Pénitencier

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.

"Penitentiary" is definitely a superior prison/boxing movie. It has a low budget, but like any good low-budget movie, it turns this into a strength, not a drawback. You don't miss what the money could have afforded. The lack of multiple locations, fancy camera angles and stunt-doubles just brings you closer to the action.

The actors are all superior, as is the direction. Fanaka made creative use of close-ups, slow motion, hand held cameras, and all this while still in film school.

The movie is considered "blaxploitation", though I think that great exploitation sub-genre was pretty much over by '79. The movie does have a predominantly African-American cast, but the usual themes of the sub-genre, such as racism and the cynical exploitation of black people by whites, is not really the focus here. The most powerful white guy in the movie, the warden, is even depicted as a good man in the end.

Of all the performances, aside from Kennedy - who carries the movie - the greatest is probably Floyd Chatman as a lifer who has plenty of wisdom but can't face life on the outside. He looks like a black Colonel Sanders, or perhaps a wise koala bear.

The movie also has a sensitive attitude toward one infamous subject - prison rape, which along with everything else, elevates it above simple "prison movie" or "exploitation flick" status.

I say check it out.

Surprise, surprise blaxpo fans the movie that started off the penitentiary series is available. No, it's not the one with Mr. T (penitentiary II) or that horrible one with the midget. (penintiary III) This is the one with the original too sweet, half dead and seldom seen. Despite the fact this movie is the epitome of low budget, try to find the boom mike in some scenes.

This remains one of my favorite cult films. The cinemetography is pretty good. The fight between Too sweet and Half dead is particularly interesting. The use of the Wide angle lenses to give the viewer a distorted view. And the way some characters address the camera. Look were not talking Citizen Knae here, but it still is interesting.

That's not what impresses me most about this movie. It's the fact it transends the usual blacksploitation stereotypes. They are still there but also there is also a lot of truth within it's characterizations. Seldom seen character is no caricature he's a real. (He plays too sweet's trainer.) I was amazed at how realistic his portrayal of an institutionalized convict was. We really get to understand him and why he does what he does. Another interesting thing about this movie is the character half dead (Badja Djola) was hilarious. (You want some Mr. goodbar) You might remember him from the dozens of movies she's appeared in afterward (a rage in harlem, mississippi burning and other films) I also liked the fact that this was funny (mostly) but it also contained moments of dead seriousness. If you are any kind of fan of blacksploitation movies, or cult movies in general check this one out. If you can find it.

Penitentiary (1979)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Martel Gordone (Leon Isaac Kennedy) comes to the rescue of a hooker who is being insulted by a couple white trash bikers. A fight breaks out and before long we see Martel in a prison where he quickly draws the wrong type of attention. The prison Lieutenant (Chuck Mitchell) tells him about a boxing contest, which could help him get out.

PENITENTIARY comes from director Jamaa Fanaka and it's certainly one of the strangest but most entertaining prison movies from the decade. I guess you could say that if ROCKY was on crack cocaine and set inside a prison then you'd have something like this movie. There's no question that there are some truly awful performances and some incredibly campy moments scattered throughout the film but at the same time this here just adds to its rather goofy charm.

What makes the film so memorable are the actual boxing scenes. There are some pretty wild fights here including an incredible one where Martel must fight his cell mate. This sequence has to be one of the longest and wildest fights that you're ever going to see and it certainly keeps you entertained. A lot of times I don't really like these types of exploitation movies lasting that long but I must admit that the 99-minute running time went by rather quickly.

Leon Isaac Kennedy has become a cult figure over the years and while he wasn't the great actor, he at least has a certainly style and persona that leaps off the screen. He certainly keeps you drawn into the movie and adds a lot of fun. Fans of PORKY'S will also enjoy seeing Mitchell here in a good role.

If you're looking for class or high art then PENITENTIARY certainly won't be for you but those who like fun trash then dig in.

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.