School of the Hard Knocks: Prison Movies

No matter the movie, prison is a place you don't want to be.

Half Past Dead 2 (2007) - Twitch (Kurupt) and Burke (wrestler Bill Goldberg) are an unlikely pair, caught in between a brewing gang war in prison. (Photo: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)

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Half Past Dead 2 (2007) - Twitch (Kurupt) and Burke (wrestler Bill Goldberg) are an unlikely pair, caught in between a brewing gang war in prison. (Photo: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)

Doing Hard Time - Boris Kodjoe's in charge. Late Saturday/Early Sunday at 2A/1C.(Photo: Destination Films)

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Doing Hard Time (2004) - When a loving father loses his son in a brutal shootout, he devises a plan to enact revenge on the criminals responsible by going to prison. (Photo: Destination Films)

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Animal (2005) - James "Animal" Allen (Ving Rhames) is sent to prison, with the ultimate expectation that he will never change. After meeting an imprisoned revolutionary, Allen manages to turn his life around and upon his release, makes it his goal to turn his son's life around. (Photo: Animal Film LLC)

Lockdown (2003) - A decorated college student gets sucked into a life behind bars after a drug dealing friend's dangerous lifestyle gets them both in trouble.  (Photo: Evolution Entertainment)

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Lockdown (2003) - A decorated college student gets sucked into a life behind bars after a drug dealing friend's dangerous lifestyle gets them both in trouble.  (Photo: Evolution Entertainment)

Life (1999) - Bringing together two of the biggest names in comedy at the time, Murphy and Martin Lawrence (who got his break in Boomerang) starred as two men wrongly convicted of murder. The film was a box office smash with a soundtrack (featuring the Maxwell track "Fortunate") that went platinum. (Photo: Universal Pictures)

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Life (1999) - Two friends are framed for a crime they did not commit and sentenced to life in prison. Unlike most prison movies, Life is a comedy that showcases how the two inmates manage to deal with their time in system and how they attempt to beat it by escaping. (Photo: Universal Pictures)

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The Green Mile (1999) - A prison guard in the Deep South must determine what to do with a death row inmate who has the magical power to heal people. (Photo: Castle Rock Entertainment)

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The Green Mile (1999) - A prison guard in the Deep South must determine what to do with a death row inmate who has the magical power to heal people. (Photo: Castle Rock Entertainment)

The Shawshank Redemption - Straight from the twisted mind of Stephen King came this…touching tale of brotherhood among prisoners. Though the novella upon which this classic 1994 film, starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, is based was a departure from King's signature genre (horror), it has become one of his most popular adaptations to date. (Photo: Castle Rock Entertainment)

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The Shawshank Redemption (1994) - After being framed for the murder of his wife and her lover, Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) must adjust to life in prison and quickly learns of the systemic corruption taking place. (Photo: Castle Rock Entertainment)

South Central (1992) - An ex-gang member changes his life while in prison. Upon his release he realizes he must quickly remove his son from the same turbulent neighborhood that influenced him as a youth. (Photo: Warner Bros.)

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South Central (1992) - An ex-gang member changes his life while in prison. Upon his release he realizes he must quickly remove his son from the same turbulent neighborhood that influenced him as a youth. (Photo: Warner Bros.)

American History X (1998) - In this drama, actor Ed Norton plays a directionless young man who gravitates toward a neo-nazi skinhead gang following the murder of his father by a Black drug dealer. While doing time in prison, Norton sees the error of his ways and wants to save his impressionable younger brother (Edward Furlong), who's also become a skinhead.  (Photo: New Line Cinema)

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American History X (1998) - A neo-Nazi sent to prison for murder makes a startling reformation. Upon his release he must stop his younger brother from making the same mistakes that he did. (Photo: New Line Cinema)