Attica

Documentaries, like any form of journalism, can not be completely objective. But of any one of the forms of journalism, documentaries have the toughest challenge; for wherever the documentarian points his camera a subjective choice is being made. In fact, every one of the elements of filmmaking used express a subjective viewpoint no matter how devoted the intent to objectivity is.

Attica is one of the better journalistically sound docs I've seen in the last ten years. It's about the 1971 uprising at the Attica Prison in New York State that shined a spotlight on the brutal conditions inmates endured, but ultimately resulted in a massacre.

The recollections from former inmates, government officials, family members of guards, and journalists do most of the groundwork here. But, there's a massive amount of arrival footage including horrific images of the aftermath that leave indelible conclusions about what happened.

In the end, what happened is that there's a lot of blame to go around for what went wrong.

And, without directly commenting on it, documentarian Stanley Nelson Jr.'s film also points out that 50 years later much work at improving race relations needs to be done.

"Attica" (2021 release; 117 min.) is a new documentary about the Attica prison riot. As the movie opens, it is "9-9-71, Thursday, Day 1", as we hear a number of former Attica prisoners who were there bear witness to it all. "70% of the prisoner population were black and brown; all-white guards... what could go wrong?", someone asks sarcastically. Along the way, we are given an overview of the way things were at Attica (overpopulation; poor living conditions; lack of available health care; systematic abuse from the guards, and so on). "We wanted to be treated like humans, not like dogs." At this point we are 10 min into the film.

Couple of comments: this is the latest from Emmy-winning and veteran documentarian Stanley Nelson ("Freedom Riders"). The documentary opens with talking heads, as there wasn't archive footage of the situation until local (and later national) TV stations started covering the events. When watching a documentary like this, there are 2 separate aspects: the underlying events giving rise to the documentary, and whether the documentary itself is any good. As to the underlying event, let's be clear: this is unbridled white power abuse (and worse), pure and simple. If you object to the term "white power", well it's actually uttered by a New York state trooper at the Attica scene, right then and there, with a smirk on his face and without any awareness that, you know, this may not be the best thing to say out loud. But no, he doesn't care one bit. One might expect such scenes to come from the South African apartheid regime, but this really happened right here in the US, a mere 50 years ago. As to the documentary itself: the initial 90 min cannot prepare you for what you will see in the last 30 min of the film. Nelson and his team have painstakingly gone through the archive TV and film footage, and it is a veritable treasure trove on one of the most sickening events in the modern history of this country.

"Attica" premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 9-9-21, exactly 50 years after the Attica prison riot started, to immediate critical acclaim. The documentary recently premiered on Showtime, and is now available on SHO On Demand (where I saw it), Amazon Instant Video and other streaming platforms. If you need a reminder as to how unbridled white power has functioned in US history, you can do a lot worse than seeing this documentary, Of course, don't take my word for it and hence I urge you to seek out this film, and draw your own conclusion.

Between the film shot at the time and the alarming interviews with former inmates and guards, the riot at Attica is brought to gritty life.

Anyone who imagines that prison is an appropriate or safe place for ANYONE, is delusional.

And anyone who imagines that the US had or has a functioning democracy, should know that the NY governor, Nelson Rockefeller, failed to act and is directly responsible for the deaths and injuries caused by the riot. He could have prevented them.

But Rockefeller wanted to run for the GOP nomination for President and could NOT afford to look soft on crime, so he ignored the crisis to achieve that.

He gets a pass in history books as relatively warm and fuzzy but he was a neo fascist, just like Nixon / Reagan / the Bushs / Trump.

"Attica! Attica!" That quote by Al Pacino in a scene from Sidney Lumet's brilliant 1975 DOG DAY AFTERNOON is probably all that most people know about the 1971 Prison uprising in New York state (if they get the reference at all).

Stanley Nelson and Traci Curry's exemplary documentary does a thorough job of telling the full story. It's not just a recitation of facts, either, the filmmakers do excellent work in showing how the small upper state New York that housed the prison was a true 'company town' - the corporation being the state pen. Current day interviews are presented from many who participated (including multiple prisoners) and the families of those who aren't here to tell their story (especially the guards).

Fortunately for the filmmakers there is ample footage, not just from newsreels, but, quite a bit from inside the prison. The prisoners made the wise P. R. choice to allow the media inside the prison walls in order for their side of the story to be told. The most chilling footage is from Attica's security cameras. They sit silently capturing all of the events without moving or editing. Just observing.

What's most striking about the early part of the Documentary is how articulate the prisoners were (and are). Their pleas for fair treatment by officials is passionate and well thought out (one of their number, nicknamed 'Jerry the Jew', was an actual lawyer). The sense that they were finally being heard is palpable. There was even some optimism.

All of this, adds to how painful the final act plays out. Even with some hope expressed early on, one knows how it all turned out. The villains here are then Governor Nelson Rockefeller and President Nixon (who not only expresses support for Rockefeller's actions, but goads him on). The surveillance footage is truly horrific. The police's repeated exhortations to the prisoners to surrender and "you'll all be safe" are just as heartbreaking five decades later.

Nelson and Curry do mention that some reform did come out it, but, it took far too long, as did any king of recognition and compensation to the guards who became the pawns in the tug of war. ATTICA isn't just a 'history lesson' - it's a vital document that resonates.

I highly recommend this documentary although it is extremely distressing. The actual film clips and interviews with a range of those affected are exceptionally compelling. It seems that many "law and order" types might see this as "just desserts" for the persons incarcerated there (if you can't do the time, don't do the crime??!!). Extrajudicial killing during a disordered and politicized "law enforcement" response is anything but lawful and is an atrocity. The lack of accountability for the conditions that gave rise to the rebellion and for the murderous actions let loose by the authorities responsible is a stain on our country and its aspiration of "justice for all."