Prison on Fire: Life Sentence

Gideon's Trumpet(en)

True story of Clarence Gideon's fight to be appointed counsel at the expense of the state. This landmark case led to the Supreme Court's decision which extended this right to all criminal defendants.

Brotherly Love(en)

Oscar, a tough guard at Newberry Prison, gets into an argument with Jerry, a smallish barber. He causes Jerry to be arrested as a fugitive, and gets him sent to Newberry. It's not long before both men fall in love with Mary, the daughter of the warden. Oscar gets Jerry put on the prison football team, where he is the smallest guy there, figuring that he will look like a fool in front of Mary and then she will pick Oscar. However, things don't turn out quite the way Oscar planned.

Marlon(fr)

Marlon is visiting her mother in jail for the first time since her imprisonment.

Prison Farm(en)

Shirley Ross plays an innocent young girl convicted for complicity in a crime committed by her boy friend (Lloyd Nolan). The male crook is sentence to six months on a prison farm populated by both men and women (segregated, of course). Ross is also incarcerated, suffering the cruelties of the sadistic male and female guards (including J. Carroll Naish and future "Ma Kettle" Marjorie Main!)

Penitentiary(en)

A hitchhiker named Martel Gordone gets in a fight with two bikers over a prostitute, and one of the bikers is killed. Gordone is arrested and sent to prison, where he joins the prison's boxing team in an effort to secure an early parole and to establish his dominance over the prison's toughest gang.

Sin Bin(en)

A male nurse in a mental hospital witnesses one patient killing another, but struggles with his loyalties and his conscience to come forward.

Miracle in Cell No. 7(id)

Dodo Rozak just wants to be a good father to his daughter, Kartika, despite his limited intelligence, acts and behaves like children. In fact, it is Kartika who takes care of her father most of the time. Both live happily.

Jumping Ash(cn)

Po-Chih Leong's debut film was a trendsetter in Hong Kong cinema. Shot from the shoulder, the fast-moving world of cops, informers, drug dealers and other crooks are evoked in a very lively and realistic way. The action all takes place in carefully selected locations, among them the walled city of Kowloon and Yuen Long. The film looks like a documentary and evokes the kind of excitement usually seen in news programmes. The story focuses on the battle between two gangs and starts in Amsterdam, where one of the gang leaders is murdered.

Home Behind Bars(ko)

Tae-jeo, a correctional officer with 15 years of experience, learns about the death of an inmate's mother during a night shift. On that winter night, she visits the funeral home and unexpectedly meets the inmate's daughter, Jun-young. Their encounter brings warmth to both their lives, and Tae-jeo hopes Jun-young understands: “Every decision you make shapes who you become."

Mahanadhi(ta)

Krishnaswamy, an honest man, is conned into a chit fund business and imprisoned. While he faces unspeakable hardships in prison, his family disintegrates.

Ghosted(en)

‘GHOSTED’ tells a story of survival inside a British Prison. Jack a model prisoner, has kept his head down and done his time. After his wife confirms that she is leaving him, on the anniversary of their son’s death, the only thing that keeps him from going under is the new prisoner, Paul. Jack’s cell mate Ahmed, attempts to guide him on a path of salvation, a path that involves saving Paul from the clutches of the wing beast, Clay.

Cut Throat City(en)

Four boyhood friends return to New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward after Hurricane Katrina, to find their home decimated and prospects for work swept away. Turning to a local gangster for employment, the crew is hired to pull off a daring casino heist, right in the heart of the city.

Honrarás a tus padres(en)

Blackwell's Island(en)

A reporter gets himself sent to prison to expose a mobster.

The Rascal Billionaire(cn)

The drug lord has occupied the whole Southeast Asian market for decades, and no rival has been able to shake his position. However, a mysterious man suddenly appeared one day, which completely changed the situation.

Canon City(en)

Prisoners battle each other -- and the police -- when they escape the Colorado State Penitentiary.

Shanghai Triad(zh)

Shanghai, China, 1930. When young Shuisheng arrives from the countryside, his uncle Liushu puts him at the service of Bijou, the mistress of Laoda, supreme boss of the Tang Triad, constantly threatened by his enemies, both those he knows and those lurking in the shadows.

Cardinals(en)

When Valerie returns home from prison years after killing her neighbour in an apparent drunk driving accident, she wants nothing more than to move on - until the deceased's son shows up at her door and it becomes clear that the past is not easily forgotten.

The Spitfire Grill(en)

Percy, upon being released from prison, goes to the small town of Gillead, to find a place where she can start over again. She is taken in by Hannah, to help out at her place, the Spitfire Grill. Percy brings change to the small town, stirring resentment and fear in some, and growth in others.

Penitentiary(en)

The story of a D.A. who becomes a prison warden and winds up overseeing the sentence of a man he prosecuted.

Election 2(cn)

As election time nears, current Triad chairman Lok faces competition from his godsons. At the same time, Jimmy looks to increase his business relations with mainland China.

Election(cn)

After losing an election to become chairman of the Wo Lin Shing triad, a gang leader lashes out and tries to seize the dragon-head baton, the official symbol of a chairman's authority.

Belly(en)

Tommy Bundy and Sincere are best friends as well as infamous and ruthless criminals and shot-callers in the hood. Respected by many but feared by all. As the police are closing in on them and new players are looking for a come up, will their reign last?

The Mission(cn)

Triad boss Lung, who has just escaped being killed in an assassination attempt hires the killers Curtis, James, Mike, Roy and Shin for his protection.

Young and Dangerous 2(cn)

Chicken is back in exile. Hung Hing, a triad, is trying to ally with Chicken's new group, the Taiwanese triad San Luen. A contest is on in Hong Kong. The winner will head the Causeway Bay branch.

Trivisa(cn)

Hong Kong's three notorious thieves who have never met one another before appear in the same restaurant. This leads to a rumour that they are joining forces to pull off something big before the Handover, though this is not something that any of them.

Master Z: Ip Man Legacy(cn)

Following his defeat by Master Ip, Cheung Tin Chi tries to make a life with his young son in Hong Kong, waiting tables at a bar that caters to expats. But it's not long before the mix of foreigners, money, and triad leaders draw him once again to the fight.

Made in Hong Kong(cn)

Hong Kong 1997, where young people dream of love and death, suicide and murder. Moon is a cynical young debt collector, smitten by Ping, a young woman dying of kidney disease. A suicide note from a student they don't know ends up intertwining their fates.

Salvable(en)

When a battered boxer past his prime finds his dreams and his relationships on the ropes, he falls back in with a dangerous crowd and has to take the biggest swing of his life to reclaim his hope and his family.

Ill Manors(en)

Ensemble film revolving around characters living in Forest Gate, London. Over the course of a few days, six inter-linking stories explore issues of drug use, prostitution and urban poverty.

Riot in Cell Block 11(en)

A prisoner leads his counterparts in a protest for better living conditions which turns violent and ugly.

The Valachi Papers(en)

When Joe Valachi has a price put on his head by Don Vito Genovese, he must take desperate steps to protect himself while in prison. An unsuccessful attempt to slit his throat puts him over the edge to break the sacred code of silence.

True Believer(en)

Eddie Dodd is a burnt out former civil rights lawyer who now specializes in defending drug dealers. Roger Baron, newly graduated from law school, has followed Eddie's great cases and now wants to learn at his feet. With Roger's idealistic prodding, Eddie reluctantly takes on a case of a young Korean man who, according to his mother, has been in jail for eight years for a murder he didn't commit.

Panic(en)

Alex is going through a midlife crisis and it has become a very difficult time for him. His marriage is struggling, he's worried about his son, and his job of killing people for his family has become the most stressful part of his life. He seeks the help of a therapist and meets a woman in the waiting room that he connects with.

The Sparring Partner(cn)

Adapted from a sensational real-life case in 2013, the intricate story begins when a young man partners with his friend to murder and dismember his parents. Pleading not guilty, the defense attorneys soon turn on each other, as the defendants play the devil and idiot game. Meanwhile, heated debates emerge inside the jury room, where nine jurors grapple with the truth.

Safe(en)

After a former elite agent rescues a 12-year-old Chinese girl who's been abducted, they find themselves in the middle of a standoff between Triads, the Russian Mafia and high-level corrupt New York City politicians and police.

Blood Ties(en)

Two brothers, on either side of the law, face off over organized crime in Brooklyn during the 1970s.

The Unforgivable(en)

A woman is released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent crime and re-enters a society that refuses to forgive her past.

Infernal Affairs II(cn)

In this prequel to the original, a bloody power struggle among the Triads coincides with the 1997 handover of Hong Kong, setting up the events of the first film.

Framed(en)

Truck driver Mike Lambert is a down-and-out mining engineer searching for a job. When his rig breaks down in a small town, he happens upon a venomous seductress. When her boyfriend robs a bank, they intend to frame Lambert.