|
Post by petrolino on Dec 8, 2018 13:36:08 GMT
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) dir: Robert Hamer opens and closes with prison scenes as Louis Mazzini, Duke of Chalfont (Dennis Price) respectively awaits execution and finally is reprieved. Faultless acting by Price, while Alec Guinness plays eight roles, members of his family who Price has to eliminate in order to inherit the dukedom. Top-billed was Valerie Hobson who had a much smaller part than either.
Alec Guinness is outstanding. So's the film. Definitely my favourite Ealing comedy.
|
|
|
Post by morrisondylanfan on Dec 9, 2018 2:51:57 GMT
Hi all,along with the other classics mentioned here,I'll add: Le Trou (1960) And this amazing film I've just seen tonight: Takashi Miike's Big Bang Love, Juvenile A (2006)
|
|
|
Post by london777 on Dec 16, 2018 3:46:56 GMT
In Get Hard (2015) dir: Etan Coen (no, not Ethan Coen) Will Ferrell plays a millionaire wimp facing a long stretch in San Quentin for fraud. He hires Kevin Hart (whom he wrongly assumes is an ex-con) to prep him for prison. They turn his mansion into a simulated prison, with his own staff role-playing inmates and warders. The execution is about as subtle as you would expect from Ferrell and Hart, but the concept is clever and original.
|
|
|
Post by london777 on Dec 30, 2018 3:12:04 GMT
Breakout (1959) was directed by Peter Graham Scott, best known as a prolific TV director. Only 62 minutes long, it was made as a cheap program filler, but packs a lot into its short span, with an unusual plot. An ex-con civil servant arranges prison breaks as a sideline. It is well-acted with many good actors, such as Billie Whitelaw, Glyn Houston and Rupert Davies filling the small parts. Curiously, it turns up as a bonus on Vol 3 of the Edgar Wallace Mysteries set.
|
|
|
Post by hitchcockthelegend on Jan 9, 2019 1:37:31 GMT
I generally do not like westerns, so it is surprising that I forgot to mention one that I really do like. Although thinking about it, the reason for that may be that it is a prison comedy/drama which happens to be set in the Old West, rather than a real western: There Was a Crooked Man... (1970) dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz. It stars Kirk Douglas, one of my favorite actors, with Henry Fonda, Hume Cronyn, Warren Oates, Lee Grant and a strong supporting cast. The studio cut the movie from 165 minutes to 126 minutes for release and it was not a commercial success. The wonderful Lee Grant's major role was hacked down to a couple of minutes, over which I grieve. Comic nude scenes were among the footage cut. Two of the prisoners are shown to be a gay couple, quite daring for its date. I think studio interference may have lost us a masterpiece. It was because of this post I was reminded that I had never seen this one before and therefore "requested" it as a present for Xmas. Watched it last night. I understand why it has a real divisive reputation but I really liked it, some of the genre blends don't totally work, but I liked the cynical side of it. Cool ending as well. Hopefully have it reviewed soon.
Cheers london
|
|
|
Post by pimpinainteasy on Jan 17, 2019 17:00:40 GMT
try to find the indian (malayalam) movie SWATHANTHRYAM ARDHARATHRIYIL (freedom at midnight) on netflix.
|
|
|
Post by jeffersoncody on Jan 18, 2019 21:00:48 GMT
A PRAYER BEFORE DAWN (2017 - Recommended)
|
|
|
Post by teleadm on Jan 19, 2019 14:49:17 GMT
Jean Gabin behind prison bars that I'm not sure if it's Pepe le moko. Nöel Coward in The Italian Job 1969
|
|
|
Post by london777 on Jan 20, 2019 3:29:05 GMT
I have just finished watching "Bitch War" dir: Nicolai Birts (2014) on YouTube. It is an TV series comprising eight parts of 50 minutes each. The Bitch Wars occurred in Soviet prison camps in the post-war years. "Bitches" were prisoners who co-operated with the authorities in any way over and above their normal work duties. From this series I learned that this also included those who volunteered for the army during WWII in return for the reduction or annulment of their sentences. In many camps the authorities deliberately mingled "bitches" with other criminals in the hope that they would kill each other off, thus reducing the requirement for food and other essentials. The series is essentially the story of a love triangle of three young peasants from a tiny village in the 1930s, the war years, and post-war period. In many ways it is a typical "soap" with all the cliches, but I stuck with it because of the detailed portrayals of the criminal underworld and the Soviet police service. If you have over six hours to spare I recommend a viewing, but catch it soon before it disappears off YouTube. The picture quality is excellent and the subtitles are clear to read and in good English with only the very occasional mistranslation. It is oddly titled because the Bitch War itself only occupies the latter half of the last episode, though touched on a few times earlier. A lot of the series is set in a prison camp, so qualifies it for this thread.
|
|
|
Post by london777 on Jan 20, 2019 3:54:58 GMT
Most Brits' ideas of prison life, assuming that neither they nor their loved ones have been incarcerated, have been gained from watching the TV series Porridge (20 episodes from 1974 to 1977), starring Ronnie Barker. Typical gentle TV humor that avoided the bleaker realities of the prison system.
|
|
|
Post by london777 on Feb 26, 2019 2:02:05 GMT
Most Brits' ideas of prison life ... have been gained from watching the TV series Porridge ... Typical gentle TV humor that avoided the bleaker realities of the prison system. If so, watching Starred Up (2013) dir: David Mackenzie, would soon shake up their ideas. One of the bleakest, most violent prison movies ever made. Teenager Eric (Jack O'Connell) is so dangerous that he is moved to adult prison, where he finds the father he has not seen for 14 years. There is a sub-titled DVD available to help us negotiate the Ulster accents, but I doubt I will ever be brave enough to tackle this one. I was not impressed with Mackenzie's previous film "Young Adam", though curiously in 2016 he popped up in Texas with the rather good modern western "Hell and High Water".
|
|
|
Post by hitchcockthelegend on Feb 26, 2019 17:31:46 GMT
Most Brits' ideas of prison life, assuming that neither they nor their loved ones have been incarcerated, have been gained from watching the TV series Porridge (20 episodes from 1974 to 1977), starring Ronnie Barker. Typical gentle TV humor that avoided the bleaker realities of the prison system. Genius sit-com
|
|
|
Post by llanwydd on Feb 26, 2019 17:43:11 GMT
Most Brits' ideas of prison life, assuming that neither they nor their loved ones have been incarcerated, have been gained from watching the TV series Porridge (20 episodes from 1974 to 1977), starring Ronnie Barker. Typical gentle TV humor that avoided the bleaker realities of the prison system. Genius sit-com If you had not mentioned that this was from a British TV show, I would swear the guy on the top bunk was Curley Joe from the Three Stooges.
|
|
|
Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Feb 26, 2019 18:24:05 GMT
|
|
|
Post by london777 on Mar 9, 2019 0:03:17 GMT
Ghosted (2011) dir: Craig Viveiros A story of survival inside a British Prison. Jack (John Lynch) a model prisoner, has kept his head down and done his time. After his wife confirms that she is leaving him, on the anniversary of their son's death, the only thing that keeps him from going under is the new prisoner, Paul.
|
|
|
Post by london777 on Mar 12, 2019 0:46:36 GMT
I fear my recently nominated prison movies have been uniformly bleak. This should even things up a bit
|
|
|
Post by london777 on Mar 12, 2019 14:34:13 GMT
london777 Love it, love it! A total joy. Thanks so much. Made me think of this ... Actually the reference is to Noel Coward in The Italian Job. The location is the same, plus the prisoners and warders lining the galleries. Of course, Coward doesn't do a song and dance routine, just descends the stairs majestically to applause and the strains of "Rule Britannia". Both movies were shot in Kilmainham Jail, Dublin, now converted into a national museum as many of the leaders of the Easter Rising were executed there.
|
|
|
Post by manfromplanetx on Jun 7, 2019 22:42:24 GMT
Boxer a smrt , The Boxer and Death (1963) Czechoslovakia/Slovakia Directed by Peter Solan Nightmare in Badham County (1976) excellent ! Southern women's prison farm
|
|
|
Post by hitchcockthelegend on Jun 8, 2019 1:18:39 GMT
london777 Love it, love it! A total joy. Thanks so much. Made me think of this ... Actually the reference is to Noel Coward in The Italian Job. The location is the same, plus the prisoners and warders lining the galleries. Of course, Coward doesn't do a song and dance routine, just descends the stairs majestically to applause and the strains of "Rule Britannia". Both movies were shot in Kilmainham Jail, Dublin, now converted into a national museum as many of the leaders of the Easter Rising were executed there. I'm pretty sure that is where the prison scenes in McVicar were filmed as well.
|
|
|
Post by hitchcockthelegend on Jun 8, 2019 1:33:08 GMT
Nightmare in Badham County (1976) excellent ! Southern women's prison farm Well this is one for my "Most Wanted" list, good women's prison films are in short supply.
|
|