Weekly Theme

Weekly Theme for July 29: Locked Up!

I got this idea from watching The 400 Blows this weekend. It only took me about 5 minutes to come up with a pretty long list of films that have to do with being incarcerated in some sense.

Some films use this setting as the backdrop of some grave injustice such as false accusation such as Jim Sheridan’s fantastic film, In The Name Of The Father. Sometimes the jail cell is used in comedies like Jim Jarmusch’s Down By Law. Other times we just deal with the emotional and mental drama associated with dealing with your loss of personal freedom such as in American History X and The 25^th Hour. And I haven’t even mentioned escape films, like The Shawshank Redemption and Brute Force which is somewhat of a sub-genre in itself.

So, with the plethora of films we’ve seen dealing with being locked up in mind, let’s hear about which are some of your favorites. More specifically, what is your favorite scene, shot inside a jail cell or detention center of some sort? For me, there are two scenes that have touched me for drastically different reasons. The first is the triumphant moment in which Luke (Paul Newman) in Cool Hand Luke chokes down his 50^th egg. You really can’t help but to rejoice and laugh at the same time with this one. The second one for me is one of the most unforgettable scenes of all time. The moment that Giuseppe (Pete Postelthwaite) dies in In The Name Of The Father leads into a great shot. All of the inmates light pieces of paper and throw them out of their cell windows yelling, “Giuseppe’s dead!” The prison walls look as though they are crying tears of flames.

Well, that’s what I’ve got, let’s hear it. Remember, I also want to know about some of your favorite specific scenes as well.

Emery

Re:Weekly Theme for July 29: Locked Up!

I remember in middle and early high school I was really into "Girl, Interrupted." My weird pseudo-feminist friends at the time thought it was the best movie around. Then, several years later, I watched "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and realized I'd been sorely mistaken.

And yeah...I'm among the millions of people who consider "Shawshank Redemption" as one of their favorite movies. It's one of those I could watch again and again. For some reason I've got kind of a character crush on Andy Dufresne. I've never been able to explain it.

Re:Weekly Theme for July 29: Locked Up!

One of my favorite incarceration sequences is in T2: Judgment Day as Sarah Connor escapes from her psych ward. She's doing it flawlessly--she takes the syringe she filled with bleach and holds it to his neck.

But just the sight of Arnold makes the super-tough Sarah forget her meticulous plan.

Re:Weekly Theme for July 29: Locked Up!

I have a ton of picks for the jailbreak/escape list. But for the enduring the long grind of prison, I'm going to throw out a couple old school picks:

The Longest Yard

The original with Burt Reynolds. I love the scene where he's talking to Care taker about why he's there and Caretaker explains what people have against him:  "All I'm saying is that you could have robbed banks, sold dope or stole your grandmother's pension checks and none of us would have minded. But shaving points off of a football game, man that's un-American."

Brubaker

I love how Redford slowly takes people into his confidence to try to change a corrupt system from the inside out. The climax of the movie is great.

Kiss of the Spider Woman

I love this movie just for how it shows the prisoners dealing with the long boredom of being locked up with no future. The first time Valentin is swept up in Luis' story and then comes out to face reality again is amazing.

Re:Weekly Theme for July 29: Locked Up!

Good sugestions all.  I'm glad someone pointed out Girl, Interupted.  I really like that movie and don't get to talk about it enough.  And thanks for reminding me of Kiss of the Spiderwoman.  Also a movie that does not get enough play.

I would like to add The Wrong Man by Hitchcock for it's visceral portrayal of incarceration.  One FEELS locked up while watching it...  This is Hitchcock confronting his greatest fear and though not his best film it is important to his work as a whole.  

As for awesome prison brakes I suggest Out of Sight.  Not just a prison movie, but when you go back and look at it just shy of half of the movie takes place in prison.  Prison is also the motivating factor for many of the characters.  And it's so much fun. 

Finally, to make sure you have a smile on your face:  Chicken Run!  Along this theme you could also watch Creature Comforts as well and laugh and laugh and laugh!

Re:Weekly Theme for July 29: Locked Up!

Chopper (2000)Lock up presents a mix bag of selection for me

first to come to mind is Chopper  where Eric Bana plays the iconic small criminal who cuts of his ear in prison. This intense story of Mark 'Chopper' Read, a legendary criminal who wrote his autobiography while serving a murder sentence in prison. He is outlandish exhibits a bizarre fascination for the viewer -  he'is the original thug-without-a-conscience, but there are moments when you can't help but admire his rough-and-ready charm underneath an underlying menance.

Blood in Blood out. I remember watching first prison rape scene oftern infered in films but never shown this film about Latino comardry in gang life it captures an time in south LA where gang came into popular concious. It had to me a Latin Soap Opera rythm to the film

Burt Lancaster in classic prison drama, Birdman of Alcatraz.  Had to include this gem for the powerhouse performance of one of the greates actors ahead of his time. Also was named as

"The finest 'prison' picture ever made..." said Variety (6/20/62).

25th Hour a film for all reasons mentioned previously but one that is about prison for most part of the film the idea of one last day before your freedom is taken is good question what would you do? What I liked most was the opening scene twin towers just after the tragedy first time I had seen it on film very haunting great film

Happy Texas

my last pick to end on a uplifting note. This film caused  a frantic bidding war at Sundance film festival however it failed at the box office not living up to the hype. I feel it is a great little film and love the last scene set in a prison but joyful experienced created not known in a prison. I had fun with this movie check it out.

Re:Weekly Theme for July 29: Locked Up!

indieabby88:

I remember in middle and early high school I was really into "Girl, Interrupted." My weird pseudo-feminist friends at the time thought it was the best movie around. Then, several years later, I watched "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and realized I'd been sorely mistaken.

 

I hadn't even thought about mental institution movies. With that being said, you can't leave out Sam Fuller's Shock Corridor.

Also, I think we can't forget about POW  and concentration camps movies. I've always thought that Empire of the Sun was Speilberg's most underrated film.

Re:Weekly Theme for July 29: Locked Up!

I had mixed feelings about Animal Factory. I rented it because I was interested in its author Edward Bunker, who is Mr. Blue in Reservoir Dogs and worked with Michael Mann as a technical advisor on Heat. I'm not sure what that means, but I've always wondered if he added authenticity to the bank heists in that movie.

Anyway, what I remember most about Animal Factory is how creepy Tom Arnold's rapist character is, and how good Mickey Rourke is at playing a transvestite.

Re:Weekly Theme for July 29: Locked Up!

Favorite prison scene that first jumped to mind was from Down By Law

Roberto Benigni's character manages to get the entire wing of that prison to chant "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice-cream"

Re:Weekly Theme for July 29: Locked Up!

SInce we seem to be including breakout movies, I'm going to throw a little more love McQ's way:

Papillon

First off, when I saw Rain Man I automatically thought of Dustin Hoffman's Degas in this movie. But I love the big escape attempt where McQueen is hiding in the leper colony and takes a cigar from the leper's rotted stump of a hand.

The Great Escape

You can't have Chicken Run on this list without the movie that inspired it. My favorite of both is the bouncing ball while they are in the cooler.

I used it last week, so I won't throw The Getaway on the list again.