Hollywood has made great use of various settings and sub-genres for its stories, from the thick of battle overseas to small towns. One of the best settings for a great movie, especially dramas and thrillers, is prison. Exploring characters at the lowest points of their lives, these films have a well-defined formula, typically focusing on a relatable hero, often wrongly convicted, as he tries to earn the respect of his fellow inmates and escape.

While not all prison movies are focused on the idea of escape, they all share the basic concept of making audiences identify with the feeling of captivity, injustice, and fear. Hollywood has no shortage of great prison movies, with modern hits like Escape Plan and Law Abiding Citizen bringing viewers to the heart of life behind bars. Some movies, like The Shawshank Redemption and Escape from Alcatraz, have done a much better job of showing audiences...