Prison stuff. In prison movies.
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.
It’s not uncommon, in my experience, for certain corrections officers to be attracted to the most extraordinarily difficult prisoners; there is something in being seen to be the only one who can manage the unmanageable, or the only one who seems to understand what makes the monster tick. Perhaps that’s what drove Henry Lesser to become the confidant of serial killer Carl Panzram. (more…)
Posted on March 22nd, 2010 at 9:59 pm. Updated on March 6th, 2016 at 1:45 pm.
Prisons are all about finding a suitable balance between things that inevitably seem to be in conflict. The individual’s needs versus the system’s needs. Security versus rehabilitation. Cost effectiveness versus quality. Etcetera. And this classic riot movie exemplifies all those inherent conflicts – from the most visible (prisoners creating disorder in opposition to order) to the more subtle (yet bitter) disagreements at the most senior levels about how prisons ought to be run… and how a riot ought to be controlled. (more…)
Posted on March 20th, 2010 at 2:53 pm. Updated on August 29th, 2019 at 8:48 pm.
Not long ago I watched Death Warrant (1990), about an undercover cop in prison, and struggled horribly to suspend disbelief. Yes, I know that it’s not sensible to subject the credibility of any action flick’s storyline to too much scrutiny, but I struggled nonetheless. Behind Prison Gates is worse, and it’s not even a ’30s action flick, really. It too is about an undercover cop in a prison who has his cover blown, and the plot is even more ludicrous. (more…)
Posted on March 14th, 2010 at 1:52 pm. Updated on April 4th, 2010 at 9:02 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.
It is inconceivable that this movie could have been made anywhere other than Britain; it is quintessentially British. Like Two Way Stretch (1960), it anticipates the much more commercially successful Porridge series with its gently humourous observations of mundane, day-to-day existence (and celebrations of minor villainy) in the nick. (more…)
Posted on March 13th, 2010 at 4:37 pm. Updated on March 13th, 2010 at 4:37 pm.
This is a smouldering love affair spanning prison and life after. It’s often been compared to Brokeback Mountain, with good reason; a man’s world, two seemingly heterosexual men falling in love, and nearly all of it understated or unspoken. (more…)
Posted on March 8th, 2010 at 10:54 am. Updated on March 8th, 2010 at 10:54 am.
Set entirely in a spartan four-man cell, this could be voted Least Uplifting Film of 2009. It’s apparently based on real events at a German juvenile detention centre in Siegburg, near Bonn, in 2006, where three inmates tortured, raped and then hanged a fourth. That doesn’t make it any easier to watch. (more…)
Posted on March 7th, 2010 at 4:19 pm. Updated on March 7th, 2010 at 4:19 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.
There are plenty who are touting this as a masterpiece of dark and gritty prison realism. And there are certainly some masterful bits. But is it a prison movie masterpiece? I’m not so sure. (more…)
Posted on February 21st, 2010 at 6:42 pm. Updated on August 29th, 2019 at 8:45 pm.