Best tv shows like Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Filmed on location at Alcatraz Island, this two-part "whole story" actually concentrates on a handful of the denizens behind the cold grey walls of "The Rock". Michael Beck plays the real-life Clarence Carnes, an Oklahoma Choctaw Indian said to be the youngest man ever incarcerated in the notorious maximum security prison. Serving a 99-year sentence for a gas station holdup and murder, Carnes makes periodic attempts to escape, the final attempt being the most violent. Many of the subordinate characters are fictional (as are most of the details concerning Carnes' escape efforts); the one exception is Robert Stroud, the "Birdman of Alcatraz", here portrayed by Art Carney as a gentle, kindly philosopher. Telly Savalas, a costar of the Burt Lancaster vehicle Birdman of Alcatraz, also guest starred in the 1980 film. Originally titled Alcatraz and Clarence Carnes, this made-for-TV movie wavers between gritty realism and "I'm bustin' outta here!" artifice.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 327
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 196 min
Plot tags:
Best tv shows and movies like Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story (1980):
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Dead Man Out (1989)
Plot Summary:
A psychiatrist is sent to evaluate if a convicted multiple murderer who's awaiting execution on Death Row for eighth year now and whose behavior during that time got more and more erratic is still mentally fit to be executed.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 395
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags:
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One Away (1976)
Plot Summary:
Two brothers plot to get their third brother out of jail.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 50
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: independent film
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Block B - Under Arrest (2015)
Plot Summary:
"Block B - Under Arrest" is the story of Bea Kroeger, who is charged with attempted murder of her husband. During the pre-trial detention in the prison Tempelhof they must fight for their place in the pecking order among the inmates perforce. As a rookie experienced Bea - and with it the audience - the hardships of prison life and learns the hard way that there are other rules apply as in the outside world. Faster than you would like, Bea must realize that the only person she can trust while in custody, but she herself is.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 32
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags:
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Clink (2019)
Plot Summary:
Women establish a sisterhood as they spend time together behind bars.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 205
Genere: Crime, Drama
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Duration: 60 min
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Clark (2022)
Plot Summary:
This is the incredible story behind Sweden's most notorious gangster, Clark Olofsson, whose infamous crimes gave rise to the term "Stockholm Syndrome".
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Sweden
Duration: 362 min
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The Lørenskog Disappearance (2022)
Plot Summary:
When a billionaire's wife vanishes, Norwegian police must deal with the frenzied press and deceitful informants to find the truth.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
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Great Escapes with Morgan Freeman (2021)
Plot Summary:
Morgan Freeman explores real-life prison breaks that have captured the attention of the public, showcasing an up close and personal view of what the prisoners are faced with in executing their break outs.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 356
Genere: Crime
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Duration:
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Shantaram (2022)
Plot Summary:
Escaped convict Lin Ford flees to the teeming streets of 1980s Bombay, looking to disappear. Working as a medic for the city’s poor and neglected, Lin finds unexpected love, connection, and courage on the long road to redemption.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
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The Camp: A Prison Story (2006)
Plot Summary:
Straightline Productions: All or Nothing. Presented by Transworld Snowboarding (2009).
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 156
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Russia
Duration: 2150 min
Plot tags: tense, suspense
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Convict (2014)
Plot Summary:
Set in the dark and old Parramatta prison built by the original convicts our lead character Ray a war veteran finds himself serving 18 months for manslaughter after defending his fiance. He soon realizes that the prison boss has it in for him and does everything possible to break Ray even going after his fiance.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing, crime drama
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The 4th Company (2016)
Plot Summary:
Zambrano is a young criminal with the only hope of joining the legendary prison American football team known as The Dogs of Santa Martha. His hopes end up involving him with organized crime since The Dogs, who are also known as The 4th Company, a squadron of inmates at the service of the administration that controls the jail, its vice and its privileges. Corruption and crime have no limits; they ravage the city with car thefts, bank robberies and other crimes under the auspices of the authorities, the story takes place during the López Portillo presidency and his men.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 824
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: Mexico, Spain
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing, art film
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Seven Women in Prison (2017)
Plot Summary:
Kamiwatari Kotone is a geisha in Kyoto. While she is sleeping after a night of drinking, her fellow geisha is killed. Kotone Kamiwatari is falsely accused of her murder and is sent to prison. There, she is bullied by other prisoners, but Kotone relies on her training from senior geishas to persevere. She also learns why she was framed for murder and sent to prison.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 23
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing
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Prisoner (2008)
Plot Summary:
Story of a Japanese man falsely imprisoned in Thailand who attempts to escape from jail.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 16
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: thought provoking, captivating, suspense, disturbing
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Nowhere Man (2019)
Plot Summary:
Two nefarious schemes taking place 10 years apart entangle a dauntless triad member, who must break out of prison to rescue a loved one.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 429
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
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Duration:
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Animal 2 (2008)
Plot Summary:
Now serving a life sentence for murder, James "Animal" Allen returns to fighting for cash in order to help his troubled son on the outside. However, with his newfound fame as a fighter, Animal uncovers a jailhouse conspiracy that threatens to cause racial tensions to explode.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 93 min
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Deathrow (2000)
Plot Summary:
A neglected and unloved orphan raised by poor relatives in the slums of Manila is wrongfully convicted of murder that resulted from a heist he was compelled to join. Unable to prove his innocence and his minor age, he is thrown into the cruel, perilous and horrifying world of death row where he is introduced to other inmates all awaiting their execution by lethal injection. One of them is a 70-year-old man who detests the jungle of jail and is feared by all the convicts. He would serve as the boy’s protector and savior and in the process touch and shape enormously the violated youth’s life in prison and beyond.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 62
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: Philippines
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, suspense, realistic, suspenseful
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Women of San Quentin (1983)
Plot Summary:
A young female prison guard finds out that her first assignment is to San Quentin, one of the toughest prisons in the country.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 110
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: rough, bleak, serious, realistic
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Alcatraz (2018)
Plot Summary:
A group of prisoners, led by an armed robber and a gangster, attempt to escape from the infamous Alcatraz Island.
IMDB Rating: 3.0
IMDB Votes: 920
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: bleak, suspenseful, suspense, disturbing
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Plot Summary:
Crime thriller inspired by the story of Jiri Kajinek, which is considered the first bounty hunter in the Czech Republic. Thanks to his escape from the prison fortress Mirov it became a legend and the most wanted man in Europe. Five weeks while eluding the police, is still shrouded in mystery. Kajínek Film is a powerful story of the most famous prisoner int the Czech Republic in our story of double murder, the story of lawyer looking for new evidence, the story of the underworld and its penetration into the government and handling of the story. George is a victim of conspiracy or Kajínek cold-blooded killer? Trying to prove his innocence or to intimidate and influence witnesses?.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 936
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Czech Republic
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: captivating, suspense
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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
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Criminal Code (2023)
Plot Summary:
To crack the code of an investigation into a larger-than-life robbery, federal agents need to get creative.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
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Duration: 60 min
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Plot Summary:
A criminal series set in Czech Republic, where a group of top class detectives are solving cases based on a true stories.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 256
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Czech Republic
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Escape at Dannemora (2018)
Plot Summary:
The stranger-than-fiction account of a prison break in upstate New York in the summer of 2015, which spawned a massive manhunt for two convicted murderers who were aided in their escape by a married female prison employee with whom they both became sexually entangled.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 440 min
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The Convict (2021)
Plot Summary:
Successful judge Alicja Mazur, who is known for her severity towards criminals. The woman is unexpectedly accused of a murder she did not commit. She is sent to prison, where she has to survive among the women she previously condemned herself. She is kept alive by a teenage daughter and a desire to take revenge on those who set her up.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 710
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Poland
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The Longest Night (2022)
Plot Summary:
Armed forces surround a psychiatric prison in order to abduct an incarcerated serial killer — but aren't prepared for the battle that ensues.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Spain
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Killing Time (2010)
Plot Summary:
Killing Time is an Australian television drama series on TV1 subscription television channel which first screened in 2011. It is based on the true story of disgraced lawyer Andrew Fraser. In New Zealand it screens on Prime Television. The ten part series is written by Ian David, Mac Gudgeon, Katherine Thompson and Shaun Grant. The executive producer is Jason Stephens. The series was initially due to screen in 2010 but was deferred due to strong violence and horror content scenes of the mini-series, which jeopardised a series of gangland trials that were in progress.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 375
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: realistic, tense, captivating, psychological, serious
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Alcatraz (2012)
Plot Summary:
Alcatraz is an American television series created by Elizabeth Sarnoff, Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt, and produced by J. J. Abrams and Bad Robot Productions. The series premiered on Fox on January 16, 2012, as a mid-season replacement. Switching between eras, the series focuses on the Alcatraz prison, which was allegedly shut down in 1963 due to unsafe conditions for its prisoners and guards. The show's premise is that both the prisoners and the guards disappeared in 1963 and have abruptly reappeared in modern-day San Francisco, where they are being tracked down by a government agency. The series starred Sarah Jones, Jorge Garcia, Sam Neill and Parminder Nagra. The show was cancelled on May 9, 2012.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 40000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, atmospheric, captivating, stylized, cliffhanger, serious, exciting, detective, mysterious, apocalyptic
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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
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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
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Prison Break (2005)
Plot Summary:
Due to a political conspiracy, an innocent man is sent to death row and his only hope is his brother, who makes it his mission to deliberately get himself sent to the same prison in order to break the both of them out, from the inside out.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 569000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, suspenseful, serious, rough, realistic, crime drama, thrilling, clever, enigmatic