Penitenciaría

You will never see a more realistic portrayal of life in prison, than in this absolutely brilliant film from 1979. Raw, gritty, seedy, violent and desperate; this is the world that Martel Gordone (Leon Isaac Kennedy) is thrown into when he is caught in "the wrong place at the wrong time." In an environment of violent, and sometimes insane men, and no women, the new inmates must prove themselves quickly, or become someone's "boy." Prison politics are explored realistically in this unbelievably entertaining prison tour-de-force, as we get to know some unforgettable characters; 'Half Dead,' the insane alpha monkey, missing half his teeth and half his mind, with a desire to dominate everyone around him. He is the cellmate of Martel "Too Sweet," who must fend off this human tornado in a jaw dropping, claustrophobic fight to the death in a small prison cell. In order for Too Sweet to survive, he joins the prison boxing club, and meets up with 'Seldom Seen,' a white haired old-timer who, after spending 50 plus years inside, has completely given up on the outside world. 'Seldom' becomes his trainer. Too Sweet also befriends Eugene 'Genie' Lawson, a younger "newbie" whose integrity is also threatened, and who must also prove his strength and worth. This boxing club and this prison is filled with some of the most unforgettable people you will ever see. The character development in "Penitentiary" is so strong, that you will feel like you know these guys personally, to the point where you care about their fates. Director Jamaa Fanaka achieves a perfect balance of jaw dropping action/fight sequences, hilarious comedy, drama that is sincere and realistic, and then adds an element of surreal atmosphere that is hard to describe. There is another great prison film that is considered a genre classic; Jonathon Demme's WIP outing "Caged Heat." Well, "Penitentiary" is the "bastard half-brother" of that movie. It is also one of the finest independent films ever made; this is true, renegade film-making. I cannot recommend it enough, to fans of prison films, cult films, art-house or movies in general.

A man is wrongly imprisoned for murder. While in the penitentiary he gets involved in a boxing competition that the prison hosts.

Penitentiary is a somewhat odd blaxploitation movie. It seems to be a curious mix of realism and ridiculousness. While on the one hand, the idea of a prison boxing competition where the male and female inmates can get together is a very silly idea. But on the other hand, the movie also deals with issues of institutionalisation and the tone overall is often quite sombre. So it's a strange combination. It has to be said though that the best moment is the excellent fight scene between the hero and his psychotic cell mate. It's a pretty ferocious and exciting affair and I suppose just emphasises that Penitentiary is definitely a fight film over and above anything else.

This is definitely a good example of its type. It's certainly not a typical prison drama though that's for sure. It even spawned a couple of sequels that recycled the same idea to ever more ridiculous extents. It's certainly one of the least likely franchises you could imagine.

Xenon deserves a big nod for releasing these long lost 70s blaxploitation movies on home video. PENITENTIARY does have some enjoyable moments, including the wild boxing matches. This one obviously takes the sleaze-o route than being a fulfilling and motivating drama about prison life, something this really should've been meant for. A good story, but it drags miserably in acting performances and a sense of weirdness. If you want to see how cheap production values do exist, then don't blink when a close-up view of an inmate actually isn't holding the knife to thrust the guy's chest in. Good fun for "blaxplo" fans, but the majority of us would pass this up and stick to the ROCKY movies.

I saw this film with a pal over twenty years ago at the theater, first-run. I sat there amazed at how wincingly terrible it was from start to finish. After about forty-five minutes my friend (who was a drama student at the time) wanted desperately to leave the theater. I refused, explaining that in the years to come we would both look back at this film as a standard for cinema awfulness. I was right.

I read in an article that "Penitentiary" is one of John Singelton's favorite films. I can see why. It is an film that is kind of like an "acquired taste". It has its own audience. Hard-hitting, intense, and memorable, with some very well done casting, especially bad-man Badja Djola as "Half Dead". The musical score takes great risks that ultimately pay off. There is one part during the terrific fight scene between Too-Sweet and Half-Dead where there is no score, just screeching. Another interesting point, in Penitentiary 2, Ernie Hudson is just as good as Half-Dead's replacement.