Greetings, reader!
The idea for this post was recommended by my Uncle Dan - remember, readers, that you can always suggest topics and they will almost certainly make it into my blog. For this list, I'll be looking at various escape movies - whether it's escaping from prison, POW situations, or hostage situations. In some movies, the whole plot is all about the escape, whereas in others, there is more to the film but there might be an especially memorable escape sequence or storyline. Mere hostage films don't count (Die Hard (1988) and Inside Man (2006) were excluded, for example), unless they have a clear escape narrative to them. Without further ado, let's dive right in!
SPOILER ALERT: in some of these films, the 'escape' in question is a major plot turn and not the premise from the beginning, so my descriptions might include some spoilers. Reader discretion is advised!
10. Cube (1997)
This indie sci-fi thriller begins with quite the setting: six complete strangers awaken in a strange, cube-shaped room, with no idea about where they are or how they got there. The mystery deepens as they try to find their way out, and that's what the entirety of Cube is about: this group of unlikely misfits navigating their way through this cube-shaped maze, trying to figure a way out and find answers to what the meaning of this strange place might be. While the acting isn't exactly world class (except for Nicole de Boer, who excels in her role and really carries the film), the mysterious setting makes for quite a thrilling and claustrophobic experience.
9. Toy Story 3 (2010)
This might not be the first film to come to mind when considering escape movies, but an escape movie it is. The third instalment of the Toy Story franchise, which many consider to be the best of the quadrilogy, might be best remembered for its heartfelt coming-of-age themes that resonate with the end of one's childhood - but let's not forget that much of the film is an animated, child-friendly escape thriller.
When the film's villain, Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear (Ned Beatty) imprisons the main group of toys at Sunnyside Daycare, they must find a way out. For a kids' movie, it is impressively riveting to follow Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Woody (Tom Hanks) and the other toys coordinating a carefully crafted escape plan through the trash, and carrying the plan out with multiple twists and turns.
8. Captain Phillips (2013)
While many hostage movies were excluded from this list, Captain Phillips has enough escape elements in it to justify qualification. This thriller, based on a true story of the hijacking of a U.S. cargo ship by Somali Pirates, tells the story of the ship's captain, Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks). We follow as the ship is taken over and Phillips is held hostage, only for him to attempt escape and figure out a way to keep himself and his crew alive until help arrives. Captain Phillips is an intense, adrenaline-packed viewing experience, made all the more impressive when considering that it all really happened.
7. Key Largo (1948)
Another hostage flick that has enough escape elements in it to qualify for today's list, this 1940's classic has it all: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, a classic gangster villain, the exotic setting of Key Largo, Florida, and an edge-of-your-seat final act. Key Largo follows a group of hotel guests who are taken hostage by notorious gangster Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson). The situation escalates and escalates, until protagonist Frank McCloud (Bogart) takes matters into his own hands. Resourceful methods of escape follow, as he takes out his captors one by one in a manner that John McClane would be proud of. Classic stuff.
6. Face/Off (1997)
While escaping isn't the main plot point in this face-swapping action extravaganza, there are two important escape storylines that are memorable enough to put Face/Off on this list. First off, there's the moment where imprisoned terrorist Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) breaks out of captivity with the help of his cronies, while undergoing facial surgery to steal the likeness of FBI agent Sean Archer (John Travolta). More importantly, there's the narrative where FBI agent Sean Archer (Travolta), impersonating terrorist Castor Troy (Cage), goes undercover in a top security prison and must break out after his plan goes awry.
The first escape sequence is quite straightforward, but the second one is incredibly thrilling (albeit equally unrealistic). Well-directed John Woo fight sequences, clever twists and unexpected turns ensue as Archer makes his way out of the middle-of-the-ocean penitentiary.
5. Argo (2012)
If the true story that Captain Phillips is based on was incredible, then the real-life events behind this Best Picture winner were absolutely insane. For those who don't know: six American diplomats were taken hostage in Iran in 1979, and the CIA responded with quite a regular, run-of-the-mill operation: they launched a rescue attempt by faking the production of a science fiction movie.
With help from Hollywood, the men in charge took the guise of scouting locations for a new sci-fi flick in Tehran, all the while the real motive of the trip was to covertly retrieve the six diplomats being held captive. It is a fantastic story that thoroughly deserved to be adapted to the big screen, and Argo does an impeccable job conveying this story in an exciting, matter-of-fact manner.
4. The Fugitive (1993)
The Fugitive stands out from the rest of the list's content, as the main character Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) isn't escaping from a certain location, like a prison or a hostage situation, but rather the whole film follows him escaping from various situations as he races against the clock to prove his innocence, while being pursued by law enforcement. It's essentially the live action adaptation of the game 'Cops and robbers'.
And what a thriller it is: I've often said that The Fugitive is extremely similar to about a thousand other films, but better than any one of them: it's the crown jewel of the cat-and-mouse chase thriller genre. The plot is incredibly slick, as Kimble's creative methods of escaping tough situations and managing to barely be one step ahead of the police in any given situation are a wonder to follow. High on adrenaline and sharp in its storytelling, this film will keep the viewer captivated as they follow the main character avoiding captivity throughout a brilliant chain of events.
3. The Great Escape (1963)
I'm pretty sure that I'm required by law to put this film onto this list based on its title alone - I mean, you wouldn't do a list of the "Top 10 Gatsby Books" without including The Great Gatsby (1925), or a list of the "Top 10 British Bake Off shows" without including The Great British Bake Off (2010-Present), right?
Jokes aside, this John Sturges classic truly lives up to its title. It is (more or less) based on a true story from World War II, chronicling a mass escape of American and British prisoners of war from a prison camp in Nazi Germany. The film starts off with an almost light tone, with many of the prisoners making creative individual escape attempts that end up failing. By the time the mass escape is planned, things get real as the mounting tension is enough to keep any viewer on the edge of their seat. With masters of the trade such as Steve McQueen, Donald Pleasance, James Garner and Richard Attenborough in the ensemble cast, The Great Escape is an entertaining and thrilling classic that truly set the blueprint for escape films to come.
2. Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
Prison Break (2005-2009; 2017) was the first TV drama series that I actively watched from beginning to end, around the age of 13 - and largely due to this, I had a major "escape phase" where I was absolutely fascinated by movies and shows about various escapes, video games where you have to escape from somewhere, and other such things. Combine this with my love for history, and you get the infamous 1962 escape from Alcatraz Prison becoming one of young Veikko's absolute favorite real-life stories. I remember reading up on it and, despite the fact that the escapees were criminals who shouldn't be glorified, being in awe at just how genius the escape was.
Naturally, a movie has been made of this legendary breakout, and it captures the story well. There is no especially dramatic flair or stylized atmosphere to the film, but it doesn't need one: the story is so incredible, that merely telling it in a matter-of-fact way makes for awesome cinema. Whether it's the fact that the convicts widened the ventilation ducts in their cells using spoons, that they tuned out suspicious sounds by loudly playing the accordion, or that they slowly built their raft (and wax figures of themselves to make it look like they are sleeping) by stealing items from the prison workshop little by little, every detail of the escape is quite mind-blowing, and the cinematic adaptation lives up to expectations.
1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
If you haven't seen The Shawshank Redemption, stop reading. And maybe try to forget that you saw it on this particular list.
I almost felt like I didn't want to include this masterpiece on today's list, just because of the risk that it might spoil its major twist to someone. But I just had to include the list's rightful winner - the scene where Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) escapes from Shawshank Prison is literally my favorite cinematic moment of all time.
What makes the escape so special is the fact that first-time viewers really don't see it coming. The Shawshank Redemption feels like a gripping drama set in a prison, and not like any traditional escape flick. When things start to near the climax, the viewer is lead to believe that the protagonist Andy is going to commit suicide - he has been seemingly deprived of all hope of ever getting out despite his innocence, and he asks for rope from one of his mates before going to bed. The next morning, he doesn't show up outside his cell for the morning's inmate count - all the more reason to believe that he has tragically hung himself. And then, when you least expect it, the most magical thing happens - the guards enter his cell, and he isn't there.
What follows is a mind-blowing set of flashbacks, showing how Andy had been secretly building his escape plan for years and years, and how he finally dug himself out on that fateful night. When we see him finally getting out of the last tunnel, entering a river in a rainstorm and bathing in the rain as Thomas Newman's score turns from intense to glorious, the emotional power is beyond anything words can describe. If there is one movie I could watch for the first time again, there is no doubt in my mind that it would be this one.
Thank you for reading! Next week's Thursday is Thanksgiving, so I'll be sharing my list of the Top 10 Thanksgiving-themed television episodes. See you then!
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