From "The Shawshank Redemption" to "Cool Hand Luke": 10 Best Escape Movies (11 Photos)

The Shawshank Redemption was not the only film about the great escape. Check out other inspiring masterpieces.





There's something about good escape movies that leaves you feeling empty in your stomach. You feel like you're on the edge, knowing that one wrong move could ruin the perfect plan to evade the authorities and gain freedom from everything, and that's what's holding you back. The more complex the plan, the more we worry about success or failure. Here is a list of some movies that feature the best escapes in cinema.

Escape from New York



Escape from New York premiered in 1981 and was set in the near future of 1997. It may be a little dated, but John Carpenter's story of Manhattan being turned into a maximum security prison is one of his best films. Snake Pliskin is a convicted bank robber turned hero tasked with navigating a lawless New York City neighborhood to rescue the President of the United States, who has been kidnapped by a group of criminal prisoners after the crash of the Presidential Air Force One in New York City. The late Isaac Hayes is great in his role as Duke (Duke), the leader of a gang of outlaws who are holding the US President hostage in exchange for their freedom.

Escape from Alcatraz





When Clint Eastwood wasn't busy playing Dirty Harry or making spaghetti westerns, he was hatching a plan to escape from the most notorious prison in the United States. Long before Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage made it onto The Rock, Clint was busy trying to escape Alcatraz. His character, Frank Morris, implements a plan in which every inch is thought out. From making a papier-mâché mannequin to fool prison guards, to squeezing through the tightest of alleys. He takes two fellow inmates with him in an attempt to do what no man has ever done before - get off the island and then swim through shark-infested waters to the shore to safely reach San Francisco.

The Shawshank Redemption



Ellis Boyd Redding, or “Red,” says it best: “He had a quiet disposition, a walk, and a speech that was simply abnormal here. He walked like a man in a park without worries or worries, as if he had an invisible coat that would protect him from this place.” He was, of course, referring to Andy Dufresne, who was wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and her lover and sentenced to life in prison. The Shawshank Redemption is not just one of the best escape movies, it is certainly one of the best films ever made. The story of a banker who goes to prison and receives sweet redemption over the course of twenty years is nothing less than a cinematic masterpiece.

Victory



A stunning escape film starring Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine and Pele as prisoners of war in a Nazi camp. When the facility's warden organizes a football match between an international group of Allied prisoners and their Nazi captors, a devious plot is hatched that will test the resolve of the prisoners as they try to use the event as cover for a fearless escape attempt from the brutal clutches of the Third Reich regime.

Great Escape



With a stunning cast that includes Hollywood icons such as Steve McQueen, James Garner, James Coburn and Charles Bronson, The Great Escape is a remarkable classic that details the escape of a group of prisoners of war held in Germany after their capture during world war! With the combined efforts of American and British prisoners, they implement a complex plan that involves digging a long tunnel under the camp - this is only half the battle, as the group must also find a safe route out of enemy lines once they come up for air. Such an amazing collection of talented actors is rarely seen in cinema today.

Count of Monte Cristo



Alexandre Dumas' classic tale of revenge against Sir Edmond Dantes is also a stunning escape film. In The Count of Monte Cristo, a simple man with a simple desire to marry the woman he loves, Mercedes, is wrongfully arrested and imprisoned by a man he considered his friend, Fernand Mondego. He toils and languishes in a dark and damp dungeon while Mondego marries the unsuspecting Mercedes. It takes Edmond years to regain his freedom and carry out a brilliant plan for sweet revenge on the man who tried to steal his life and love.

Butterfly



Steve McQueen stars in another gem among escape films, the 1973 classic The Moth. The film is based on the true story of Henri Charrière, a petty swindler falsely convicted of murder who will stop at nothing to escape a labor camp in French Guiana, South America. He teams up with notorious counterfeiter Louis Degas and together they hatch a plan to achieve sweet freedom.

The man sentenced to death escaped



While we're on the subject of French-themed prison break films, this true story, based on the writings of prisoner of war and French Resistance fighter André Devigne Fontaine, is the oldest, but perhaps the best, in the genre. Played by François Leterrier, Fontaine's story follows an elaborate prison escape that goes horribly wrong when his Nazi captors assign him a new cellmate during World War II. The main character makes homemade tools, thinks out in detail the plan for the Fort Monluc prison and decides to take his new cellmate with him to try to escape from under the noses of the Germans.

Escape from Pretoria



Memo to Daniel Radcliffe - you're not at Hogwarts anymore, Harry! Imprisoned for distributing pro-racial integration and anti-apartheid literature in South Africa in the 1970s, freedom fighters Tim Jenkin and Stephen Lee are brutalized by the prison captain and staff. With a set of homespun wooden keys, Jenkin is able to guide a group of three prisoners through the labyrinth of a damp prison, past security and straight to the main gate in Escape from Pretoria. Mark Leonard Winter is also excellent as Leonard Fontaine, a French prisoner confronted with apartheid that is integral to the escape.

Cool Hand Luke



The chain gang boss in Cool Hand Luke claims that "the fact that we're in this situation is because we don't know how to communicate!" He may be right, but that doesn't stop Luke Jackson from being a common rule-breaker in this superb epic set in the blazing sun of a Florida prison yard. Luke's "if at first you don't succeed, try again" mentality leads to him running away and being captured several times. His rebellious nature leads to him spending a lot of time in the hole, but he is not broken as he continues to look for a way out of prison again and again. This classic role cemented Newman's status as one of the most iconic leading men in film history.