Prison film 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
Escape from Alcatraz (film) mentions his predecessors Johnston (1934–48) and (incorrectly) Blackwell (1961–63). "Escape from Alcatraz" was well received by critics and is considered by many as one of the best films of 1979. Frank Rich of "Time" described the film as "cool, cinematic grace", while Stanley Kauffmann of "The New Republic" called it "crystalline cinema". Vincent Canby of "The New York Times" called it "a first-rate action movie," noting that "Mr. Eastwood fulfills the demands of the role and of the film as probably no other actor could. Is it acting? I don't know, but he's the towering figure in its landscape." "Variety"