Best Prison movies of 1990s

Actors : Morgan Freeman, Tim Robbins, Bob Gunton, William Sadler,
Directors : Frank Darabont,

Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency.

Actors : David Morse, Michael Clarke Duncan, Bonnie Hunt, Tom Hanks,
Directors : Frank Darabont,

The lives of guards on Death Row are affected by one of their charges: a black man accused of child murder and rape, yet who has a mysterious gift.

Actors : Kate Winslet, Geoffrey Rush, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Caine,
Directors : Philip Kaufman,

In a Napoleonic era insane asylum, an inmate, the irrepressible Marquis De Sade, fights a battle of wills against a tyrannically prudish doctor.

Actors : Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly D'Angelo, Jennifer Lien,
Directors : Tony Kaye,

A former neo-nazi skinhead tries to prevent his younger brother from going down the same wrong path that he did.

Actors : Cole Hauser, Keith David, Radha Mitchell, Vin Diesel,
Directors : David Twohy,

A commercial transport ship and its crew are marooned on a planet full of bloodthirsty creatures that only come out to feast at night. But then, they learn that a month-long eclipse is about to occur.

Actors : Eric Bana, Simon Lyndon, Renée Brack, Vince Colosimo,
Directors : Andrew Dominik,

Chopper tells the intense story of Mark "Chopper" Read, a legendary criminal who wrote his autobiography while serving a jail sentence in prison. His book, "From the Inside", upon which the film is based, was a best-seller.

Actors : Mickey Rourke, Christina Ricci, Vincent Gallo, Ben Gazzara,
Directors : Vincent Gallo,

After being released from prison, Billy is set to visit his parents with his wife, whom he does not actually have. This provokes Billy to act out, as he kidnaps a girl and forces her to act as his wife for the visit.

Actors : John Malkovich, John Cusack, Nicolas Cage, Colm Meaney,
Directors : Simon West,

Newly paroled ex-con and former U.S. Ranger Cameron Poe finds himself trapped in a prisoner transport plane when the passengers seize control.

Actors : Frank Coughlan, Sean Kearns, Daragh Donnelly, Daniel Day-Lewis,
Directors : Jim Sheridan,

Young Danny Flynn is released from prison after 14 years after "taking the rap" for the IRA and tries to rebuild his life in his old Belfast neighborhood.

Actors : Ray Allen, Rosario Dawson, Denzel Washington, Milla Jovovich,
Directors : Spike Lee,

A basketball player's father must try to convince him to go to a college so he can get a shorter sentence.

Actors : David Hewlett, Andrew Miller, Nicole de Boer, Maurice Dean Wint,
Directors : Vincenzo Natali,

Six complete strangers of widely varying personality characteristics are involuntarily placed in an endless maze containing deadly traps.

Actors : Obba Babatundé, Martin Lawrence, Eddie Murphy, Nick Cassavetes,
Directors : Ted Demme,

The story of wrongfully convicted men (Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence) who discover the value of life after serving 65 years in prison.

Actors : Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, James Caan, Charlize Theron,
Directors : James Gray,

In the rail yards of Queens, contractors repair and rebuild the city's subway cars. These contracts are lucrative, so graft and corruption are rife. When Leo Handler gets out of prison, he ...

Actors : Kevin Bacon, Robert De Niro, Brad Pitt, Jason Patric,
Directors : Barry Levinson,

After a prank goes disastrously wrong, a group of boys are sent to a detention center where they are brutalized; over 10 years later, they get their chance for revenge.

Actors : Joe Pantoliano, Jennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon, John P. Ryan,

Corky, a tough female ex con and her lover Violet concoct a scheme to steal millions of stashed mob money and pin the blame on Violet's crooked boyfriend Caesar.

Actors : J.E. Freeman, Willem Dafoe, Laura Dern, Nicolas Cage,
Directors : David Lynch,

Young lovers Sailor and Lula run from the variety of weirdos that Lula's mom has hired to kill Sailor.

Actors : Patricia Arquette, John Roselius, Louis Eppolito, Bill Pullman,
Directors : David Lynch,

After a bizarre encounter at a party, a jazz saxophonist is framed for the murder of his wife and sent to prison, where he inexplicably morphs into a young mechanic and begins leading a new life.

Actors : Clint Eastwood, James Woods, Isaiah Washington, LisaGay Hamilton,
Directors : Clint Eastwood,

Can an over-the-hill journalist uncover the evidence that can prove a death row inmate's innocence just hours before his execution?

Actors : James Frain, Gary Sinise, Ben Affleck, Charlize Theron,
Directors : John Frankenheimer,

After assuming his dead cellmate's identity to get with his girlfriend, an ex-con finds himself the reluctant participant in a casino heist.

Actors : Roger Rees, Richard Lewis, Amy Yasbeck, Cary Elwes,
Directors : Mel Brooks,

A spoof of Robin Hood in general and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) in particular.