Movies Like Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)

Birdman of Alcatraz is a 1962 crime, drama film from John Frankenheimer with a MovieMagicScore of 7.5/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Murder in the First and The Great Escape.

Crime Drama

Murder in the First

1995

A young, inexperienced public defender is assigned to defend an inmate accused of committing murder while behind bars.

7.1

MagicScore

The Great Escape

1963

The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocate them to a high-security 'escape-proof' camp to sit out the remainder of the war. Undaunted, the prisoners plan one of the most ambitious escape attempts of World War II. Based on a true story.

7.9

MagicScore

Papillon

2017

Henri “Papillon” Charrière, a safecracker from the Parisian underworld, is wrongfully convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in the penal colony of French Guiana, where he forges a strong friendship with Louis Dega, a counterfeiter who needs his protection.

7.3

MagicScore

Bronson

2009

A young man who was sentenced to 7 years in prison for robbing a post office ends up spending 30 years in solitary confinement. During this time, his own personality is supplanted by his alter ego, Charles Bronson.

7.0

MagicScore

A Prayer Before Dawn

2018

The amazing true story of Billy Moore, an English boxer incarcerated in Thailand’s most notorious prison. Thrown into a world of drugs and violence, he finds his best chance to escape is to fight his way out in prison Muay Thai tournaments.

6.7

MagicScore

The Fear of 13

2015

After 23 years on Death Row a convicted murderer petitions the court asking to be executed, but as his story unfolds, it becomes clear that nothing is what it seems.

7.4

MagicScore

Hunger

2008

The story of Bobby Sands, the IRA member who led the 1981 hunger strike during The Troubles in which Irish Republican prisoners tried to win political status.

7.2

MagicScore

Le Trou

1960

Four prison inmates have been hatching a plan to literally dig out of jail when another prisoner, Claude Gaspard, is moved into their cell. They take a risk and share their plan with the newcomer. Over the course of three days, the prisoners and friends break through the concrete floor using a bed post and begin to make their way through the sewer system – yet their escape is anything but assured.

8.2

MagicScore

Papillon

1973

A man befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence on a dreadful prison island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.

7.8

MagicScore

#10

20,000 Years in Sing Sing

1932

Brash hoodlum Tom Connors enters Sing Sing cocksure of himself and disrespectful toward authority, but his tough but compassionate warden changes him.

6.3

MagicScore

#11

Chained Heat 2

1993

An American tourist lands in a Slavic prison run by a twisted woman and the U.S. ambassador.

3.8

MagicScore

#12

The Last Gangster

1937

A crime boss goes searching for his ex-wife and son after a ten-year prison stint. His old gang has other plans though, and use the child to try and make him disclose the location of the loot he hid before going to the slammer.

6.3

MagicScore

#13

Escape from Alcatraz

1979

San Francisco Bay, January 18, 1960. Frank Lee Morris is transferred to Alcatraz, a maximum security prison located on a rocky island. Although no one has ever managed to escape from there, Frank and other inmates begin to carefully prepare an escape plan.

7.5

MagicScore

#14

Half Past Dead

2002

A man goes undercover in a hi-tech prison to find out information to help prosecute those who killed his wife. While there, he stumbles onto a plot involving a death-row inmate and his $200 million stash of gold.

5.1

MagicScore

#15

There Was a Crooked Man...

1970

Arizona Territorial Prison inmate Paris Pitman, Jr. is a schemer, a charmer, and quite popular among his fellow convicts — especially with $500,000 in stolen loot hidden away and a plan to escape and recover it. New warden Woodward Lopeman has other ideas about Pitman. Each man will have the tables turned on him.

6.8

MagicScore

#16

Cool Hand Luke

1967

When petty criminal Luke Jackson is sentenced to two years in a Florida prison farm, he doesn't play by the rules of either the sadistic warden or the yard's resident heavy, Dragline, who ends up admiring the new guy's unbreakable will. Luke's bravado, even in the face of repeated stints in the prison's dreaded solitary confinement cell, "the box," make him a rebel hero to his fellow convicts and a thorn in the side of the prison officers.

7.7

MagicScore

#17

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

1962

A rebellious youth, sentenced to a boy’s reformatory for robbing a bakery, rises through the ranks of the institution by impressing its Governor through his prowess as a long distance runner. He is encouraged to compete in an upcoming race, but faces ridicule from his peers.

7.2

MagicScore

#18

Ariel

1988

A Finnish man goes to the city to find a job after the mine where he worked is closed and his father commits suicide.

7.1

MagicScore

#19

The Longest Yard

2005

Disgraced pro football quarterback Paul Crewe lands in a Texas federal penitentiary, where manipulative Warden Hazen recruits him to advise the institution's football team of prison guards. Crewe suggests a tune-up game which lands him quarterbacking a crew of inmates in a game against the guards. Aided by incarcerated ex-NFL coach and player Nate Scarborough, Crewe and his team must overcome not only the bloodthirstiness of the opposition, but also the corrupt warden trying to fix the game against them.

6.7

MagicScore

#20

Undisputed

2002

Monroe Hutchens is the heavyweight champion of Sweetwater, a maximum security prison. He was convicted to a life sentence due to a passionate crime. Iceman Chambers is the heavyweight champion, who lost his title due to a rape conviction to ten years in Sweetwater. When these two giants collide in the same prison, they fight against each other disputing who is the real champion.

6.5

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Birdman of Alcatraz?

The top films similar to Birdman of Alcatraz by MovieMagicScore are Murder in the First (7.1), The Great Escape (7.9), Papillon (7.3). Each shares crime/drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Birdman of Alcatraz worth watching?

Birdman of Alcatraz holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.5/10 from 327 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Birdman of Alcatraz?

Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) is a crime, drama film directed by John Frankenheimer, starring Burt Lancaster, Karl Malden, Thelma Ritter.

Where can I find more recommendations like Birdman of Alcatraz?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more crime recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Murder in the First Movies like The Great Escape Movies like Papillon Movies like Bronson Movies like A Prayer Before Dawn Movies like The Fear of 13

About movies like Birdman of Alcatraz

This ranked list pairs Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), a crime and drama film from John Frankenheimer, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Burt Lancaster take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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