This footage of a real-life helicopter prison escape is incredible

We always assumed that real life prison escapes were far less interesting than movies made them out to be.

An unlocked door here, a daring wall climb there, but nothing that you'd really want to buy the movie rights to.

But that was before El Chapo went super-Shawshank by building a mile-long, motorcycle-assisted escape tunnel from his maximum-security cell. We quickly realised that it was in fact Hollywood who couldn’t keep up for drama.

And they've been outdone again, this time by some incredible helicopter escape footage caught by prison guards back in 2013.

The video, unearthed through an unrelated trial of one of the escapees, Bejamin Hudon-Barbeau, was shot at the St Jérôme Prison in Quebec.

The footage shows Hudon Barbeau and his fellow escapee, Danny Provencal, struggling to climb a rope onto the roof the detention centre. It’s kind of like watching the weaker kids struggle in P.E, but way more badass.

Their armed accomplices managed to hijack the chopper by posing as tourists, and they soon grow bored of waiting. Despite the prisoners being only half-way up the rope, the helicopter flies off, carrying them precariously with it.

Despite flying 53 miles away, the pair were recaptured just hours later by Quebec police, and were further charged with hijacking a helicopter and escape.

Controversial idea: if you you've got the cojones to organise a cinematic helicopter escape from the confines of your jail cell, then you kind of deserve your freedom. You've earned it. The prison officers should be forced to blare epic eighties guitar rifts from a loud speaker as the sun engulfs your fist-pumping silhouette.

We're not sure how well that would stand up in a caught of law, but that isn't really our problem.