Prison stuff. In prison movies.
If you can believe that a damaged young murderer, sexually abused as a 12-year-old by her step-father and filled with fury at the world, could reach into herself at will and pull out the extraordinary musical ability that saw her play in international competitions up to the point of her abuse, then this is a compelling movie. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on May 9th, 2009 at 4:08 am. Updated on April 24th, 2020 at 10:50 pm.
This is the sort of film that ruins the image of prison movies. It’s ugly and gritty as so many are, but it’s also decidedly political… and darkly humorous and strangely uplifting. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on May 2nd, 2009 at 12:31 am. Updated on August 29th, 2019 at 8:45 pm.
An account of the 1974 Bathurst riot, and the best Australian prison movie by quite a distance. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on May 2nd, 2009 at 12:29 am. Updated on August 29th, 2019 at 8:44 pm.
This is almost certainly the best Brazilian prison riot movie you will ever see. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on May 2nd, 2009 at 12:29 am. Updated on August 29th, 2019 at 8:43 pm.
This is as close to being inside a women’s prison in Iran that I think I’ll ever get, and a fascinating peep inside it is, too. It’s a brave film in that as well as being a prison drama, it serves as a metaphor for the treatment of women in post-revolution Iran, guaranteeing that the film would be banned there upon its release. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on May 2nd, 2009 at 12:24 am. Updated on April 25th, 2020 at 9:12 pm.
Why don’t we run prisons like this and save on salary costs? This is an extraordinary tale based on the real-life story of Tom Murton, who in 1967-68 exposed corruption and mass murder in the Tucker and Cummins State Prison Farms in Arkansas – and was promptly fired by a worried State Governor after the first three (of an estimated 200) bodies of prisoners murdered by the trustee prison guards were exhumed at Cummins. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on May 2nd, 2009 at 12:23 am. Updated on August 29th, 2019 at 8:43 pm.
An exceptional, harrowing film set in a women’s prison (and filmed at the Nyborg Statsfængsel [State Prison]) in Denmark. Made in the Dogme 95 tradition (no, I didn’t know what that was either, but it’s apparently a reaction against Hollywood-style filmmaking and insists on things like hand held cameras, filming entirely on location using available lighting, and an avoidance of gratuitous special effects, music and superficial action) and what emerges is an honest, draining, warts-and-all tragedy. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on May 2nd, 2009 at 12:23 am. Updated on August 29th, 2019 at 8:42 pm.
Terrific black-and-white movie based on a real incident from Paris’s La Santé Prison in 1947. The screenplay is co-written by one of those involved, José Giovanni, and another, Jean Keraudy, is cast as one of the prisoners – and is exceptional in the role. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on May 2nd, 2009 at 12:22 am. Updated on August 29th, 2019 at 8:37 pm.
Yeah, yeah, great film but where would it be without Morgan Freeman’s narration? Well, still very good, even if one has to suspend disbelief a few times. But everyone has seen Shawshank and it’s a great yarn.
Posted on May 2nd, 2009 at 12:20 am. Updated on August 29th, 2019 at 8:38 pm.
The standout prison film of all time. In my view. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on May 2nd, 2009 at 12:18 am. Updated on August 27th, 2019 at 10:17 pm.