. During the early 2000s, actor Scoot McNairy quickly came to specialize in portrayals of colorful and individualistic young men. MV5BMTk5MTc3MzMwMl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNTI5MTY2OA@@._V1_SX300.jpg' alt='Watch The Life And Mind Of Mark Defriest Movie' title='Watch The Life And Mind Of Mark Defriest Movie' />Munseys a perfectly infuriating Hume Cronyn sadistic tactics, as he holds power over his small kingdom, and they decide to put into action their long plotted escape plan, which goes off, but not how you might expect. Best Conspiracy Documentaries You Need To Watch1 The Internets Own Boy who knew the Net Neutrality battle was coming Brian Knappenbergers documentary The Internets Own Boy The Story of Aaron Swartz, the late Hacktivist 1 and co founder of Reddit lays out the chronology of Swartzs life up to his suicide. At the age of 1. 3, Swartz was part of the committee that created RSS Rich Site Summary and went on to work on various important projects. Out on bail for downloading millions of scientific journals via the MIT server, Swartz continued to fight for freedom of information access via the Internet and waged an Internet war against SOPAPIPPA. Before Snowden, there was Swartz warning about Internet surveillance as a real threat to privacy. The Documentary Network describes Swartz his fingerprints are all over the internet. But it was Swartzs groundbreaking work in social justice and political organizing combined with his aggressive approach to information access that ensnared him in a two year legal nightmare. It was a battle that ended with the taking of his own life at the age of 2. Virunga Environmental corruption The above trailer is thought provoking. Virunga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, encompasses the deep forest of the eastern Congo in Africa and is the only place on the entire planet where mountain gorillas can still be found. It is also an area tottering on the brink of war with many sides poachers, political upset, armed rebels, oil companies and conservationists. Considered one of the most bio diverse places in the world, Virunga is rich in resources. The documentary follows the embattled team of park rangers that includes an ex child soldier and a Belgian prince, risk their lives to protect the park. In fact, 1. 40 rangers have sacrificed their lives to protect the park. The documentary focuses on mercenary poachers, civil unrest and government corruption that ties back to big oil. Who will win control over the forest where the last mountain gorillas survive The Life and Mind of Mark De. Friest This trailer is of a film project that took 1. Houdini of Florida it exposes the travesty of justice and the tragedy of the mentally ill being imprisoned as common criminals. Originally sentenced to four years for attempted theft and fleeing from police, Mark De. Friest wasnt a criminal. He was reclaiming tools that his deceased father willed to him, but somehow this man who suffered from a mild form of Aspergers Syndrome ended up still in prison 3. Hes made 1. 3 attempted escapes and has suffered gang rape and 2. At the age of 5. 3, it doesnt appear the De. Friest will ever be paroled since each escape attempt has carried the penalty of more years added to his original sentence. Four psychiatrists have declared him mentally incompetent, yet he also wears the moniker of Mac. Gyver fashioning paper keys for prison locks by simply looking at the keys hanging from guards belts. The true tragedy of De. Friest explored in the documentary is the lack of mental health therapy for him and nearly 2. Tomorrow We Disappear the disappearance of culture as the modern world advances The New Delhi government sold the land where the Kathputli Colony lives in India to a developer. The houses will be destroyed and the people will need to relocate. This colony is comprised of artists, such as acrobats, puppeteers and magicians. The gentrification of the slums in Delhi is documented in this film where this colony of street performers are the last of their kind. Their art has been handed down from one generation to the next for centuries. The documentary assesses the land development at the cost of the artists in a desperately poor urban area. The question asked is what is the answer to such a complex problemEnron The Smartest Guys in the Room This 2. Enron and the rampant greed that was like an addiction to not just the Enron leaders, but many of their traders. Recorded phone conversations between Enron traders laughing about how they were bilking unsuspecting investors or planned to create a California energy crisis is a sickening testimony to how the Enron leaders abandoned all morals and scruples in the pursuit of money and power. Director Alex Gibney mixes various footages and actual recorded phones calls between Enron traders for a truly explosive insight on how corruption spreads with greed and power. Semper Fi Always Faithful The tragic case of contaminated waterThe US government officials in charge of Camp Lejeune Marine Corps base in Fayetteville, NC come under fire during the investigation of toxically contaminated water at the base. Some 7. 0 chemicals were found in the water at Camp Lejeune, including a dry cleaning solvent perchloroethylene PCE, Volatile Organic Compounds VOCs, a degreaser trichloroethylene TCE, a degreaser and benzene. The documentary sets the stage and then asks the most important questions with men, women and children succumbing to fatal diseases, such as leukemia and other forms of cancer, which administration officials knew about the contaminated wells and when did they know The Invisible War This 2. US military complex. Bringing to light this dark secret and danger lurking within the most powerful military in the world, the documentary reveals that over 5. One victim discusses how her attacker was honored and given a military award during the investigation of her rape. Viewers were shocked and angered by this film and the discovery of such gross injustice. The film led to a call for congressional investigation and saw military reforms enacted. Ai Weiwie Never Sorry Ai Wei. Wei is said to be the most powerful artist in the world, dubbed by the Art. Review. Hes a contemporary Chinese artist and unlike most in his country is very outspoken about his government. Considered a dissident, he was taken into police custody for three months in 2. The documentary director Alison Klayman had access to Ai and his family for the three years making of this documentary. During this time, the Chinese government shut down his blog, bulldozed his newly built studio, beat him and held him in secret detention. The documentary gives a personal and unique insight into what drives this influential artist and dissident. The Thin Blue Line Errol Morriss 1. Randall Adams uncovers how this famous case of a police officers murder was in fact a cover up and conspiracy to frame Adams. It was through this documentary that the shooting death of Dallas, Texas police officer Robert W. Wood was re opened. According to the LA Times, the film, uncovered suppressed evidence and perjured testimony. After 1. Adams was exonerated and released from prison. Free Kahlil Gibran`S The Prophet Online. Inside Job Charles Fergusons documentary Inside Job was the first to expose the 2. One of the most significant documentaries of the century, Ferguson peels away the layers of lies and deceptions. Massive amounts of research and countless interviews went into the making of this film that lays it all out and show how millions of people around the globe were robbed and deceived by corrupted traders, politicians, regulation authorities and academics. And, most importantly, why those responsible were never brought to justice. References Image Credits 1 TSW FBI Warns US Agencies of Anonymous Hacking2 Reddit3 Indie Wire4 Keoni Cabral via Compfightcc5 Huffington Post6 Indie. Wire7 Paste Magazine8 Wikipedia9 Complex1. Heritage1. 1 Paste1. LA Times1. 3 Rotten Tomatoes.