Neo Noir: Prison Movies.
by seymourblack-1 | created - 14 May 2020 | updated - 02 Sep 2020 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Green Mile (1999)
R | 189 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy
A tale set on death row, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the lead guard, Paul Edgecombe, recognizes John's gift, he tries to help stave off the condemned man's execution.
Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt
Votes: 1,408,819 | Gross: $136.80M
2. Out of Sight (1998)
R | 123 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A career bank robber breaks out of jail, and shares a moment of mutual attraction with a U.S. Marshal he has kidnapped.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Ving Rhames, Steve Zahn
Votes: 99,388 | Gross: $37.56M
3. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
R | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine
Votes: 1,549,582 | Gross: $130.74M
4. Sleepers (1996)
R | 147 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After a prank goes disastrously wrong, a group of boys are sent to a detention center where they are brutalized. Thirteen years later, an unexpected random encounter with a former guard gives them a chance for revenge.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Robert De Niro, Kevin Bacon, Brad Pitt, Jason Patric
Votes: 237,686 | Gross: $49.10M
5. Monster's Ball (2001)
R | 111 min | Drama, Romance
After a family tragedy, a racist prison guard re-examines his attitudes while falling in love with the African-American wife of the last prisoner he executed.
Director: Marc Forster | Stars: Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry, Taylor Simpson, Gabrielle Witcher
Votes: 94,103 | Gross: $31.27M
6. In Cold Blood (1967)
R | 134 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Two ex-cons murder a family in a robbery attempt, before going on the run from the authorities. The police try to piece together the details of the murder in an attempt to track down the killers.
Director: Richard Brooks | Stars: Robert Blake, Scott Wilson, John Forsythe, Paul Stewart
Votes: 29,170
7. Thieves Like Us (1974)
R | 123 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
When two men break out of prison, they join up with another and restart their criminal ways, robbing banks across the South.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Keith Carradine, Shelley Duvall, John Schuck, Bert Remsen
Votes: 5,146
8. 48 Hrs. (1982)
R | 96 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A hard-nosed cop reluctantly teams up with a wise-cracking criminal temporarily paroled to him in order to track down a killer.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, Annette O'Toole, Frank McRae
Votes: 85,358 | Gross: $78.87M
9. Another 48 Hrs. (1990)
R | 95 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Jack Cates once again enlists the aid of ex-con Reggie Hammond - this time to take down The Iceman, a ruthless drug lord operating in the San Francisco bay area.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Nick Nolte, Brion James, Kevin Tighe
Votes: 44,545 | Gross: $80.82M
10. Shutter Island (2010)
R | 138 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule, two US marshals, are sent to an asylum on a remote island in order to investigate the disappearance of a patient, where Teddy uncovers a shocking truth about the place.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Emily Mortimer, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley
Votes: 1,458,278 | Gross: $128.01M
11. Bad Boys (1983)
R | 123 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Chicago crime kid Mick O'Brien is sent to reform school after accidentally killing a rival's kid brother.
Director: Rick Rosenthal | Stars: Sean Penn, Reni Santoni, Jim Moody, Eric Gurry
Votes: 17,084 | Gross: $9.20M
12. Guncrazy (1992)
R | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A trashy teen murders her sexually abusive step-father, then helps get her reformed prison pen-pal released on good behavior so that she can re-corrupt him.
Director: Tamra Davis | Stars: Drew Barrymore, James Le Gros, Robert Greenberg, Rodney Harvey
Votes: 2,679 | Gross: $0.11M
13. Changeling (2008)
R | 141 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
After Christine's son goes missing, she reaches out to the LAPD to find him. But when they try to pass off an impostor as her son to quieten public protests, she refuses to accept him or give up hope.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Angelina Jolie, Colm Feore, Amy Ryan, Gattlin Griffith
Votes: 265,359 | Gross: $35.74M
14. The Outfit (1973)
PG | 103 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Earl Macklin robs a bank owned by the mob, serves his prison time and is released, only to start a private war against the crime outfit that owned the bank.
Director: John Flynn | Stars: Robert Duvall, Karen Black, Joe Don Baker, Robert Ryan
Votes: 4,815
15. Midnight Express (1978)
R | 121 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Billy Hayes, an American college student, is caught smuggling drugs out of Turkey and thrown into prison.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Brad Davis, Irene Miracle, Bo Hopkins, Paolo Bonacelli
Votes: 88,289 | Gross: $35.00M
16. Get the Gringo (2012)
R | 96 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A career criminal nabbed by Mexican authorities is placed in a tough prison where he learns to survive with the help of a young boy.
Director: Adrian Grunberg | Stars: Mel Gibson, Kevin Balmore, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Jesús Ochoa
Votes: 111,669
17. The Hole (1960)
Not Rated | 131 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Distrust and uncertainty arise when four long-term inmates cautiously induct a new prisoner into their elaborate prison-break scheme.
Director: Jacques Becker | Stars: André Bervil, Jean Keraudy, Michel Constantin, Philippe Leroy
Votes: 20,400 | Gross: $0.03M
18. Reindeer Games (2000)
R | 104 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After assuming his dead cell-mate's identity to get with the other man's girlfriend, an ex-convict finds himself a reluctant participant in a casino heist.
Director: John Frankenheimer | Stars: Ben Affleck, Gary Sinise, Charlize Theron, James Frain
Votes: 42,410 | Gross: $23.36M
19. 88 Minutes (2007)
R | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
On the day that a serial killer that he helped put away is supposed to be executed, a noted forensic psychologist and college professor receives a call informing him that he has 88 minutes left to live.
Director: Jon Avnet | Stars: Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Ben McKenzie, Leelee Sobieski
Votes: 78,335 | Gross: $16.93M
20. Red Dragon (2002)
R | 124 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A retired FBI agent with psychological gifts is assigned to help track down "The Tooth Fairy", a mysterious serial killer. Aiding him is imprisoned forensic psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter.
Director: Brett Ratner | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel
Votes: 291,053 | Gross: $93.15M
21. Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017)
Not Rated | 132 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A former boxer-turned-drug runner lands in a prison battleground after a deal gets deadly.
Director: S. Craig Zahler | Stars: Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson, Udo Kier
Votes: 75,799
22. The Informer (2019)
R | 113 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An ex-convict working undercover intentionally gets himself incarcerated again in order to infiltrate the mob at a maximum security prison.
Director: Andrea Di Stefano | Stars: Joel Kinnaman, Rosamund Pike, Common, Mateusz Kosciukiewicz
Votes: 42,125
23. Lost Highway (1997)
R | 134 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Anonymous videotapes presage a musician's murder conviction, and a gangster's girlfriend leads a mechanic astray.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, John Roselius, Louis Eppolito
Votes: 153,310 | Gross: $3.80M
24. Manhunter (1986)
R | 120 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Former FBI profiler Will Graham returns to service to pursue a deranged serial killer dubbed "the Tooth Fairy" by the media.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: William Petersen, Kim Greist, Joan Allen, Brian Cox
Votes: 81,003 | Gross: $8.62M
25. Primal Fear (1996)
R | 129 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An altar boy is accused of murdering a priest, and the truth is buried several layers deep.
Director: Gregory Hoblit | Stars: Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Edward Norton, John Mahoney
Votes: 247,330 | Gross: $56.12M
26. Bait (2000)
R | 119 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
An ex-con is used by police to lure a criminal out of hiding.
Director: Antoine Fuqua | Stars: Jamie Foxx, David Morse, Robert Pastorelli, Doug Hutchison
Votes: 13,208 | Gross: $15.33M
27. Fallen (1998)
R | 124 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Homicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution, the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese's style.
Director: Gregory Hoblit | Stars: Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Donald Sutherland, Embeth Davidtz
Votes: 92,723 | Gross: $25.19M
28. Good Time (2017)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After a botched bank robbery lands his younger brother in prison, Connie Nikas embarks on a twisted odyssey through New York City's underworld to get his brother Nick out of jail.
Directors: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie | Stars: Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Buddy Duress
Votes: 140,419 | Gross: $2.03M
29. Just Cause (1995)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A Harvard professor is lured back into the courtroom after twenty-five years to take the case of a young black man condemned to death for the horrific murder of a child.
Director: Arne Glimcher | Stars: Sean Connery, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Capshaw, Blair Underwood
Votes: 29,510 | Gross: $36.85M
30. The Concrete Jungle (1960)
TV-14 | 86 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
In the UK, after pulling a racetrack robbery, repeat offender Johnny Bannion hides the loot in a farmer's field but the police and the local mob come looking for Johnny and the money.
Director: Joseph Losey | Stars: Stanley Baker, Sam Wanamaker, Grégoire Aslan, Margit Saad
Votes: 1,765
31. Criminal (2016)
R | 113 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
In a last-ditch effort to stop a diabolical plot, a dead CIA operative's memories, secrets, and skills are implanted into a death-row inmate in hopes that he will complete the operative's mission.
Director: Ariel Vromen | Stars: Kevin Costner, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot, Gary Oldman
Votes: 70,712 | Gross: $14.27M
32. Double Jeopardy (1999)
R | 105 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A woman framed for her husband's murder suspects he is still alive; as she has already been tried for the crime, she can't be re-prosecuted if she finds and kills him.
Director: Bruce Beresford | Stars: Ashley Judd, Tommy Lee Jones, Bruce Greenwood, Benjamin Weir
Votes: 95,966 | Gross: $116.74M
33. The Valachi Papers (1972)
PG | 125 min | Crime, Drama
Gangster Joe Valachi is a marked man in the same joint where mob boss Don Vito Genovese is imprisoned and he's forced to co-operate with the DA in exchange for protection.
Director: Terence Young | Stars: Charles Bronson, Lino Ventura, Jill Ireland, Walter Chiari
Votes: 4,447 | Gross: $20.27M
34. The Samaritan (I) (2012)
R | 90 min | Action, Crime, Drama
After twenty years in prison, Foley is finished with the grifter's life. When he meets an elusive young woman named Iris, the possibility of a new start looks real. But his past is proving to be a stubborn companion.
Director: David Weaver | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Luke Kirby, Ruth Negga, Tom Wilkinson
Votes: 10,281 | Gross: $0.00M
35. Lock Up (1989)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Drama
With only six months left of his sentence, inmate Frank Leone is transferred from a minimum security prison to a maximum security prison by a vindictive warden.
Director: John Flynn | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Donald Sutherland, John Amos, Sonny Landham
Votes: 46,460 | Gross: $22.10M
36. American Heist (2014)
R | 94 min | Action, Crime, Drama
James owes his life to his older brother, Frankie after taking the rap for a crime they committed together. While Frankie served time, James worked to turn his life around, got a steady job and began courting his former girlfriend Emily. Now, Frankie is released and back on the streets with no money and no place to go.
Director: Sarik Andreasyan | Stars: Hayden Christensen, Earl Minor, Adrien Brody, Jordana Brewster
Votes: 17,560
37. Johnny Handsome (1989)
R | 94 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After being double crossed and thrown in jail, a deformed gangster gets a new face and rehabilitation, but his desire for revenge looms.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, Elizabeth McGovern, Morgan Freeman
Votes: 11,015 | Gross: $7.24M
38. Kiss of Death (1995)
R | 101 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A reformed convict goes undercover with the help of an angry detective to ensnare a psychotic mobster.
Director: Barbet Schroeder | Stars: David Caruso, Samuel L. Jackson, Nicolas Cage, Helen Hunt
Votes: 20,246 | Gross: $14.94M
39. Palmetto (1998)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A recently released ex-con gets involved in a fake kidnapping scheme that turns very real.
Director: Volker Schlöndorff | Stars: Woody Harrelson, Elisabeth Shue, Gina Gershon, Rolf Hoppe
Votes: 8,461 | Gross: $5.84M
40. The Onion Field (1979)
R | 126 min | Crime, Drama
An LA police officer is murdered in the onion fields outside of Bakersfield. However, legal loopholes could keep his kidnappers from receiving justice, and his partner is haunted by overwhelming survivor's guilt.
Director: Harold Becker | Stars: John Savage, James Woods, Franklyn Seales, Ted Danson
Votes: 5,766 | Gross: $9.89M
41. Framed (1975)
R | 106 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A gambler kills a sheriff in self defense. But as everyone in conspiring against him, he is condemned to a long sentence in prison.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Joe Don Baker, Conny Van Dyke, Gabriel Dell, John Marley
Votes: 738 | Gross: $2.12M
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