Film has the power to take us anywhere Sometimes, however, cinema is at its best when constraints are imposed on narrative possibilities, such as when the writer/director has to work within the confines of a particular setting, say, a prison

The repressive aspects of prison give the incarcerated characters on film a coiled energy, a longing to be free (sometimes by any means necessary), a sense of defiance that is endlessly fascinating to watch unfold on screen

Whether they are victims of a modern-day mass incarceration crisis or prisoners of war trying to escape their guards, the difficulties they face are unique to the film Here are some of the best prison films currently available for streaming

“The Great Escape” features an incredibly strong ensemble cast, but let's not kid ourselves Starring Virgil Hiltz, an impossibly cool American soldier with a history of attempting to escape from every POW camp he's ever been sent to Desperate to escape the German officers guarding the camp, he spearheads an intricate plan to get him and his fellow POWs through the tunnels and to freedom

It's not easy, and it falls apart (figuratively and sometimes literally) several times over the course of the film But we are rewarded by a mesmerizing escape sequence that still keeps audiences on the edge of their seats 60 years later In the years since its release, The Great Escape has become an icon of the genre and one of the most thrilling World War II films ever made

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Jeffrey Wright is one of the most credible actors working in Hollywood today, but in “The OG” he surpasses himself with an understated performance Wright plays a mild-mannered man who has spent most of his adult life behind bars for a murder he committed in his early 20s At this point, he knows the prison system better than the outside world and has found his place within it But he has a problem that is hardly perceived as a problem: he is weeks away from being released from prison

In his last days in prison, he becomes attached to a new inmate who has just been sentenced to 23 years for murder, and perhaps sees himself in this angry young man, trying to keep him away from the prison gangs that would entrench him in violence Wright's turn in the film defies expectations and makes “OG” one of the more intimate and personal prison films an audience is likely to see

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Michael Fassbender plays Bobby Sands in “Hunger,” a disturbing portrait of the treatment of Northern Ireland's prisons, particularly those run by the British during the troubled years, by the Irish Republican Army Sands, along with many of his compatriots, participates in a hunger strike as part of an organized effort to have themselves and others like them recognized as political prisoners

“Hunger” is an uncompromising film, especially shocking in its lead role of Fassbender's physical transformation into a man literally starving to death A cinematic representation of a devastating moment in Ireland's modern history, “Hunger” is relentlessly devoted to its purpose

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Many prison films focus on people sent to prison under false pretenses After all, it is a little easier to root for someone who has not committed a crime that would warrant extreme punishment But nowhere is this more true than in “The Shawshank Redemption,” adapted from the novel by Stephen King

Tim Robbins stars as Andy Dufrene, a mild-mannered accountant He is being sent to prison for the murder of his wife and her lover, a crime of which he claims he is innocent Of course, everyone says so, but in Andy's case, that may actually be true After making friends with Red (Morgan Freeman), one of Shawshank's most well-connected inmates, Andy finds his place in the prison community But unlike many prisoners who have been in prison so long that they no longer know how to function in the outside world, Andy never stops dreaming of escaping from Shawshank

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A few years after The Great Escape made Steve McQueen a star, McQueen is sent back to prison in Papillon This time he plays a murderer (though falsely accused) who is sent to a penal colony for a life sentence There he befriends a talented forger (Dustin Hoffman) and the two begin to hatch an escape plan After all, what do they have to lose? A labor camp in the jungle is not the kind of environment in which they want to spend their retirement

“Papillon” is based on the autobiography of Frenchman Henri Charrière, who details, with some adaptation, his experiences in and after his prison escape; it was remade in 2017 starring Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek, but for many fans, it is a more accurate description of Steve McQueen's 1973 film remains the definitive version

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Most American prisons seem designed to punish inmates, dehumanizing them to the point that they often struggle to function once they return to society Every once in a while, however, there are programs that rehabilitate inmates and help them regain their humanity

Matthias Schoenaerts stars as a prisoner who reluctantly participates in a program where inmates train wild mustangs Over the course of the film, he bonds with his assigned horse and finds that the training program gives him a sense of purpose and turns his intense emotions into something productive The kinship and similarity between him and his horse, Malki, is profound, and Schoenaerts brings to life his charming lead performance

Watch on Netflix

Well, “American History X” is not only set in prison However, the main arc of the protagonist's story takes place within the four walls of a correctional facility, so I guess it counts Edward Norton stars as a vicious neo-Nazi who, after going to prison for killing two black men who tried to steal his truck, begins to understand how harmful and deeply misguided his racist beliefs are

When he was released from prison a few years later, he was almost a different man But can he help his brother (Edward Furlong) follow in his footsteps and avoid making the same mistakes he did? American History X may have an overly simplistic view of race relations, in which years of intense hatred of black people are healed simply by spending time with black inmates, but it is also one of Norton's most powerful performances to date

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