Best movies like Cool Hand Luke
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
When petty criminal Luke Jackson is sentenced to two years in a Florida prison farm, he doesn't play by the rules of either the sadistic warden or the yard's resident heavy, Dragline, who ends up admiring the new guy's unbreakable will. Luke's bravado, even in the face of repeated stints in the prison's dreaded solitary confinement cell, "the box," make him a rebel hero to his fellow convicts and a thorn in the side of the prison officers.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 186000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: realistic, atmospheric, serious, rough, depressing, intense, scary, inspirational, dorama, spiritual
Best tv shows and movies like Cool Hand Luke (1967):
Similar in 75%
Life (1999)
Plot Summary:
Two men in 1930s Mississippi become friends after being sentenced to life in prison together for a crime they did not commit.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 54000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: funny, humorous, entertaining, semi serious, feel good, hilarious, hood, black comedy, retro, realistic
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Similar in 79%
Carandiru (2003)
Plot Summary:
Carandiru, a story based on real facts and on the book written by the doctor Drauzio Varella, starts when he decides to carry out an AIDS prevention program inside Latin America’s largest prison: the Casa de Detenção de São Paulo, Carandiru, the victim of one of the darkest days in Brazilian History, when the State of São Paulo’s Military Police, with the excuse for law enforcement, shot to death 111 people.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Brazil, Argentina, Italy
Duration: 145 min
Plot tags: bleak, compassionate, rough, touching, captivating, realistic, sincere, disturbing, controversial, perverse
Similar in 89%
The Sting (1973)
Plot Summary:
Set in the 1930s this intricate caper deals with an ambitious small-time crook and a veteran con man who seek revenge on a vicious crime lord who murdered one of their gang.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 275000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: entertaining, atmospheric, witty, humorous, captivating, clever, suspense, twisted, surprise ending, twist ending
Similar in 86%
The Sugarland Express (1974)
Plot Summary:
Married small-time crooks Lou-Jean and Clovis Poplin lose their baby to the state of Texas and resolve to do whatever it takes to get him back. Lou-Jean gets Clovis out of jail, and the two steal their son from his foster home, in addition to taking a highway patrolman hostage. As a massive dragnet starts to pursue them across Texas, the couple become unlikely folk heroes and even start to bond with the captive policeman.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: road movie, black comedy, cult classic, suspenseful, retro, sexy, offbeat, southern gothic, anamorphic, serious
Similar in 89%
The Longest Yard (1974)
Plot Summary:
In this rough-and-tumble yarn, actually filmed on-location at the Georgia State Prision, the cons are the heroes and the guards are the heavies. Eddie Albert is the sadistic warden who'll gladly make any sacrifice to push his guards' semi-pro football team to a national championship.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: inspirational, intense, suspense, witty, talky, rough, humorous, captivating, semi serious, funny
Similar in 88%
Starred Up (2013)
Plot Summary:
19-year-old Eric, arrogant and ultra-violent, is prematurely transferred to the same adult prison facility as his estranged father. As his explosive temper quickly finds him enemies in both prison authorities and fellow inmates — and his already volatile relationship with his father is pushed past breaking point — Eric is approached by a volunteer psychotherapist, who runs an anger management group for prisoners. Torn between gang politics, prison corruption, and a glimmer of something better, Eric finds himself in a fight for his own life, unsure if his own father is there to protect him or join in punishing him.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 48000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, serious, depressing, suspenseful, harsh, intense, captivating, rough, brutal
Similar in 88%
Riot (1969)
Plot Summary:
A riot in a state prison is staged to cover up an escape attempt, during which many inmates and guards are killed. Shot on location at Arizona State Prison.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 636
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, psychotronic
Similar in 87%
Sugar Boxx (2009)
Plot Summary:
Sugar State Women’s Prison. An Everglades hellhole where innocent girls are forced to slave in the swamps by day then turn tricks for the warden by night. A prison camp where corruption, brutality, and sexual abuse are all part of the daily routine. But when reporter Valerie March goes undercover inside Sugar State, that’s when the powder keg really explodes! Follow Valerie through prison life - catfights, knife fights, rape, whippings, prostitution, and the “hot box” - before she and her fellow inmates take bloody, unforgettable revenge on their captors. Inspired by the great women-in-prison films of the past, SUGAR BOXX takes everything one step further. SUGAR BOXX has it all.
IMDB Rating: 3.6
IMDB Votes: 358
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspense, psychological, captivating, retro, independent film, rough, suspenseful, semi serious, campy
Similar in 84%
R: Hit First, Hit Hardest (2010)
Plot Summary:
The R of the title stands for the young protagonist, Rune, fearlessly played by Pilou Asbæk. Imprisoned for violent assault, he's a cocky, good-looking young man placed in the hardcore ward, where his survival depends on quickly learning the prison's parallel world of rules, honor, and obligations. R also stands for Rachid, a young Muslim prisoner who becomes Rune's friend and accomplice, defying the rigid racial stratifications among the inmates.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Denmark
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, rough, captivating, disturbing, psychological, suspense, thought provoking, independent film, bleak
Similar in 86%
Straight Time (1978)
Plot Summary:
After being released on parole, a burglar attempts to go straight, get a regular job, and just go by the rules. He soon finds himself back in jail at the hands of a power-hungry parole officer.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: neo noir, serious, realistic, psychological, thought provoking, cynical, crime drama, contemplative, independent film, tension
Similar in 78%
McVicar (1980)
Plot Summary:
John McVicar was a London Bad Boy. he graduated to armed bank robbery and was Britain's "Public Enemy No. 1". He was captured and put into a high security prison. Will even the highest security prison be able to hold him? This is the true story of his life, his criminal exploits and his eventual rehabilitation.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, independent film, cult film
Similar in 87%
Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
Plot Summary:
After killing a prison guard, convict Robert Stroud faces life imprisonment in solitary confinement. Driven nearly mad by loneliness and despair, Stroud's life gains new meaning when he happens upon a helpless baby sparrow in the exercise yard and nurses it back to health. Despite having only a third grade education, Stroud goes on to become a renowned ornithologist and achieves a greater sense of freedom and purpose behind bars than most people find in the outside world.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 147 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, captivating, realistic, black and white, retro, thought provoking, crime thriller, sincere, uplifting
Similar in 88%
Blood In, Blood Out (1993)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true life experiences of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, the film focuses on half-brothers Paco and Cruz, and their bi-racial cousin Miklo. It opens in 1972, as the three are members of an East L.A. gang known as the "Vatos Locos", and the story focuses on how a violent crime and the influence of narcotics alter their lives. Miklo is incarcerated and sent to San Quentin, where he makes a "home" for himself. Cruz becomes an exceptional artist, but a heroin addiction overcomes him with tragic results. Paco becomes a cop and an enemy to his "carnal", Miklo.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 33000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: intense, bad ending, entertaining, rough, serious, realistic, disturbing, cult classic, inspirational, retro
Similar in 80%
A Prophet (2009)
Plot Summary:
Sentenced to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim) is alone in the world and can neither read nor write. On his arrival at the prison, he seems younger and more brittle than the others detained there. At once he falls under the sway of a group of Corsicans who enforce their rule in the prison. As the 'missions' go by, he toughens himself and wins the confidence of the Corsican group.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 101000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: France, Italy
Duration: 155 min
Plot tags: harsh, tense, bleak, rough, atmospheric, political, dramatic, psychological, breathtaking, realistic
Similar in 80%
Animal Factory (2000)
Plot Summary:
A young man goes to prison and a tough, older convict takes him under his wing as a mentor.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, bleak, atmospheric, harsh, disturbing, intense, serious, rough, cult classic
Similar in 75%
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Plot Summary:
In late 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy is the affable, clever and talkative leader of the outlaw Hole in the Wall Gang. His closest companion is the laconic dead-shot 'Sundance Kid'. As the west rapidly becomes civilized, the law finally catches up to Butch, Sundance and their gang. Chased doggedly by a special posse, the two decide to make their way to South America in hopes of evading their pursuers once and for all.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 224000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Western
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: epic, suspense, entertaining, scenic, cult classic, period piece, clever, realistic, witty, retro
Similar in 89%
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Plot Summary:
Scout Finch, 6, and her older brother Jem live in sleepy Maycomb, Alabama, spending much of their time with their friend Dill and spying on their reclusive and mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. When Atticus, their widowed father and a respected lawyer, defends a black man named Tom Robinson against fabricated rape charges, the trial and tangent events expose the children to evils of racism and stereotyping.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 329000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: touching, black and white, enigmatic, compassionate, sentimental, thought provoking, southern gothic, educational, inspirational, gothic
Similar in 75%
Scum (1979)
Plot Summary:
This is the hard and shocking story of life in a British Borstal for young offenders. The brutal regime made no attempt to reform or improve the inmates and actively encouraged a power struggle between the 'tough' new inmate and the 'old hands'. The film was originally made as a BBC play but it was banned before ever being shown.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: disturbing, rough, tense, serious, controversial, offbeat, depressing, art house, grindhouse, cult classic
Similar in 85%
Midnight Express (1978)
Plot Summary:
Billy Hayes is caught attempting to smuggle drugs out of Turkey. The Turkish courts decide to make an example of him, sentencing him to more than 30 years in prison. Hayes has two opportunities for release: the appeals made by his lawyer, his family, and the American government, or the "Midnight Express".
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 87000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: disturbing, realistic, suspense, depressing, psychological, serious, tense, controversial, grim, bleak
Similar in 83%
Brubaker (1980)
Plot Summary:
The new warden of a small prison farm in Arkansas tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspense, factual, harsh, serious, captivating, political, tense, psychological, edutainment
Similar in 81%
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Plot Summary:
While serving time for insanity at a state mental hospital, implacable rabble-rouser, Randle Patrick McMurphy inspires his fellow patients to rebel against the authoritarian rule of head nurse, Mildred Ratched.
IMDB Rating: 8.7
IMDB Votes: 11000000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 133 min
Plot tags: psychological, thought provoking, dramatic, serious, captivating, surprise ending, tragicomedy, bleak, emotional, inspirational
Similar in 79%
Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
Plot Summary:
Escape from Alcatraz tells the story of the only three men ever to escape from the infamous maximum security prison at Alcatraz. In 29 years, the seemingly impenetrable federal penitentiary, which housed Al Capone and "Birdman" Robert Stroud, was only broken once - by three men never heard of again.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 145000
Genere: Action, Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: suspense, atmospheric, suspenseful, realistic, exciting, motivational, inspirational, neo noir, non fiction, crime drama
Similar in 84%
Papillon (2017)
Plot Summary:
Henri "Papillon" Charrière is convicted in Paris for a murder he did not commit. Sentenced to life imprisonment in the penal colony of French Guiana, he becomes obsessed with escaping. After planning and executing a series of treacherous yet failed attempts, he's sent to the notorious prison Devil's Island, a place from which no one has ever escaped.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 83000
Genere: Adventure, Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: USA, Czech Republic, Spain
Duration: 133 min
Plot tags: suspense, factual, psychological, motivational, art house, homoerotic, brutal, interesting
Similar in 83%
Papillon (1973)
Plot Summary:
A man befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence on a dreadful prison island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 137000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: France, USA
Duration: 151 min
Plot tags: inspirational, psychological, grim, realistic, depressing, visually stunning, philosophical, uplifting, epic, dark
Similar in 90%
Dead Man Walking (1995)
Plot Summary:
A justice drama based on a true story about a man on death row who in his last days forms a strong relationship with a nun who teaches him forgiveness and gives him spirituality as she accompanies him to his execution.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 100000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: touching, psychological, thought provoking, sad, emotional, atmospheric, suspense, depressing, serious, realistic
Similar in 83%
Casino (1995)
Plot Summary:
The life of the gambling paradise – Las Vegas – and its dark mafia underbelly.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 552000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA, France
Duration: 178 min
Plot tags: realistic, clever, rough, suspense, neo noir, captivating, brutal, stylized, intense, tense
Similar in 83%
Scarface (1983)
Plot Summary:
After getting a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban government official, Tony Montana stakes a claim on the drug trade in Miami. Viciously murdering anyone who stands in his way, Tony eventually becomes the biggest drug lord in the state, controlling nearly all the cocaine that comes through Miami. But increased pressure from the police, wars with Colombian drug cartels and his own drug-fueled paranoia serve to fuel the flames of his eventual downfall.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 896000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 170 min
Plot tags: serious, exciting, rough, cult classic, suspense, brutal, harsh, psychological, suspenseful, hood
Similar in 77%
The Godfather Part II (1974)
Plot Summary:
In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.
IMDB Rating: 9.0
IMDB Votes: 13000000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 202 min
Plot tags: epic, captivating, suspense, serious, visual, neo noir, visually appealing, realistic, saga, atmospheric
Similar in 76%
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Plot Summary:
Framed in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.
IMDB Rating: 9.3
IMDB Votes: 28000000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 142 min
Plot tags: clever, inspirational, touching, twist ending, sentimental, uplifting, emotional, philosophical, suspense, serious
Similar in 82%
The Green Mile (1999)
Plot Summary:
A supernatural tale set on death row in a Southern prison, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the cellblock's head guard, Paul Edgecomb, recognizes Coffey's miraculous gift, he tries desperately to help stave off the condemned man's execution.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 14000000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 189 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, heartbreaking, sentimental, sad, dramatic, suspense, serious, thought provoking, inspirational