Punitive populism in movies
by ulas-465-345922 | created - 08 Apr 2021 | updated - 05 Sep 2022 | Public- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Down Time (2001)
R | 90 min | Drama, Crime
A street hustler who makes all the wrong moves finds himself doing hard time in the penitentiary in this hard-edged drama. Slim is a small time drug dealer who tries to make that one big ... See full summary »
Director: Sean Wilson | Stars: William Van Noland, Peter Quartaroli, Sam McBride, Joy Garner
Votes: 451
2. A Letter from Death Row (1998)
R | 89 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A psychological thriller (...or is it?) that takes you through the mind of convicted killer, Michael Raine, and his experiences on death row... or does it? Was he guilty of killing his ... See full summary »
Directors: Marvin Baker, Bret Michaels | Stars: Bret Michaels, Martin Sheen, Kristi Gibson, Simon Elsworth
Votes: 646
3. Prison Song (2001)
R | 94 min | Crime, Drama
A young man lives and learns while growing up on the street and in and out of correctional facilities.
Director: Darnell Martin | Stars: Danny Hoch, Elvis Costello, Q-Tip, Eric McCollum
Votes: 699
4. 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: 29,509 | Gross: $36.85M
5. Mean Machine (2001)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A football star jailed for assault leads a group of inmates in a match against prison guards.
Director: Barry Skolnick | Stars: Vinnie Jones, David Kelly, David Hemmings, Ralph Brown
Votes: 41,831 | Gross: $0.09M
6. The Chamber (1996)
R | 113 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A young man fresh out of law school tries to win a reprieve for his racist grandfather who is on death row.
Director: James Foley | Stars: Chris O'Donnell, Gene Hackman, Faye Dunaway, Robert Prosky
Votes: 16,134 | Gross: $14.55M
7. Last Dance (1996)
R | 103 min | Drama, Thriller
A lawyer assigned to the clemency case of a woman on death row finds himself forming a deep friendship with her while he tries to prevent her impending execution.
Director: Bruce Beresford | Stars: Sharon Stone, Rob Morrow, Randy Quaid, Peter Gallagher
Votes: 4,711 | Gross: $5.86M
8. The Life of David Gale (2003)
R | 130 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A man against capital punishment is accused of murdering a fellow activist and is sent to death row.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet, Laura Linney, Cleo King
Votes: 126,138 | Gross: $19.59M
9. Dead Man Walking (1995)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama
A nun, while comforting a convicted killer on death row, empathizes with both the killer and his victim's families.
Director: Tim Robbins | Stars: Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, Robert Prosky, Raymond J. Barry
Votes: 101,826 | Gross: $39.39M
10. Slam (1998)
R | 100 min | Drama
Grand Jury Prize, 1998 Sundance Film Festival. A talented youth (Saul Williams) copes with urban crime and despair by competing in poetry slams. Sonja Sohn of "The Wire" costars.
Director: Marc Levin | Stars: Saul Williams, Sonja Sohn, Bonz Malone, Lawrence Wilson
Votes: 2,455 | Gross: $0.98M
11. Life (I) (1999)
R | 108 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
In 1932, two strangers are wrongfully convicted and develop a strong friendship in prison that lasts them through the 20th century.
Director: Ted Demme | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, Obba Babatundé, Nick Cassavetes
Votes: 54,815 | Gross: $63.84M
12. Animal Factory (2000)
R | 94 min | Crime, Drama
A young man goes to prison and a tough, older convict takes him under his wing as a mentor.
Director: Steve Buscemi | Stars: Willem Dafoe, Edward Furlong, Danny Trejo, Mark Boone Junior
Votes: 14,654 | Gross: $0.04M
13. 25th Hour (2002)
R | 135 min | Drama
Cornered by the DEA, convicted New York drug dealer Montgomery Brogan reevaluates his life in the 24 remaining hours before facing a seven-year jail term.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Edward Norton, Barry Pepper, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rosario Dawson
Votes: 184,708 | Gross: $13.06M
14. Fortress 2: Re-Entry (2000)
R | 92 min | Action, Sci-Fi
7 years after the original Fortress movie, Brennick along with the rebels are captured and sent to a new, more sophisticated fortress prison, in outer space.
Director: Geoff Murphy | Stars: Christopher Lambert, Beth Toussaint, Willie Garson, Aidan Ostrogovich
Votes: 7,318
15. Fortress (1992)
R | 95 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
In a future, private underground prison/Fortress, the inmates are computer controlled with CCTV, dream readers and devices that can cause pain or death. John and his illegally pregnant wife are inside but want to escape before birth.
Director: Stuart Gordon | Stars: Christopher Lambert, Loryn Locklin, Kurtwood Smith, Clifton Collins Jr.
Votes: 30,485 | Gross: $6.74M
16. Fortress (1992)
R | 95 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
In a future, private underground prison/Fortress, the inmates are computer controlled with CCTV, dream readers and devices that can cause pain or death. John and his illegally pregnant wife are inside but want to escape before birth.
Director: Stuart Gordon | Stars: Christopher Lambert, Loryn Locklin, Kurtwood Smith, Clifton Collins Jr.
Votes: 30,485 | Gross: $6.74M
17. The Hurricane (1999)
R | 146 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The story of Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, a boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder, and the people who aided in his fight to prove his innocence.
Director: Norman Jewison | Stars: Denzel Washington, Vicellous Shannon, Deborah Kara Unger, Liev Schreiber
Votes: 102,522 | Gross: $50.67M
18. Undisputed (2002)
R | 94 min | Action, Crime, Drama
When heavyweight champion George "Iceman" Chambers lands in prison, the resident gangster arranges a boxing match with the reigning prison champ.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Wesley Snipes, Ving Rhames, Peter Falk, Michael Rooker
Votes: 34,422 | Gross: $12.76M
19. Under Lock and Key (1995)
R | 92 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A drug lord's prison connections make this a dangerous and deadly assignment for undercover FBI agent Danielle Peters.
Director: Henri Charr | Stars: Wendi Westbrook, Barbara Niven, Taylor Leigh, Stephanie Ann Smith
Votes: 338
20. Chicago (2002)
PG-13 | 113 min | Comedy, Crime, Musical
Two death-row murderesses develop a fierce rivalry while competing for publicity, celebrity, and a sleazy lawyer's attention.
Director: Rob Marshall | Stars: Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Taye Diggs
Votes: 243,484 | Gross: $170.69M
21. 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: 237,672 | Gross: $49.10M
22. Conviction (II) (2010)
R | 107 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A working mother puts herself through law school in an effort to represent her brother, who has been wrongfully convicted of murder and has exhausted his chances to appeal his conviction through public defenders.
Director: Tony Goldwyn | Stars: Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell, Melissa Leo, Thomas D. Mahard
Votes: 46,037 | Gross: $6.78M
23. Escape at Dannemora (2018)
TV-MA | 63 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A female prison employee in upstate New York becomes romantically involved with a pair of inmates and helps them escape.
Stars: Benicio Del Toro, Patricia Arquette, Paul Dano, Bonnie Hunt
Votes: 28,065
Tell Your Friends