The Best Escape Movies and TV Shows

What it's about: Framed in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (fuboTV), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (TBS & TNT) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Woody, Buzz, and the rest of Andy's toys haven't been played with in years. With Andy about to go to college, the gang find themselves accidentally left at a nefarious day care center. The toys must band together to escape and return home to Andy.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz & Disney+), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: When Dr. Henry Jones Sr. suddenly goes missing while pursuing the Holy Grail, eminent archaeologist Indiana must team up with Marcus Brody, Sallah and Elsa Schneider to follow in his father's footsteps and stop the Nazis from recovering the power of eternal life.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: A botched robbery indicates a police informant, and the pressure mounts in the aftermath at a warehouse. Crime begets violence as the survivors -- veteran Mr. White, newcomer Mr. Orange, psychopathic parolee Mr. Blonde, bickering weasel Mr. Pink and Nice Guy Eddie -- unravel.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz & Epix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: Jack is a young boy of 5 years old who has lived all his life in one room. He believes everything within it are the only real things in the world. But what will happen when his Ma suddenly tells him that there are other things outside of Room?

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocates 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.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: Bourne is brought out of hiding once again by reporter Simon Ross who is trying to unveil Operation Blackbriar, an upgrade to Project Treadstone, in a series of newspaper columns. Information from the reporter stirs a new set of memories, and Bourne must finally uncover his dark past while dodging The Company's best efforts to eradicate him.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: 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.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A group of working-class friends decides to enlist in the Army during the Vietnam War and finds it to be hellish chaos -- not the noble venture they imagined. Before they left, Steven married his pregnant girlfriend -- and Michael and Nick were in love with the same woman. But all three are different men upon their return.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Wounded to the brink of death and suffering from amnesia, Jason Bourne is rescued at sea by a fisherman. With nothing to go on but a Swiss bank account number, he starts to reconstruct his life, but finds that many people he encounters want him dead. However, Bourne realizes that he has the combat and mental skills of a world-class spy—but who does he work for?

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to death, Richard Kimble escapes from the law in an attempt to find her killer and clear his name. Pursuing him is a team of U.S. marshals led by Deputy Samuel Gerard, a determined detective who will not rest until Richard is captured. As Kimble leads the marshals through a series of intricate chases, he uncovers the secret behind his wife's death and struggles to expose the killer before he is recaptured, or killed.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime & fuboTV), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (HBO) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween Night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Shudder) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Prime Video & Vudu).

What it's about: A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 in May, 2011.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Due to a political conspiracy, an innocent man is sent to death row and his only hope is his brother, who makes it his mission to deliberately get himself sent to the same prison in order to break the both of them out, from the inside out.

Where to Watch: 89 episodes (98%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Hulu). 91 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: Young Treasury Agent Elliot Ness arrives in Chicago and is determined to take down Al Capone, but it's not going to be easy because Capone has the police in his pocket. Ness meets Jimmy Malone, a veteran patrolman and probably the most honorable one on the force. He asks Malone to help him get Capone, but Malone warns him that if he goes after Capone, he is going to war.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz & Epix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A down-on-his-luck crab fisherman embarks on a journey to get a young man with Down syndrome to a professional wrestling school in rural North Carolina and away from the retirement home where he’s lived for the past two and a half years.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $4.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Former cop Brian O'Conner partners with ex-con Dom Toretto on the opposite side of the law. Since Brian and Mia Toretto broke Dom out of custody, they've blown across many borders to elude authorities. Now backed into a corner in Rio de Janeiro, they must pull one last job in order to gain their freedom.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (HBO) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Twenty-two years after the events of Jurassic Park, Isla Nublar now features a fully functioning dinosaur theme park, Jurassic World, as originally envisioned by John Hammond.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (FX) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: A series of unrelated stories containing drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, and/or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist.

Where to Watch: 10 episodes (6%) are available to watch free online (CBS). 156 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix, Hulu & CBS All Access). 156 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Escape from Alcatraz tells the story of the only three men ever to escape from the infamous maximum security prison at Alcatraz. In 29 years, the seemingly impenetrable federal penitentiary, which housed Al Capone and "Birdman" Robert Stroud, was only broken once - by three men never heard of again.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Starz), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: An antiterrorism agent goes under the knife to acquire the likeness of a terrorist and gather details about a bombing plot. When the terrorist escapes custody, he undergoes surgery to look like the agent so he can get close to the agent's family.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Sundance) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: In late 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy is the affable, clever and talkative leader of the outlaw Hole in the Wall Gang. His closest companion is the laconic dead-shot 'Sundance Kid'. As the west rapidly becomes civilized, the law finally catches up to Butch, Sundance and their gang. Chased doggedly by a special posse, the two decide to make their way to South America in hopes of evading their pursuers once and for all.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: It's a dreary Christmas 1944 for the American POWs in Stalag 17 and the men in Barracks 4, all sergeants, have to deal with a grave problem—there seems to be a security leak.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: When former Green Beret John Rambo is harassed by local law enforcement and arrested for vagrancy, the Vietnam vet snaps, runs for the hills and rat-a-tat-tats his way into the action-movie hall of fame. Hounded by a relentless sheriff, Rambo employs heavy-handed guerilla tactics to shake the cops off his tail.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (fuboTV) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Five young New Yorkers throw their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city. Told from the point of view of their video camera, the film is a document of their attempt to survive the most surreal, horrifying event of their lives.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: The rebellious Thracian Spartacus, born and raised a slave, is sold to Gladiator trainer Batiatus. After weeks of being trained to kill for the arena, Spartacus turns on his owners and leads the other slaves in rebellion. As the rebels move from town to town, their numbers swell as escaped slaves join their ranks. Under the leadership of Spartacus, they make their way to southern Italy, where they will cross the sea and return to their homes.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Edmond Dantés's life and plans to marry the beautiful Mercedes are shattered when his best friend, Fernand, deceives him. After spending 13 miserable years in prison, Dantés escapes with the help of a fellow inmate and plots his revenge, cleverly insinuating himself into the French nobility.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (Cinemax), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Cinemax) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: In 1997, the island of Manhattan has been walled off and turned into a giant maximum security prison within which the country's worst criminals are left to form their own anarchic society. However, when the President of the United States crash lands on the island, the authorities turn to a former soldier and current convict to rescue him.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (CBS All Access & The Criterion Channel) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Set in a post-apocalyptic world, young Thomas is deposited in a community of boys after his memory is erased, soon learning they're all trapped in a maze that will require him to join forces with fellow “runners” for a shot at escape.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (FX) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: Having been hopelessly repressed and facing eventual certain death at the British chicken farm where they are held, Ginger the chicken along with the help of Rocky the American rooster decide to rebel and lead their fellow chickens in a great escape from the murderous farmers Mr. and Mrs. Tweedy and their farm of doom.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: 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.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A television reporter and cameraman follow emergency workers into a dark apartment building and are quickly locked inside with something terrifying.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A group of strangers find themselves trapped in a maze-like prison. It soon becomes clear that each of them possesses the peculiar skills necessary to escape, if they don't wind up dead first.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Hulu & Tribeca Short List), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: In New York, armed men hijack a subway car and demand a ransom for the passengers. Even if it's paid, how could they get away?

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: An FBI agent and an Interpol detective track a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances and reward their audiences with the money.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: Billy Hayes is caught attempting to smuggle drugs out of Turkey. The Turkish courts decide to make an example of him, sentencing him to more than 30 years in prison. Hayes has two opportunities for release: the appeals made by his lawyer, his family, and the American government, or the "Midnight Express".

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A captured French Resistance fighter during World War II engineers a daunting escape from prison.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (The Criterion Channel & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: Set in the changing world of the late 1960s, Susanna Kaysen's prescribed "short rest" from a psychiatrist she had met only once becomes a strange, unknown journey into Alice's Wonderland, where she struggles with the thin line between normal and crazy. Susanna soon realizes how hard it is to get out once she has been committed, and she ultimately has to choose between the world of people who belong inside or the difficult world of reality outside.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Showtime & fuboTV), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Showtime) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy on a mission of 'justice', which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, 'Rooster' Cogburn because he has 'true grit', and a reputation of getting the job done.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A group of French soldiers, including the patrician Captain de Boeldieu and the working-class Lieutenant Maréchal, grapple with their own class differences after being captured and held in a World War I German prison camp. When the men are transferred to a high-security fortress, they must concoct a plan to escape beneath the watchful eye of aristocratic German officer von Rauffenstein, who has formed an unexpected bond with de Boeldieu.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (The Criterion Channel) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Google Play & Vudu).

What it's about: Peter Weir's follow-up to Master & Commander (2003) is the stark & brilliant The Way Back, which takes on the theme of man's struggle for freedom. At the dawn of WWII, several men escape from a Russian gulag. The film details their perilous & uncertain journey to freedom, as they cross deserts, mountains, & several nations.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Hulu & AcornTV) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: After 20 years abroad, Mark Renton returns to Scotland and reunites with his old friends Sick Boy, Spud and Begbie.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: Based on a true story: Norwegian winter, 1915. On the island Bastøy, outside Oslo, a group of young boys aged 11 to 18, are held in an institution for delinquent youth, notorious for its sadistic regime. One day a new boy, Erling, arrives, determined to escape from the island. After a tragic incident, he ends up leading the boys in a violent uprising. When the boys manage to take over the island, 150 soldiers are sent in to restore order.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: When French criminal Corey gets released from prison, he resolves to never return. He is quickly pulled back into the underworld, however, after a chance encounter with escaped murderer Vogel. Along with former policeman and current alcoholic Jansen, they plot an intricate jewel heist. All the while, quirky Police Commissioner Mattei, who was the one to lose custody of Vogel, is determined to find him.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (The Criterion Channel) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Google Play & YouTube).

What it's about: When a millionaire wheeler-dealer enters a business contract with a Hollywood hooker Vivian Ward, he loses his heart in the bargain.

Where to Watch: Available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: A disc jockey, a pimp and an Italian tourist escape from jail in New Orleans.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a subscription service (The Criterion Channel & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: On the brink of separation, Ethan and Sophie escape to a beautiful vacation house for a weekend getaway in an attempt to save their marriage. What begins as a romantic and fun retreat soon becomes surreal, when an unexpected discovery forces the two to examine themselves, their relationship, and their future.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).