Prison film

A prison film is a film genre concerned with prison life and often prison escape. These films range from acclaimed dramas examining the nature of prisons, such as Cool Hand Luke, Midnight Express, Brubaker, Escape from Alcatraz, The Shawshank Redemption, and Kiss of the Spider Woman to actioners like Lock Up and Undisputed, and even comedies satirizing the genre like Stir Crazy, Life, and Let's Go To Prison.

Themes repeatedly visited in the action films include escape attempts, gang activities inside the prison, guard and management cruelty, and an entire subgenre of films where the toughest prisoners are permitted (or forced) to engage in boxing matches or martial arts bouts, replete with high-stakes wagering on the outcomes. These elements may be meshed together, where for example a prisoner forced to fight uses the occasion to plan an escape.

Prison films set during war have become a popular subgenre known as prisoner of war film.

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