Top 10 first days of freedom in film
Top 10 first days of freedom in film
When a movie character goes off to jail, questions arise. Who will they meet inside? Will they ever get out? When they do get out, what will they want to eat? Here now is a list of films that use prison as a way of launching characters into the world, as well as into the heart of the film fan.
Released after 19 years on Death Row, Daniel Holden struggles to pick up the pieces of the life he left behind. Watch all new episodes of Rectify Mondays at 10pm.
10. Ocean's 11 (Steven Soderbergh, 2001)
Steven Soderbergh’s candy-colored remake of an unwatchable 1960 Rat Pack heist film crackles with zippy energy. Best moment: glowering casino owner Andy Garcia realizes exactly how ex-con George Clooney has stolen his fortune.
Released after 19 years on Death Row, Daniel Holden struggles to pick up the pieces of the life he left behind. Watch all new episodes of Rectify Mondays at 10pm.9. Chicken Run (Nick Park and Peter Lord, 2000)
This powerful film tells the story of an escape from a WWII prisoner-of-war concentration camp, except the inmates are chickens and the Nazis are farmers. Best dance moment: a sex-crazed rooster named Rocky (Mel Gibson) rouses the chickens to action by starting a wild party with Joe Turner’s jump blues classic “Flip, Flop and Fly.”
Released after 19 years on Death Row, Daniel Holden struggles to pick up the pieces of the life he left behind. Watch all new episodes of Rectify Mondays at 10pm.8. Chopper (Andrew Dominik, 2000)
Eric Bana plays the infamous Australian gangster Mark “Chopper” Read in this harrowing tale of a dangerous life in and out of jail. Most excruciating moment: mistakenly believing he will be transferred to a safer prison section, Chopper hires an inmate friend to cut off his ears.
Released after 19 years on Death Row, Daniel Holden struggles to pick up the pieces of the life he left behind. Watch all new episodes of Rectify Mondays at 10pm.7. I Love You Phillip Morris (Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, 2009)
Ewen McGregor and Jim Carrey are prison-bound lovers in this criminally unseen romantic comedy. Most unpredictable moment: after fleeing from (and returning to) prison three times, Carrey pulls off one last jaw-dropping escape to be reunited with the love of his life.
Released after 19 years on Death Row, Daniel Holden struggles to pick up the pieces of the life he left behind. Watch all new episodes of Rectify Mondays at 10pm.6. Buffalo '66 (Vincent Gallo, 1998)
Vincent Gallo gets out of prison, searches in vain for a bathroom, then kidnaps tap-dancer Christina Ricci and forces her to be his pretend-wife in this romantic comedy classic. Best Ricci moment: tap-dancing hypnotically in an empty bowling alley to King Crimson’s “Moon Child”.
Released after 19 years on Death Row, Daniel Holden struggles to pick up the pieces of the life he left behind. Watch all new episodes of Rectify Mondays at 10pm.5. Wild At Heart (David Lynch, 1990)
Nicolas Cage kills a would-be assassin sent by his girlfriend’s mother, goes to prison, gets out, puts on a snakeskin jacket and does an Elvis impersonation - all in the first ten minutes of this hallucinogenic crime thriller about lovers on the run. Weirdest moment: Glinda the Good Witch appears to a beat-up Cage and declares, “Don’t turn away from love, Sailor!"
Released after 19 years on Death Row, Daniel Holden struggles to pick up the pieces of the life he left behind. Watch all new episodes of Rectify Mondays at 10pm.4. Raising Arizona (The Coen Brothers, 1987)
“We released ourselves on our own recognizance,” explains escaped convict John Goodman to ex-cop / fraudulent mom Holly Hunter in this classic screwball tribute to crime and parenthood. Wildest moment: Goodman and partner William Forsythe emerge from a prison sewer during an apocalyptic lightning storm, screaming and covered with poop.
Released after 19 years on Death Row, Daniel Holden struggles to pick up the pieces of the life he left behind. Watch all new episodes of Rectify Mondays at 10pm.3. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (The Coen Brothers, 2000)
“We’re in a tight spot!” hollers George Clooney, one of three escaped singing hobos making their way across 1930s Mississippi in this tribute to Homer’s Odyssey and the music of the American south. Best musical moment: a stellar performance of “Man of Constant Sorrow” culminates with a racist politican being ridden out of town on an actual rail.
Released after 19 years on Death Row, Daniel Holden struggles to pick up the pieces of the life he left behind. Watch all new episodes of Rectify Mondays at 10pm.2. A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971)
False-eyelashed thug Malcom Macdowell finds himself caught up in a prisoner experimentation program in this futuristic exploration of violence and free will. Craziest moment: Macdowell’s forced pacifism is tested by a rude man and a naked woman in front of an audience of leering prison psychiatrists.
Released after 19 years on Death Row, Daniel Holden struggles to pick up the pieces of the life he left behind. Watch all new episodes of Rectify Mondays at 10pm.1. The Blues Brothers (John Landis, 1980)
“Bring me four fried chickens and a Coke,” demands newly-released convict Dan Akroyd in this bloated-but-fun musical comedy epic about two singing and dancing brothers on a mission from God to save their childhood orphanage. Best musical moment: faced with a hostile crowd of rabid country music fans, the Brothers perform a rousing rendition of the TV theme song “Rawhide”, complete with cracking whips.
Released after 19 years on Death Row, Daniel Holden struggles to pick up the pieces of the life he left behind. Watch all new episodes of Rectify Mondays at 10pm.
