Highest-Rated Movies about 'Wrongful Conviction'

The Shawshank Redemption (1994), The Green Mile (1999), Modern Times (1936), Oldboy (2003), To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996), I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932), Dial M for Murder (1954) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Wrongful Conviction movies.

#1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Storyline: Chronicles the experiences of a formerly successful banker as a prisoner in the gloomy jailhouse of Shawshank after being found guilty of a crime he did not commit. The film portrays the man's unique way of dealing with his new, torturous life; along the way he befriends a number of fellow prisoners, most notably a wise long-term inmate named Red.

Plot Keywords: wrongful imprisonment, prison, escape from prison, based on the works of stephen king, friendship between men, suicide by hanging, wrongful conviction ...

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#3. Modern Times (1936)

Storyline: Chaplin's last 'silent' film, filled with sound effects, was made when everyone else was making talkies. Charlie turns against modern society, the machine age, (The use of sound in films ?) and progress. Firstly we see him frantically trying to keep up with a production line, tightening bolts. He is selected for an experiment with an automatic feeding machine, but various mishaps leads his boss to believe he has gone mad, and Charlie is sent to a mental hospital - When he gets out, he is mistaken for a communist while waving a red flag, sent to jail, foils a jailbreak, and is let out again. We follow Charlie through many more escapades before the film is out.

Plot Keywords: jail, actor director writer, music score composed by director, factory, satire, old dark house, escalator ...

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#4. Oldboy (2003)

Storyline: Abducted on a rainy night in 1988, the obnoxious drunk, Oh Dae-Su, much to his surprise, wakes up locked in a windowless and dilapidated hotel room, for an unknown reason. There, his invisible and pitiless captors will feed him, clothe him, and sedate him to avert a desperate suicide--and as his only companion and a window to the world is the TV in his stark cell--the only thing that helps Oh Dae-Su keep going is his daily journal. Then, unexpectedly, after fifteen long years in captivity, the perplexed prisoner is deliberately released, encouraged to track down his tormentor to finally get his retribution. However, who would hate Oh Dae-Su so much he would deny him of a quick and clean death?—Nick Riganas

Plot Keywords: imprisonment, psychological torture, father daughter incest, brother sister incest, brother sister relationship, revenge, captive ...

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#5. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Storyline: Small-town Alabama, 1932. Atticus Finch (played by Gregory Peck) is a lawyer and a widower. He has two young children, Jem and Scout. Atticus Finch is currently defending Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman. Meanwhile, Jem and Scout are intrigued by their neighbours, the Radleys, and the mysterious, seldom-seen Boo Radley in particular.

Plot Keywords: trial, lawyer, false accusation, based on novel, racial prejudice, false accusation of rape, alabama ...

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#6. Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996)

Storyline: Berlinger and Sinofsky's documentary of a gruesome triple murder in West Memphis, Arkansas and the subsequent trials of three suspects, takes a hard look at both the occult and the American justice system in 'small-town' America. Three teenagers are accused of this horrific crime of killing three children, supposedly as a result of involvement in Satanism. As in their previous documentary, things turn out to be more complex than initial appearances and this film presents the real-life courtroom drama to the viewer, as it unfolds.—Tad Dibbern <DIBBERN_D@a1.mscf.upenn.edu>

Plot Keywords: independent film, prejudice, 1990s, devil worship, multiple homicide, mutilation, orgy ...

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#7. I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)

Storyline: Having returned from fighting in World War I, James Allen doesn't want to settle into a humdrum life and decides to set off to find his fortune. He travels the length and breadth of America, working as a skilled tradesman in the construction industry. When times get tough however, he finds himself living in a shelter where an acquaintance suggests they go out for a hamburger. What the friend really has in mind is to rob the diner and Allen soon finds himself working on a chain gang with a long jail sentence. Allen manages to escape however and heads to Chicago where over several years he slowly but surely works his way up the ladder to become one of the most respected construction engineers in the city. His past catches up with him and despite protestations from civic leaders and his many friends in Chicago, he finds himself again on the chain gang. Escaping for a second time, he accepts that to survive, he must lead a life of crime.

Plot Keywords: blackmail, escaped prisoner, prison, world war one veteran, forced marriage, gold digger, false accusation ...

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#8. Dial M for Murder (1954)

Storyline: In London, wealthy Margot Mary Wendice had a brief love affair with the American writer Mark Halliday while her husband and professional tennis player Tony Wendice was on a tennis tour. Tony quits playing to dedicate to his wife and finds a regular job. She decides to give him a second chance for their marriage. When Mark arrives from America to visit the couple, Margot tells him that she had destroyed all his letters but one that was stolen. Subsequently she was blackmailed, but she had never retrieved the stolen letter. Tony arrives home, claims that he needs to work and asks Margot to go with Mark to the theater. Meanwhile Tony calls Captain Lesgate (aka Charles Alexander Swann who studied with him at college) and blackmails him to murder his wife, so that he can inherit her fortune. But there is no perfect crime, and things do not work as planned.

Plot Keywords: blackmail, capital punishment, destroying evidence, false accusation of murder, wrongful conviction, unfaithful wife, key ...

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#9. Ben-Hur (1959)

Storyline: Judah Ben-Hur lives as a rich Jewish prince and merchant in Jerusalem at the beginning of the 1st century. Together with the new governor his old friend Messala arrives as commanding officer of the Roman legions. At first they are happy to meet after a long time but their different politic views separate them. During the welcome parade a roof tile falls down from Judah's house and injures the governor. Although Messala knows they are not guilty, he sends Judah to the galleys and throws his mother and sister into prison. But Judah swears to come back and take revenge.

Plot Keywords: roman empire, gay subtext, ancient rome, gay interest, sea, jew, reference to god ...

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#10. Papillon (1973)

Storyline: A semi-fictional account of Henri Charrière's time in the penal system in French Guyana - some of it spent on infamous Devil's Island - is presented. It's the early 1930s. Charrière - nicknamed Papillon because of his butterfly tattoo - and Louis Dega are two among many who have been convicted in the French judicial system, they now being transferred to French Guyana where they will serve their time, never to return to France even if they are ever released. A safe-cracker by criminal profession, Papillon is serving a life sentence for murdering a pimp, a crime for which he adamantly states he was framed. Dega is a wealthy counterfeiter, who expects his well-to-do wife eventually to get him released. On Papillon's initiative, Papillon and Dega enter into a business arrangement: Papillon will provide protection for Dega, while Dega will finance Papillon's escape attempt. As Papillon and Degas' time together lasts longer than either expects, their burgeoning friendship ends up being an ...

Plot Keywords: latin america, escape from prison, tough guy, cliff, atlantic ocean, banishment, exile ...

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#11. Sullivan's Travels (1941)

Storyline: Sullivan is a successful, spoiled, and naive director of fluff films, with a heart-o-gold, who decides he wants to make a film about the troubles of the downtrodden poor. Much to the chagrin of his producers, he sets off in tramp's clothing with a single dime in his pocket to experience poverty first-hand, and gets some reality shock.

Plot Keywords: filmmaking, choking, chicago illinois, check, chase, charity, chopping wood ...

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#12. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

Storyline: Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is having a tough time with his relatives (yet again). He runs away after using magic to inflate Uncle Vernon's (Richard Griffiths') sister Marge (Pam Ferris), who was being offensive towards Harry's parents. Initially scared for using magic outside the school, he is pleasantly surprised that he won't be penalized after all. However, he soon learns that a dangerous criminal and Voldemort's trusted aide Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) has escaped from Azkaban Prison and wants to kill Harry to avenge the Dark Lord. To worsen the conditions for Harry, vile creatures called Dementors are appointed to guard the school gates and inexplicably happen to have the most horrible effect on him. Little does Harry know that by the end of this year, many holes in his past (whatever he knows of it) will be filled up and he will have a clearer vision of what the future has in store.

Plot Keywords: framed for murder, magic, wizard, wrongful conviction, imprisonment, based on young adult novel, year 1993 ...

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#13. Veer-Zaara (2004)

Storyline: Squadron Leader Veer Pratap Singh (Shah Rukh Khan) is a rescue pilot with the Indian Air Force. In the line of duty he comes across a stranded Zaara (Preity Zinta) - a girl from Pakistan who has come to India to fulfill her surrogate mothers dying wish. Veer saves her life and his life is never the same again. Twenty two years later Saamia Siddiqui (Rani Mukerji), a Pakistani human rights lawyer on her first case, finds herself face to face with an ageing Veer Pratap Singh. He has languished in a Pakistan jail cell for 22 years and has not spoken to anyone all these years. And no one knows why. Her mission is to discover the truth about Veer and see to it that justice is served. VEER-ZAARA is a saga of love, separation, courage and sacrifice. A love that is divine, a love that is whole-hearted, a love that is completely consuming, a love that grows with separation and deepens with sacrifice. A love that is an inspiration - and will remain a legend forever.

Plot Keywords: pakistan, mustard, muslim, marriage ceremony, hindu, helicopter, forbidden love ...

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#14. The Barber of Siberia (1998)

Storyline: Douglas is a foreign entrepreneur, who ventures to Russia in 1885 with dreams of selling a new, experimental steam-driven timber harvester in the wilds of Siberia. Jane is his assistant, who falls in love with a young Russian officer, André, and spends the next ten years perfecting the harvester, and pursuing her love, who has been exiled to Siberia.

Plot Keywords: russia, military officer, duel, fencing, misunderstanding, self sacrifice, inventor ...

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#15. Down by Law (1986)

Storyline: DJ Zack and pimp Jack end up in prison for being too laid-back to avoid being framed for crimes they didn't commit. They end up sharing a cell with eccentric Italian optimist Roberto, whose limited command of the English language is both entertaining and infuriating. More useful to them is the fact that Roberto knows an escape route.

Plot Keywords: prison, independent film, female full frontal nudity, language barrier, female nudity, boredom, wrongful conviction ...

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