Experimento en la prisión de Stanford

This is perhaps one of the best movies I have seen in 2015 and yet I would think twice before watching it again. The Stanford Prison experiment is a taut and intriguing drama hat manages to thrill you for most of its run time as well as making you terribly uneasy as you ponder as to why people behave as they do in the movie. Inspire by the real life prison experiment conducted at Stanford University in 1971 using college students where some would be assigned as guards and some prisoners and were stationed in a mock prison for 14 days within the Stanford University premises itself. It proved to be one of the most disastrous and widely criticized psychology experiments ever conducted by mankind and was shut down in just 6 days.

The movie doesn't spend too much time on buildup as you start feeling the claustrophobia and sense of loss of freedom quite early on. The script has been top notch as well as the direction. The best part about the script that I loved was that it remained truthful to the actual events and the documentary style cinematography added so much realism to the experience.

The other impressive aspect of this movie is the acting. The casting doesn't involve any big superstar names, rather most of them are well known in the indie and television scenes. Phillip Zambardo's character development was pulled off by Billy Crudup with absolute finesse while Ezra Miller and Thomas Mann left a lasting impression with the devolution of their respective characters. The rest of the cast, especially the ones who played the prisoners were great as well, as they were constantly able to maintain the sense of helplessness and psychological deterioration throughout. The main star of the film, however, is Michael Angarano. His character is what everybody would love to hate. I used to remember Angarano as this charming kid in Almost Famous and Lords of Dogtown and I was quite shocked to witness the whole sadistic and borderline sociopath side of him.

The only shortcoming I felt was the overall pacing. The movie slowed down at some points; especially during the first half (I am not going to spoil anything) and it could've done a better editing job. Some of the cast, especially on the guard side could've used a bit more screen time since the camera was almost entirely focused on Michael Angarano. However, this doesn't diminish the quality of movie in any way. It's a great albeit cringe worthy study of human psyche and the movie will leave a long trail of questions for you to think about.

Overall, The Stanford Prison Experiment is undoubtedly a great cinematic achievement both in terms of visual style, storyline, acting and direction. This is not exactly a family movie or something you want to watch with your girlfriend and definitely not a feel-good experience, but if you are a fan of psychological thrillers, then this film will give you a run for your money. My IMDb rating is 8.1/10.

The plot is based on a true story, blah blah blah. It's a good one as well! Not the amazing ingenious movie and certainly not the thriller that "Das Experiment" was... If you can find it at your local video store, go and get it and watch this instead!

Don't get me wrong, the movie is a nice attempt, really interesting and raising all kinds of moral questions and dilemmas. The actors were true and professional all the way and overall, this is more than a movie for a pleasant afternoon...

The science behind the experiment was kind of crappy, but I guess back then, psychologists were a bit on the rough side and not too cautious with experimental parameters, etc.

Anyways, if you want the thrill and the tense, "Das Experiment" is what you should be looking for. This movie was unparalleled. Better yet, watch this one first and then "Das Experiment"...

I have to admit that my rating is conflicted between the quality of the film (the caliber of the acting and directing), and the enjoyment/watchability of the film itself. It was superbly acted and directed - exhibited by the fact that recognizable actors blended seamlessly with their characters and eliciting sincere feelings of contempt and sympathy. However, it was not an easy film to watch. Again, I think that's a testament to the talent of the artists involved.

I do think it should be required viewing for psychology students - unfortunately this film was released after my college years.

As another reviewer stated, I really would have liked to have seen more about the final repercussions: how it affected the participants once the study was over (one would imagine some could have been left with PTSD, if only short term). In fact the film was so immersive and believable that I wondered if any of the actors fell victim to the same tendencies as the original participants and got a little lost in their roles.

I had to go online to see if there were any legal or professional repercussions for Dr. Philip Zimbardo or any of the other parties involved. The post-notes at the end of the film could have been a bit more comprehensive, as I believe there were certain practices/rules put in place for psychological studies as a direct result of this experiment (among them being the establishment of the National Research Act as well as the creation of the Institutional Review Board).

So, yes, I would definitely recommend watching this movie with the caveat that you're not going to be left feeling upbeat or warm and fuzzy.

Okay - lets be honest here. Its not extremely difficult to make a film portraying a psychological experiment that was well documented and captured on film.

This film as more of a reenactment - just so you are aware.

Ezra Miller continues to shine as a prison subject in this movie. With the upcoming Justice League Films, and Miller portraying The Flash, its nice to see his work outside that to get more comfortable with his upcoming performance.

So - as the film title states, this a recalling of a social experiment gone a little too far, and had to be stopped early for reason I will not spoil.

The true nature of human empowerment is truly devastating to witness.

If you have time, see this tense thriller. It will however, raise as many questions as it answers.

A great thinking movie. Please don't forget to check out the source material on this study during, or after the movie.

Very interesting, very disturbing, and very enlightening.

It's the sad truth but I hate how they have ended with a huge lie "no long time side effects have been observed" so Zimbardo continued his studies. Why did they "omit" that one tried to kill himself as a side effect of that experiment?