swap_horiz McVicar Alternatives

1

Le Trou

Jacques Becker’s *Le Trou* (The Hole) is a seminal 1960 French prison film. The movie gained recognition for its remarka...

Classic French Escape 1960S

9.5 Brilliant

2

The Grand Illusion

Jean Renoir’s *The Grand Illusion* explores themes of loyalty and identity within a French prisoner-of-war camp during W...

French Escape 1930S Pow

9.4 Excellent

3

Papillon (1973)

Papillon recounts the true story of Henri Charrière, a French man wrongly convicted of murder who spends years imprisone...

True Story Escape 1970S Devils Island

8.4 Great

4

Starred Up

Starred Up portrays the brutal realities of adolescent incarceration within the UK prison system. The film’s central nar...

Youth British Violence 2010S

8.2 Great

5

Escape from Sobibor

Escape from Sobibor is a 1987 British TV film by Jack Gold about the 1943 revolt, a major Jewish prisoner uprising again...

True Story Escape 1980S Holocaust

7.7 Good

6

Made in Britain

Made in Britain is a 1982 British television film by Alan Clarke, notable for Tim Roth's debut as a racist skinhead in s...

Youth British 1980S Detention

7.5 Good

7

The Hurricane (1999)

The Hurricane is a 1999 biographical prison drama by Norman Jewison, notable for Denzel Washington's Oscar-nominated por...

Boxing Biopic 1990S Wrongful

7.4 Good

8

Ghosts of the Civil Dead

Ghosts of the Civil Dead is John Hillcoat's 1988 Australian prison drama, co-written with Nick Cave and partly inspired...

Australian Experimental 1980S Riot

7.4 Good

9

Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence

Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence is a 1983 POW drama by Nagisa Oshima, starring David Bowie and Ryuichi Sakamoto in a Japane...

Japanese 1980S War Pow

7.3 Good

10

Bad Boys (1983)

Bad Boys is a 1983 juvenile prison drama by Rick Rosenthal, notable for Sean Penn's early starring role as a Chicago you...

Drama Crime 1980S Juvenile

7.2 Good

11

The One That Got Away

The One That Got Away is a 1957 British war film about Franz von Werra, the only Axis POW to escape Allied captivity and...

True Story Escape 1950S Pow

7.2 Good

12

The Escapist (2008)

The Escapist is a 2008 British-Irish prison thriller by Rupert Wyatt, starring Brian Cox as a lifer and premiered at Sun...

Escape British Thriller 2000S

7.2 Good

13

The Criminal (1960)

The Criminal is a 1960 British neo-noir prison crime film by Joseph Losey, starring Stanley Baker as paroled gangster Jo...

Drama Crime British 1960S

7.1 Good

14

The Colditz Story

The Colditz Story is a 1955 British POW escape film by Guy Hamilton, based on Pat Reid's memoir of imprisonment at Coldi...

Escape British 1950S Pow

7.1 Good

15

The Wooden Horse

The Wooden Horse is a 1950 British POW escape film directed by Jack Lee, based on Eric Williams's Stalag Luft III tunnel...

Escape British 1950S Pow

7.0 Good

16

Stir (1980)

Stir is Stephen Wallace's 1980 Australian prison drama, based on writer Bob Jewson's experience of the 1974 Bathurst pri...

Drama Australian 1980S Riot

7.0 Good

17

Papillon (2017)

Papillon is a 2017 remake directed by Michael Noer, notable for retelling Henri Charriere's penal-colony escape story wi...

Escape Remake 2010S Devils Island

6.5 Fair

18

An Innocent Man

An Innocent Man is a 1989 American prison drama by Peter Yates, notable for casting Tom Selleck as a framed engineer for...

Drama Revenge 1980S Wrongful

6.3 Fair

19

Devil's Island (1939)

Devil's Island is a 1939 American prison film directed by William Clemens, notable for casting Boris Karloff in a sympat...

Classic Escape 1930S Penal Colony

6.1 Fair

20

Up the River

Up the River is a 1930 John Ford prison comedy, notable as the feature-film debut of both Spencer Tracy and Humphrey Bog...

Classic Comedy Escape 1930S

5.9 Mediocre