Movies like Escape from Alcatraz
If you like "Escape from Alcatraz" you are looking for atmospheric, suspense and suspenseful movies about / with prison, prison escape, alcatraz, escape, prison life, freedom and jail themes of Biography, Crime and Drama genre shot in USA.
Find your next favorite and similar movies in two steps:
1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below).
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Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
162K
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
Escape from Alcatraz tells the story of the only three men ever to escape from the infamous maximum security prison at Alcatraz. In 29 years, the seemingly impenetrable federal penitentiary, which housed Al Capone and "Birdman" Robert Stroud, was only broken once - by three men never heard of again.
Style:
atmospheric, suspense, suspenseful, exciting, realistic, ambiguous ending, inspirational, neo noir, non fiction, crime drama ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
prison, prison escape, alcatraz, escape, prison life, freedom, jail, island, prison warden, harassment, prison guard, convict, prison fight, nervous breakdown, nude fight, fight, painter, african american, prison brawl, fistfight, death threat, prison break, warden, friendship, imprisonment ...
Time:
year 1960, 20th century, year 1979, year 1962, year 1961, 60s, 70s ...
Place:
san francisco, bay area, usa, canada
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to Escape from Alcatraz
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out suspense, serious, intense and realistic films with plots about prison, prison escape, violence, prison life, jail, brutality and prisoner mostly in Drama, Crime and Thriller genres. Some movies like Escape from Alcatraz: Papillon (2017), Midnight Express (1978), The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Papillon (1973), Brubaker (1980). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
95K
Genre: Adventure, Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: USA, Czech Republic, Spain
Duration: 133 min.
Story:
Henri "Papillon" Charrière is convicted in Paris for a murder he did not commit. Sentenced to life imprisonment in the penal colony of French Guiana, he becomes obsessed with escaping. After planning and executing a series of treacherous ...
Style:
suspense, factual, homoerotic, psychological, art house ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
prison escape, prison, island prison, friendship, wrongful conviction, life sentence, escape, jail, escape plan, male friendship, solitary, survival ...
Time:
year 2017, year 1931, 1930s, year 1969, 20th century ...
Place:
south america, colombia, france, former yugoslavia, venezuela ...
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 121 min.
Story:
Billy Hayes is caught attempting to smuggle drugs out of Turkey. The Turkish courts decide to make an example of him, sentencing him to more than 30 years in prison. Hayes has two opportunities for release: the appeals made by his lawyer, his ...
Style:
disturbing, suspense, realistic, depressing, psychological ...
Plot:
prison, brutality, torture, injustice, lawyer, escape, prison life, prison escape, drug, drug smuggling, court, violent ...
Time:
70s, 20th century, year 1970, year 1978, year 1975 ...
Place:
turkey, brooklyn new york city, greece, istanbul turkey, europe ...
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 142 min.
Story:
Framed in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, ...
Style:
clever, uplifting, inspirational, touching, twist ending ...
Audience:
date night, chick flick, teens, kids, family friendly ...
Plot:
prison, prison escape, freedom, friendship between men, hopes, friendship, corruption, human spirit, justice, prison life, life, stephen king ...
Time:
1940s, 1950s, 90s, year 1994, 2010s ...
Place:
usa, maine, columbus ohio, persia, iran ...
Similarity:
82%
145K
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: France, USA
Duration: 151 min.
Story:
A man befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence on a dreadful prison island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.
Style:
inspirational, psychological, visually stunning, grim, mind twisting ...
Plot:
prison escape, prison, life philosophy, escape, prison break, runaway, prison life, jail, protector, human spirit, escape attempt, escape plan ...
Time:
year 1973, 1940s, 20th century, 1930s, 70s
Place:
south america, persia, guyana, latin america, atlantic ocean
Similarity:
100%
Movie in collections
21K
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 131 min.
Story:
The new warden of a small prison farm in Arkansas tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate.
Style:
realistic, factual, suspense, harsh, serious ...
Audience:
family friendly
Plot:
prison, corruption, prison warden, abuse of power, undercover, prison escape, fighting the system, justice, abuse, liberal, murder, politics ...
Time:
20th century, 80s, 60s
Place:
arkansas, louisiana, columbus ohio, southern usa, california ...
Similarity:
100%
88K
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min.
Story:
A family man convicted of killing an intruder must cope with life afterward in the violent penal system.
Style:
brutal, realistic, tense, emotional, serious ...
Audience:
date night, boys' night
Plot:
prison, prison life, convict, prison riot, jail, aryan brotherhood, prison gang, fighting the system, male nudity, brutality, court, organized crime ...
Time:
year 2008, 21st century
Place:
usa, california
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 127 min.
Story:
When petty criminal Luke Jackson is sentenced to two years in a Florida prison farm, he doesn't play by the rules of either the sadistic warden or the yard's resident heavy, Dragline, who ends up admiring the new guy's unbreakable ...
Style:
atmospheric, serious, rough, depressing, intense ...
Audience:
manly, adult
Plot:
prison, escape, prisoner, prison break, death, prison life, runaway, convict, prison escape, egg, freedom, fugitive ...
Time:
20th century, 1950s, year 1967, 60s, 50s
Place:
florida, southern usa
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
The stranger-than-fiction account of a prison break in upstate New York in the summer of 2015, which spawned a massive manhunt for two convicted murderers who were aided in their escape by a married female prison employee with whom they both became ...
Style:
melancholic, captivating, atmospheric, non fiction, historical drama ...
Plot:
prison escape, prison, prison life, true crime, love triangle, prisoner, deception, twists and turns, love affair, sex scene, jail, prison break ...
Time:
2010s
Similarity:
100%
Movie in collections
23K
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
A man must survive a prison where hardened criminals battle to the death for the warden's entertainment.
Style:
harsh, stylized, brutal, intense, emotional ...
Plot:
revenge, martial arts, prison, prison escape, prison violence, fight to the death, warden, fight, fighter, brutality, murder, prison rape ...
Time:
year 2003
Place:
russia, california, ireland, latin america, new jersey ...
Similarity:
100%
49K
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Netherlands
Duration: 109 min.
Story:
Frank Leone is nearing the end of his prison term for a relatively minor crime. Just before he is paroled, however, Warden Drumgoole takes charge. Drumgoole was assigned to a hell-hole prison after his administration was publicly humiliated by ...
Style:
suspense, intense, realistic, serious, suspenseful ...
Plot:
prison, revenge, prison escape, prison warden, corruption, vengeance, prisoner, prison life, tough guy, electric chair, jail, self sacrifice ...
Time:
80s
Place:
new jersey
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min.
Story:
This film is based on the actual events that took place in 1971 when Stanford professor Dr. Philip Zimbardo created what became one of the most shocking and famous social experiments of all time.
Style:
disturbing, thought provoking, psychological, serious, realistic ...
Audience:
kids
Plot:
psychology, prison, social experiment, human experiment, human nature, university, prison life, experiment, teachers and students, prison escape, character study, student ...
Time:
20th century, 70s, 2010s
Place:
usa, california
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
A group of prisoners, led by an armed robber and a gangster, attempt to escape from the infamous Alcatraz Island.
Style:
suspenseful, bleak, disturbing, suspense
Plot:
captive, prison, attempted escape, risk, hostage, brutality, freedom, imprisonment, court, prison warden, convict, prison fight ...
Time:
year 1946, 1940s
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 132 min.
Story:
After working as a drug courier and getting into a brutal shootout with police, a former boxer finds himself at the mercy of his enemies as they force him to instigate violent acts that turn the prison he resides in into a battleground.
Style:
tense, suspense, disturbing, rough, exciting ...
Plot:
prison, revenge, maximum security prison, kidnapping, prison guard, prison warden, murder, prisoner, extreme violence, violence, boxer, police shootout ...
Time:
year 2017, 2010s
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
A young man goes to prison and a tough, older convict takes him under his wing as a mentor.
Style:
tense, realistic, bleak, cult classic, atmospheric ...
Plot:
friendship, prison, violence, gang, murder, transvestite, prison gang, marijuana, survival, prison rape, drug, mentor protege relationship ...
Time:
20th century, 90s
Place:
usa, philadelphia, pennsylvania, paris france, puerto rico ...
Similarity:
100%
269K
Genre: Action, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min.
Story:
Ray Breslin is the world's foremost authority on structural security. After analyzing every high security prison and learning a vast array of survival skills so he can design escape-proof prisons, his skills are put to the test. He's ...
Style:
suspenseful, suspense, clever, twist ending, entertaining ...
Audience:
boys' night, manly, chick flick
Plot:
prison, prison escape, revenge, outsmarting, escape plan, betrayal, resourceful, escape, prisoner, maximum security prison, prison break, lone hero ...
Time:
year 2013, 2010s, future, 80s, 21st century
Place:
morocco, usa, miami, new orleans, colorado ...
Similarity:
75%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 138 min.
Story:
A kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor: an escaped convict on the run from the law, headed by an honorable U.S. Marshal.
Style:
suspense, road movie, sincere, touching, emotional ...
Plot:
friendship, prison, fugitives, life philosophy, moral ambiguity, on the run, boy, child abuse, road trip, small town, prison escape, coming of age ...
Time:
60s, 20th century, 90s, year 1963, year 1993
Place:
texas, austin texas, birmingham alabama, alaska, usa ...
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 131 min.
Story:
A Court Martialed general rallies together 1200 inmates to rise against the system that put him away.
Style:
intense, tense, exciting, rough, inspirational ...
Plot:
prison, prison life, military prison, military, murder, fighting the system, prison riot, convict, prison escape, manipulation, sacrifice, chess ...
Time:
year 2001, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
west point, iraq, new jersey
Similarity:
100%
24K
Genre: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, UK, Netherlands
Duration: 118 min.
Story:
In the year 2022, a ruthless prison warden has created the ultimate solution for his most troublesome and violent inmates: Absolom, a secret jungle island where prisoners are abandoned and left to die. But Marine Captain John Robbins, convicted of ...
Style:
suspense, exciting, grindhouse, bleak, serious ...
Audience:
boys' night, manly
Plot:
prison, jungle, island, dystopia, prison guard, survival, escape, all male cast, island prison, chase, male male relationship, prisoner ...
Time:
future, near future, year 1994
Similarity:
50%
Movie in collections
658K
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min.
TV show
Story:
Due to a political conspiracy, an innocent man is sent to death row and his only hope is his brother, who makes it his mission to deliberately get himself sent to the same prison in order to break the both of them out, from the inside out.
Style:
exciting, tense, suspenseful, serious, realistic ...
Audience:
boys' night, teens
Plot:
prison, fugitives, escape, prison life, scheme, prison escape, conspiracy, determination, fbi, confined, siblings relations, brother ...
Time:
2010s, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
south america, chicago, texas, california, usa
Similarity:
63%
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 147 min.
Story:
After killing a prison guard, convict Robert Stroud faces life imprisonment in solitary confinement. Driven nearly mad by loneliness and despair, Stroud's life gains new meaning when he happens upon a helpless baby sparrow in the exercise yard ...
Style:
black and white, realistic, serious, captivating, atmospheric ...
Plot:
prison, bird, warden, life sentence, alcatraz, redemption, medical, pet bird, biopic, rebel, self discovery, isolation ...
Time:
20th century, year 1962, 1910s, 1920s, 1940s ...
Place:
san francisco, bay area, kansas, usa
Similarity:
26%
19K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min.
Story:
Mick O'Brien is a young Chicago street thug torn between a life of petty crime and the love of his girlfriend. But when the heist of a local drug dealer goes tragically wrong Mick is sentenced to a brutal juvenile prison where violence is a ...
Style:
neo noir, suspense, realistic, disturbing, serious ...
Audience:
teens, kids, teen drama
Plot:
prison, vengeance, juvenile delinquent, violence, juvenile delinquency, youth, bullying, prison escape, gangster, rivalry, prison rape, brat pack ...
Time:
80s, 20th century
Place:
chicago, usa, south america, illinois, new jersey ...
Similarity:
23%
74K
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Spain, France
Duration: 113 min.
Story:
The story of two men on different sides of a prison riot -- the inmate leading the rebellion and the young guard trapped in the revolt, who poses as a prisoner in a desperate attempt to survive the ordeal.
Style:
tense, psychological, clever, intense, tricky ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
prison, survival, prison life, hostage, convict, prison guard, confined, prison escape, manipulation, danger, criminal heroes, rebelliousness ...
Time:
year 2009, 21st century
Place:
spain, iberian peninsula, basque country, south america, europe
Similarity:
50%
44K
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
The true and intense story of Mark 'Chopper' Read, a legendary criminal who wrote his autobiography while serving a jail sentence in prison.
Style:
disturbing, cynical, rough, brutal, dark ...
Audience:
manly
Plot:
criminal, prison, true crime, convict, brutality, prison life, dark humor, character study, gangster, murder, eccentricity, judge ...
Time:
year 2000, 70s, 80s, 20th century, year 1978 ...
Place:
australia, melbourne, oceania, new zealand
Similarity:
50%
Movie in collections
76K
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, Ireland
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
The story of Bobby Sands, the IRA member who led the 1981 hunger strike in which Republican prisoners tried to win political status. It dramatises events in the Maze prison in the six weeks prior to Sands’ death.
Style:
sincere, political, depressing, visually stunning, art house ...
Plot:
prison, prison life, ira, male nudity, suicide, prisoner, dying, terrorist, nudity, rebellion, police brutality, suffering ...
Time:
20th century, year 2008, 2000s, 90s, year 1981 ...
Place:
ireland, northern ireland, london, europe, belfast
Similarity:
22%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min.
Story:
Convicted killers David Sweat and Richard Matt seduce bored, restless, small town mom Joyce Mitchell who aids and abets their audacious jailbreak.
Style:
talky, touching, suspense, tense, suspenseful ...
Plot:
prison escape, prison, prison life, punishment, friends, freedom, convict, heroes, framed for murder, justice, society, violence ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa, new york, new york state
Similarity:
21%
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 180 min.
Story:
Based on the true life experiences of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, the film focuses on half-brothers Paco and Cruz, and their bi-racial cousin Miklo. It opens in 1972, as the three are members of an East L.A. gang known as the "Vatos Locos", ...
Style:
cult classic, intense, entertaining, bad ending, serious ...
Plot:
gang, street gang, prison gang, drug abuse, prison, gangster, destiny, male nudity, jail, ghetto, violence spree, drug addiction ...
Time:
20th century, year 1993, 90s, 70s, 80s
Place:
los angeles, california, ecuador, south america, usa ...
Similarity:
21%
112K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 121 min.
Story:
A newly-released prison gangster is forced by the leaders of his gang to orchestrate a major crime with a brutal rival gang on the streets of Southern California.
Style:
clever, harsh, crime thriller, suspense, twist ending ...
Plot:
prison, prison gang, gang, prisoner, prison life, criminal, estranged father, organized crime, skinhead, abuse, tattoo, criminal heroes ...
Time:
year 2017, 21st century
Place:
california, los angeles, pasadena california, usa
Similarity:
50%
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: Ireland, UK, USA
Duration: 133 min.
Story:
A small time thief from Belfast, Gerry Conlon, is falsely implicated in the IRA bombing of a pub that kills several people while he is in London. He and his four friends are coerced by British police into confessing their guilt. Gerry's father ...
Style:
inspirational, political, thought provoking, sentimental, dramatic ...
Plot:
prison, father son relationship, terrorist, lawyer, courtroom, terrorism, politics, trial, biopic, male nudity, justice, courtroom drama ...
Time:
20th century, 90s, year 1993, 80s, 70s
Place:
ireland, northern ireland, england, nepal, britain ...
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, Ireland
Duration: 102 min.
Story:
Frank Perry is an institutionalized convict twelve years into a life sentence without parole. When his estranged daughter falls ill, he is determined to make peace with her before it's too late. He develops an ingenious escape plan, and ...
Style:
tense, harsh, rough, suspenseful, psychological thriller ...
Plot:
prison, prison escape, brutality, escape, tragedy, flashback, existentialism, loneliness, prison life, going straight, twists and turns, terminal illness ...
Time:
y2k, 2000s
Place:
london, europe, england
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 106 min.
Story:
19-year-old Eric, arrogant and ultra-violent, is prematurely transferred to the same adult prison facility as his estranged father. As his explosive temper quickly finds him enemies in both prison authorities and fellow inmates — and his already ...
Style:
psychological, serious, rough, depressing, intense ...
Audience:
teens, date night, teen drama
Plot:
prison, father son relationship, naked man, violence, prison life, juvenile delinquent, nudity, prison guard, hot guys, male nudity, therapist, nude young male ...
Time:
year 2013, 2010s, 70s, 21st century
Place:
ethiopia, ireland, britain, england
Similarity:
20%
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