Five great prison escape movies

Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman in the prison movie The Shawshank Redemption, directed by Frank Darabont.

Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman fled from Altiplano prison through a 1.5-kilometre tunnel dug beneath his cell. It got us thinking - what are the best prison escape movies? (Warning: this story contains spoilers)

1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

A scene from the film The Shawshank Redemption.

The Shawshank Redemption was recently named New Zealand's favourite film in a poll, so its plot will likely be familiar with most readers. Set in 1947, a banker wrongly accused of his wife's murder (Tim Robbins) is incarcerated in the notorious Shawshank Prison. He befriends a long-time inmate (Morgan Freeman) and secretly plots his escape.
The central focus of the film isn't on the escape itself, but the relationship between the two prisoners. Robbins' character tunnels out from his cell and covers up the evidence using posters of classic movie stars Rita Hayworth, Marilyn Monroe and Raquel Welch.

2. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

A poster for the film O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Set in the rural American south in 1937, this musical starring George Clooney and directed by the Coen brothers follows three convicts as they escape from a chain gang. Clooney's character, Ulysses Everett McGill, enlists Pete Hogwallop (John Turturro) and Delmar O'Donnel (Tim Blake Nelson) to help retrieve the $1.2 million that he buried earlier. They scuffle with the Ku Klux Klan along the way.

3. The Great Escape (1963)

A scene from the film The Great Escape.

Starring Steve McQueen and Richard Attenborough, this World War II epic is based on a real escape by British and Commonwealth prisoners of war from a high security German POW camp. RAF Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett is brought to the camp and plans the greatest escape ever attempted, to use tunnels to break out 250 prisoners.

4. Escape from Alcatraz (1979)

A scene from the film Escape from Alcatraz. Photo / Paramount Pictures

Prisoner Frank Morris (Clint Eastwood) is sent to the San Francisco maximum security island prison Alcatraz, after having escaped from several other prisons. He notices the concrete around the grille in his cell can be chipped away at and this evolves into a complete escape plan. With other prisoners, he digs away at the walls with spoons lifted from the kitchen, uses paper-mache dummies to act as decoys and constructs a raft out of raincoats.

5. Midnight Express (1978)

A scene from the film Midnight Express. Photo / Sony

Young American student Billy Hayes (Brad Davis) is sent to prison in Turkey for attempted to smuggle hashish out of the country, with a 30-year-to-life sentence. With the help of a fellow American prisoner, Hayes attempts a prison break but is dobbed in by another inmate and is subsequently punished for the attempt. He eventually escapes by putting on a guard's uniform and walking out the front door.

* What's your favourite prison escape film? Post your comments below.</strong>

- nzherald.co.nz