Anybody visiting this for the first time now who can't take themselves back to 1972 (the time of the film's release) are going to be screaming formulaic. Luckily as a fan of the genre and holding a steadfast belief that a viewer should always get a mindset of a film's original release period, I wouldn't dream of calling this formulaic.
This is something of genre perfection because the makers realise that incarceration should be stifling, the viewer should feel a level of oppression to get on side with the nature of the film, and here they achieve that with a feeling of simmering menace bubbling under the surface, you know that things are going to go pear shaped and it's the waiting that drives you on in an uneasy state.
All the pieces are in place for classic prison drama, tough nasty bad guy exuding menace (a wonderful creeper turn from Vic Morrow), the screw who is the lone voice of authority who cares (take a bow Clu Gulager), the good guy main protagonist who we are rooting for (a fine heartfelt turn from Alan Alda), and a story that doesn't veer to nonsense (from the pen of one Truman Capote).
The violence is shocking, and of course rape and suicide is prominent, all the things to make the viewer stunned and saddened in equal measure are here, but most of all the film triumphs with its ending, there is no cop out here and the makers were brave enough to not slip into maudlin pay off that so many prison genre films tend to do.
For this new modern era of film making there is nothing new here, but for 1972 and a TV movie, this is well worth support and sampling by any potential first time viewers. 8/10
This is something of genre perfection because the makers realise that incarceration should be stifling, the viewer should feel a level of oppression to get on side with the nature of the film, and here they achieve that with a feeling of simmering menace bubbling under the surface, you know that things are going to go pear shaped and it's the waiting that drives you on in an uneasy state.
All the pieces are in place for classic prison drama, tough nasty bad guy exuding menace (a wonderful creeper turn from Vic Morrow), the screw who is the lone voice of authority who cares (take a bow Clu Gulager), the good guy main protagonist who we are rooting for (a fine heartfelt turn from Alan Alda), and a story that doesn't veer to nonsense (from the pen of one Truman Capote).
The violence is shocking, and of course rape and suicide is prominent, all the things to make the viewer stunned and saddened in equal measure are here, but most of all the film triumphs with its ending, there is no cop out here and the makers were brave enough to not slip into maudlin pay off that so many prison genre films tend to do.
For this new modern era of film making there is nothing new here, but for 1972 and a TV movie, this is well worth support and sampling by any potential first time viewers. 8/10