MovieChat Forums > Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut (1957) Discussion > Best Prison Films

Best Prison Films

posted 19 years ago by derekisdman
12 replies | jump to latest

I watched a man escaped recently and it's probably the best prison film i've ever seen. I thought it was superior to The Grand Illusion, which generally gets all sort of credit and critical claim, yet you rarely hear much about a man escaped - which is a shame.

It's amazing how Bresson constructed the film in such a way where we don't know much about the characters, yet we still care about them and want them to succeed so badly.

You don't make up for your sins in church. You do it on the streets...

[–] FridaKForeva 18 years ago

You might also want to check out Le Trou by Jacques Becker. It is similarly sparse yet captivating. There are scenes where you literally watch someone digging for 10 minutes yet its facinating.

I love Grand Illusion, but it is not the same sort of escape. There's not such an enphasis on the actual process. Plus it seems like they're having a grand time in prison (Renoir claims WW1 was a "gentleman's war.) Nonetheless, I do love Grand Illusion.

[–] norman4990 18 years ago

Stalag 17 and Cool Hand Luke are both really good--I know there are other good prison movies but those are the only ones I can think of at the moment.

Where is my mind?

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] joeldick 18 years ago

My favorite proson film is The Great Escape with Richard Attenborough.

[–] davegering 17 years ago

Other POW escape movies include The Wooden Horse, and The Colditz Story, both of which you should catch if you are interested in this type of story. Other non-POW prison escape movies include Papillon and Escape from Alcatraz, the latter of which I consider to be better than A Man Escaped.

The problem with A Man Escaped is that it relies too much on the stupidity and complacency of the guards. During several months of captivity, the prisoner is never searched, nor is his cell, even after the Nazi threat to search for pencils. Eating utensils are not accounted for, despite the fact that they are strong enough to pry open a wooden door. Prisoners in the yard are not watched (i.e., Terry). Given sufficient stupidity on the part of the guards, escape is not a miraculous happening, but rather is almost inevitable.

By the way, on a tour of Perryville Prison in Arizona, I saw the "tropy case" which holds contraband taken from prisoners or their cells. It is quite large, and the most interesting item was a rope capable of holding a man, made entirely from toilet paper. True!

Did anybody else find it ironic that this movie dedicated to the triumph of the French POWs over the Nazis was scored with music by a German composer?

[–] shroomn 16 years ago

Bresson was an actual POW if I am not mistaken. In that respect, I doubt this film relies too heavily on fictional ideas such as guard searches.

[–] mac_alain 16 years ago

Did anybody else find it ironic that this movie dedicated to the triumph of the French POWs over the Nazis was scored with music by a German composer?

Mozart was Austrian and not German. And in any case, I don't think it matters unless the composer had been a Nazi sympathiser.

[–] simplyfsl 14 years ago

Well my bro, you can like ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ as much as you can , I won't debate on that but your point about prison searches and stuff, first of all , you must see what you are watching , the tired NAZI soldiers were not so much dedicated to toss each cell again and again, BREESON was POW himself and he used word to word depiction of André Devigny's memoirs, thats why the movie is all voice-over..I haven't seen any movie more detailed on escape and accurate like A MAN ESCAPED and more brilliant LE TROU...

The fictional stuff they add these days to movies to make audience jump and keep twisting the plot was not so much fashion those days..

Why so Serious ?

[–] tazizmybaby 16 years ago

I liked this film, but you really can't compare it to The Grand Illusion, which is a great piece of art. It's like two movies in one, and everytime you see it you can glean some new insight. The relationships between the characters are both subtle and complex, and the story contains interesting insights about how the war was changing the structure of power and status in their society.

A Man Escaped is a good prison break film, but it's not much more than that. It's a simple story, filmed in a spare, compelling way. It doesn't go very far in terms of character development or plot complexity, but it manages to remain taut and suspenseful.

Other good prison break films, with greater plot complexity are:

The Great Escape
The Shawshank Redemption
Count of Monte Cristo

[–] simplyfsl 14 years ago

It depends on your choice , if you want to see a prison escape or prison life movie, or even a mix of both , also if you want a comic look on prison life or totally depressed atmosphere, here what I can recommend..

If you want to watch a movie like A MAN ESCAPED which compromises with preaching and character development issues with more detail on the escape and its planning and execution , watch LE TROU by JAQUES BAKER, also called THE HOLE, I prefer it much more to A MAN ESCAPED because there is element of surprise in it and an unpredictable ending.ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ details the escape too but not more than LE TROU

If you want to watch a movie where ESCAPE is treated lightly and the POST-ESCAPE scenario is also shown in detail, THE GREAT ESCAPE is great for that sort of mood.

If you want a movie which develops on prison life and the condition of captivity with message of hope, patience and friendship , SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION ,is my most watched movie, I have seen it 4 times and I am not a movie repeater usually..also you can see COOL HAND LUKE for this purpose.

Why so Serious ?

[–] doo-buzz 13 years ago

I purchased Le Trou about a month ago and agree it is amazing, as mentioned, to make 10 minutes of watching a man dig a hole completely captivating with no dialogue or background music is a skill that most film makers can only dream of attaining.

[–] PoppyTransfusion 11 years ago

It's amazing how Bresson constructed the film in such a way where we don't know much about the characters, yet we still care about them and want them to succeed so badly.

Actually it's so subtle that you don't realise quite how much you learn of the prisoners from how they are portrayed as much as the little they say. Those constant shots of Fontaine's face from below speak as loudly of his steely determination as does his character's narration.

Keep silent unless what you are going to say is more important than silence.