Highest-Rated Movies about 'Hostage Situation', Sort by Popularity

Prisoner of the Mountains (1996), Parasite (2019), Funny Games (1997), Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven (1976), Rabid Dogs (2015), The Rock (1996), The Negotiator (1998), Day of the Outlaw (1959) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Hostage Situation movies.

#16. Good Morning, Night (2003)

Storyline: The movie is based on a true story. On 16 March 1978 Aldo Moro, the former Italian Prime Minister was kidnapped in Via Fani by the Brigate Rosse (Red Brigades), a militant Communist Italian group. He was the main supporter of the Compromesso Storico (Hystorical Compromise), which had to lead to the first Italian government supported by both the Christian Democrats and the Communists, in a period of social, economic and political crises. During the attack his five escort agents were all killed. Moro's corpse was found on 9 May 1978 in a car parked in a street between the headquarters of the Christian Democrat Party and the Communist Party. This movie is inspired by this tragic event which traumatize the whole nation. It focuses mainly on the relationship between the prisoner and his guards through the eyes of Chiara, the young woman whose role is to guard the prisoner. The movie portraits Chiara's life (her job as a librarian, the ordinary household) on one side and the political process which is held against Moro by her friends on the other, while they are waiting for a revolution to come. She is drawn between these two aspects and she begins to doubt her political commitment (she cries when she listens to Moro's letter to the Pope). The news tell the people what is going on in Italy (some politicians ask for the death penalty for the kidnappers, the Pope Paul VI appeals to the terrorist for Moro's release). The State will not bend by accepting the conditions established by the terrorists to release the prisoner. The Brigate Rosse sentence Moro to death and the story comes to its tragic end, although the eyes and the heart of the imagination show Aldo Moro walking happy and free in Rome.—manutwo

Plot Keywords: kidnapper, politician, hostage, young woman, prime minister, dark, tense ...

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#17. John Q (2002)

Storyline: John Quincy Archibald's son Michael collapses while playing baseball as a result of heart failure. John rushes Michael to a hospital emergency room where he is informed that Michael's only hope is a transplant. Unfortunately, John's insurance won't cover his son's transplant. Out of options, John Q. takes the emergency room staff and patients hostage until hospital doctors agree to do the transplant.

Plot Keywords: father, son, mother, doctor, hospital administrator, hostage, gripping ...

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#18. Tropic Thunder (2008)

Storyline: Action movie star Tugg Speedman is on the downslide of his professional career. He wants to be considered a serious actor, but his latest serious role as the title character in "Simple Jack" resulted in negative reviews and ridicule. Comedian Jeff Portnoy is best known for his leading roles in sophomoric comedies, and may be less well known for his rampant drug use. Five time Oscar winner Kirk Lazarus is a serious method actor, who immerses himself in whatever the role. On location in southeast Vietnam, they are the stars of "Tropic Thunder", based on Vietnam war veteran 'Four Leaf' Tayback's memoirs of his rescue during the war, that rescue which was considered a near suicide mission for the assigned army force and resulted in him losing both hands. For his role, Caucasian Australian Lazarus even went through a controversial surgical skin dying procedure so that he could convincingly play a black man. Production is not going well since rookie director Damien Cockburn is unable to ...

Plot Keywords: celebrity, actor, soldier, friend, enemy, director, hilarious ...

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#19. The Hitch-Hiker (1953)

Storyline: Two friends on a fishing trip pick up a stranded motorist who turns out to be a psychotic escaped convict. This sociopath has already murdered other good Samaritans in his efforts to evade authorities. He sadistically taunts and threatens the two men and perversely delights in telling them that he has them both marked for death sometime before the end of the trip. His destination is a ferryboat in Baja, California, which he hopes will help him get to the mainland. The hostages hope to stay alive long enough to escape or be rescued by Mexican authorities.—duke1029

Plot Keywords: hitchhiker, sociopath, victim, hostage, escaped convict, creepy, suspenseful ...

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#20. Dad's Army (1971)

Storyline: When World War Two breaks out, the small seaside town of Walmington-on-Sea finds itself less than ably defended by the elderly and inept members of Captain Mainwaring's home guard unit. Put on manoeuvres by a visiting Major-General, Mainwaring's men manage to bungle one task after another. However, when a group of Germans from a scout plane take the Mayor hostage at the church hall, the clueless soldiers might still have a chance of saving the day!—Anonymous

Plot Keywords: soldier, man, major, airy, amusing, cheeky, cheery ...

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#21. The Zero Hour (2010)

Storyline: The Zero Hour is a gritty, fast-paced heist film. Set in Caracas during the 24 hours of a controversial medical strike, the film tells the story of Parca (The Reaper) a feared hit man that is forced to take an elite hospital hostage in an attempt to save his wounded girlfriend. The police don't take long to arrive, and with them, a circus of media and onlookers. Parca soon becomes an unlikely hero, a "champion for the poor," until his stunt begins to divide the entire nation and violence begins to spread within the hospital and throughout the city, putting everything, including his girlfriend and her child, in dire jeopardy. A love story told in the midst of chaos, The Zero Hour is a timely and universal story about the mythic rise to power and the inevitable fall from grace.—Luis Auvert

Plot Keywords: patient, serial killer, teamwork, doctor, rival, victim, gripping ...

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#22. Shake Hands With the Devil (1959)

Storyline: In 1921 Dublin, the I.R.A. battles the "Black & Tans", special British forces given to harsh measures. Irish-American medical student Kerry O'Shea (Don Murray) hopes to stay aloof, but saving a wounded friend gets him outlawed, and inexorably drawn into the rebel organization under his former professor Dr. Sean Lenihan (James Cagney), who has "shaken hands with the devil" and begun to think of fighting as an end in itself. Complications arise when Kerry falls for a beautiful English hostage, and the British offer a peace treaty that is not enough to satisfy Lenihan.—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Keywords: professor, student, woman, smuggler, poet, terrorist, tense ...

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#24. Violent Saturday (1955)

Storyline: A number of otherwise insignificant small-town stories erupt into drama when a gang of hoodlums decides to rob the local bank. A father looking for pride in his son's eyes, a timid clerk who is a peeping tom by night, a man striving to rewin his wife's love, an Amish farmer faced with viciousness, and a proper older woman turned thief, all find themselves entangled with the bank robbers as a peaceful weekend turns violent.—Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>

Plot Keywords: criminal, father, son, husband, wife, farmer, dark ...

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#25. Hell Bent for Leather (1960)

Storyline: When Clay Santell stops in the town of Sutterville after having his horse stolen, he is mistaken by townspeople for a murderer named Travers. The townspeople capture Santell, and turn him over to lawman Harry Deckett. Deckett, who is tired of chasing the real Travers, decides to kill Santell and pass him off as Travers. Santell escapes from Deckett, taking lovely Janet Gifford hostage in the process. Janet comes to believe Santell's story, and helps him in his struggle to prove his real identity.—Michelle Sturges

Plot Keywords: innocent man, hostage, sheriff, murderer, outlaw, brash, confident ...

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#26. Split Second (1953)

Storyline: Sam Hurley, "Nation's No. 1 killer" with a cold contempt for "heroes," escapes prison with two companions and takes a mixed bag of hostages to Nevada ghost town Lost Hope City. He knows they won't be found there because an atom-bomb test is planned for next morning! Relationships shift and tension builds as Hurley keeps the others in suspense as to whether he will let them escape before bomb time.—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Keywords: escaped convict, confederate soldier, confident, cool, engaging, united states, ghost town ...

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#27. Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013)

Storyline: Radio DJ Alan Partridge is facing uncertain times with his radio station being taken over by a corporate conglomerate. He makes things worse when he talks down a colleague after a promise to talk him up. The colleague handles things badly and takes the radio station into his own hands, literally, by taking them all hostage. Envisioning all his action heroes in his head, Alan is going to save the day by becoming a go-between for the Scotland Yard. His method though will put himself and others in harm's way because Alan Partridge just can't keep his mouth shut.

Plot Keywords: radio dj, radio host, board member, hostage, police captain, bumbler, amusing ...

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#28. Four Rooms (1995)

Storyline: This movie features the collaborative directorial efforts of four new filmmakers, each of whom directs a segment of this comedy. It's New Year's Eve at the Mon Signor Hotel, a former grand old Hollywood hotel, now fallen upon hard times. Often using physical comedy and sight gags, this movie chronicles the slapstick misadventures of Ted, the Bellhop. He's on his first night on the job, when he's asked to help out a coven of witches in the Honeymoon Suite. Things only get worse when he delivers ice to the wrong room and ends up in a domestic argument at a really bad time. Next, he foolishly agrees to watch a gangster's kids for him while he's away. Finally, he finishes off the night refereeing a ghastly wager.

Plot Keywords: bellhop, guest, witch, gangster, child, director, quirky ...

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#29. Quick Change (1990)

Storyline: When a man dressed as a clown enters a bank and tries to rob it, no one takes him seriously at start. But as this New Yorker pulls this daring robbery with the help of his friends, it looks like leaving the bank with all the stolen money is the easy part! All they have to do now is make it out of the city and to the airport. They have plenty of time, but its not that easy as they seem to get out of one problem only to fall into another. Will they make before the cops catch up with them?

Plot Keywords: new yorker, thief, girlfriend, best friend, hostage, cop, hilarious ...

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#30. The Enforcer (1976)

Storyline: Picking up three years after the events in Magnum Force (1973), a threatening terrorist group called "The People's Revolutionary Strike Force" declare war on the city of San Francisco and demand a ransom to be paid, otherwise they plan to blow the city apart. While Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) is in limbo following his unorthodox method during a robbery, he's sent to dispatch the terrorist group, by playing their game by being dirtier than ever. But this time, he has a new partner, Inspector Kate Moore (Tyne Daly), which might prove the task to be somewhat more difficult than ever, unless the two can work together.

Plot Keywords: dirty harry callahan, policewoman, mayor, terrorist, partner, vietnam vet, unrestrained ...

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