Prison stuff. In prison movies.
With all the fuss about 2009’s Un Prophète being a prison movie masterpiece - if not a masterpiece in any genre - this less celebrated Spanish prison film may have been overlooked. It might not be in the same class - it’s certainly no masterpiece - but there’s an awful lot to like. (more…)
Posted on June 27th, 2010 at 5:15 pm. Updated on June 27th, 2010 at 5:15 pm.
This is an exploitation movie, of a different kind. 1930s-style. (more…)
Posted on May 30th, 2010 at 8:06 pm. Updated on May 30th, 2010 at 8:06 pm.
This is a pretty faithful remake of the 1932 film of the same name. It is better, but you wonder a bit why they bothered to do it all again. (more…)
Posted on May 22nd, 2010 at 11:03 pm. Updated on May 22nd, 2010 at 11:03 pm.
This is the sort of movie that gives prisons a bad name. And filmmakers a worse one. (more…)
Posted on April 24th, 2010 at 9:00 pm. Updated on April 26th, 2010 at 12:06 am.
It has just about everything, this movie with prison reform at its rather smug heart - violent escape bids, papier-mâché dummies in beds, murders, a brutal Warden… And it’s the only prison movie I know where the prison itself does the narration, not unlike Mr Ed: (more…)
Posted on April 12th, 2010 at 9:19 pm. Updated on April 12th, 2010 at 9:37 pm.
In 1939 Mutiny in the Big House hit the cinemas, with an awfully idealised portrait of a prison chaplain. This movie, released the following year, gives us much the same fare - but because the chaplain is distrusted and reviled for most of it, it’s much more palatable. (more…)
Posted on April 4th, 2010 at 8:29 pm. Updated on April 4th, 2010 at 8:29 pm.
I confess that haven’t seen the original Green Street Hooligans, and I don’t think I’ll be tracking it down soon. Mind you, those who have seen both seem to agree on two things: that this film is the inferior of the two and the sort of sequel that gives sequels a bad name. (more…)
Posted on March 28th, 2010 at 2:11 pm. Updated on March 28th, 2010 at 2:11 pm.
I think it’s good to learn something new every day. I’ve just watched Death Warrant and I now know how to work as an undercover cop in a tough prison environment. First, use your own name. Fake names are apparently for wusses. Second, as soon as you’re inside, start asking lots of nosy questions; that won’t draw any attention to you, ever. Third, get your partner who is pretending to be your wife to do most of the background checking after you’re inside, so she can give you the low-down in the open, public visits area. Spontaneity is fun and so much more effective than preparation. Lastly, if it’s urgent, use your cell phone. Easy. (more…)
Posted on March 13th, 2010 at 4:38 pm. Updated on March 14th, 2010 at 8:45 pm.
This is supposed to be inspired by actual events, but it’s not clear which actual events provided that inspiration. Methinks there’s a liberal dose of artistic licence being splashed about. (more…)
Posted on February 28th, 2010 at 4:00 pm. Updated on February 28th, 2010 at 4:00 pm.
They had a bit of fun with this campy melodrama, I reckon. One prison guard tells her reliever that she’s heading off “to catch the last show at the Bijou.” “That prison movie?” says the other, incredulously. “Yeah.” “They never get things right in prison pictures.” “I know. But I like to pick out the flaws.” Me, too. (more…)
Posted on February 21st, 2010 at 3:05 pm. Updated on March 14th, 2010 at 2:12 pm.