Against the Wall

Against the Wall is another one of those movies that just slipped away. Its about the true story of the take-over of Attica Prison by the in-mates in 1971 and is seen through the eyes of a novice prison warden (Kyle MacLachlan).

Although made for cable, what make this brilliant movie different from the others are the incredibly brutal prison scenes and unsettling violence (one scene has an unlucky wardens' head slammed between two iron doors) and the brutality of the film, along with the nudity, may turn off some viewers.

The acting is some of the best I've ever seen. The characters are not stereotyped and are actually quite believable. Samuel L Jackson, in particular is a highlight as a black inmate while Kyle MacLachlan is just as good as a sympathetic warden. These performances give the film a lot of depth and the bonding between these two is very powerful.

John Frankenheimer direction is incredibly good and that sets the mood for this powerful and sad movie. Check it out but be aware that this is not a happy movie. ***/****

For a TV movie, this is quite good. It's the true story of the Attaca prison break, which caused a hell of a ruckus back in the seventies and started all sorts of prison rights and liberation talk. The film is a tautly trimmed, suspenseful and well acted production with a good cast including Sam L. Jackson and Kyle MacLachlan.

A rookie prison guard at Attaca finds himself immersed in the awful treatment of the prisoners, and has a hard time reprimanding the prisoners. He's then unwittingly slung into a violent prison break, and held hostage by the prisoners.

There are some unnecessarily offensive and crude moments in the film, which are not relevant and are entirely superfluous. The violence is quite impactful, and the film deserves a high rating.

Six out of ten.

"Against the Wall" is an amazing portrayal of the uprising that took place at the Attica prison in the 1970's New York. It is an important film that shows, that while the uprising caused the loss of life among prisoners, staff, and civilian personnel, it was what reformed the American prison system for the rest of time. It is an important legacy and stepping stone in both American history and in the civil rights movement that needs to be told. The director did a fantastic portrayal of the true life situation to the screen in the HBO made for TV movie, which has since moved to DVD. Prison life was changed because of this one event and because of what these men stood for.

Against the Wall walked so that Trial of the Chicago 7 could run. But the latter had a big Netflix release. This was made for TV and subsequently flew under the radar, and as a result is one of the most criminally underrated things I have ever seen.

This movie is really something else. Something else for sure. I went into this not knowing anything about the Attica riot, but still being more or less aware of the situation at the time after watching Trial of the Chicago 7. And I was expecting something akin to the Shawshank Redemption - a slow-burn drama with a nice ending. But Against the Wall was neither of those things.

This movie had my heart pounding so fast that I could hear blood in my ears the entire way through. The sheer brutality of it, not one dash of blood sanitised, really opened my eyes to how horrific the riot - no, the massacre - was. This movie feels ahead of its time, almost - ever since its 1994 release the incarceration problem in the US has only gotten more and more dire, and just as it was when it first came out, Against the Wall is a startling and sudden wake-me-up to all of the problems that are just as relevant today as they were in 1971.

Everything about this movie was mind-blowing excellence. The chaos of the riot was conveyed perfectly, and it all felt real, raw and terrifyingly true. And the acting - Kyle MacLachlan and Samuel L. Jackson were both absolutely mind-blowing. Hands-down two of the most powerful performances I've ever seen on screen. And the supporting cast was also great - they extended the story past the riot itself and had me caring so much more about what was happening.

A powerful movie that shows the messy side of America, but it will not leave your mind for days to come.

-Sasha.

It's hard to always understand what prison is like, and Attica depicted an old one, but it was still prison, and it was gripping. This was a good movie. The character played by Kyle Maclachlan was a wimpy one, but yet, a way for us to see things through an innocent standpoint. This was a movie about a prison that was not contained to the proper ordinance and showed what could happen if it wasn't. In that result, it played out to be a movie that can keep you at *awe* and utter despair for the prison gaurds. The role played by Samuel L. Jacson was a good one as well. He is always been such a good actor and to me, he shined in this one, to a point. Those were the good things about it, and my only gripes were seeing naked inmates, Mike Smiths' feistiness, and the totally annoying head gaurd. I forget his name, and I don't much want to know anyways. Aside of those little pests, I enjoyed the film to it's fullest. Frankenheimer did a good job directing this one. This was my rating: 8/10