[go: up one dir, main page]

    Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysToronto Int'l Film FestivalIMDb Stars to WatchSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

Trois saisons en enfer

Original title: Purgatory
  • 1988
  • R
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
3.9/10
407
YOUR RATING
Trois saisons en enfer (1988)
Innocent fun turns into trouble in this trailer
Play trailer1:51
1 Video
99+ Photos
ActionDrama

Two Peace Corps volunteers in Africa are framed and put into an oppressive women's prison.Two Peace Corps volunteers in Africa are framed and put into an oppressive women's prison.Two Peace Corps volunteers in Africa are framed and put into an oppressive women's prison.

  • Director
    • Ami Artzi
  • Writers
    • Paul Aratow
    • Felix Kroll
  • Stars
    • Tanya Roberts
    • Julie Pop
    • Hal Orlandini
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    3.9/10
    407
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Ami Artzi
    • Writers
      • Paul Aratow
      • Felix Kroll
    • Stars
      • Tanya Roberts
      • Julie Pop
      • Hal Orlandini
    • 13User reviews
    • 5Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Purgatory (2008)
    Trailer 1:51
    Purgatory (2008)

    Photos117

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 111
    View Poster

    Top cast22

    Edit
    Tanya Roberts
    Tanya Roberts
    • Carly
    Julie Pop
    Julie Pop
    • Melanie
    Hal Orlandini
    • Bledsoe…
    Adrienne Pearce
    • Janine
    • (as Adrienne Pearse)
    Marie Human
    • Kirsten
    Rufus Swart
    Rufus Swart
    • Paul
    David Sherwood
    David Sherwood
    • Stern
    Clare Marshall
    • Ruth…
    Gert van Niekerk
    • Hans
    Anthony Wilson
    • Soldier
    • (as Anthony 'Speedo' Wilson)
    Mandy Tshbalah
    • Prison matron
    Mbali Hlatshwayo
    • Police matron
    Sello Moikangoa
    • Photographer
    Winston Gama
    • Simpson
    James Winkler
    • Colonel Mays
    Martin Du Wee
    • Cuban Leader
    Thapelo Mofokeng
    • Judge
    Johnny Molefe
    • Prosecutor
    • Director
      • Ami Artzi
    • Writers
      • Paul Aratow
      • Felix Kroll
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews13

    3.9407
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    5Coventry

    Abuse of power and corruption... Level 1,000!

    The old and crummy VHS-copy I own of "Purgatory" makes it look as if it's a typically raunchy and sexist women-in-prison exploitation movie, like the used to make them during the 70s and early 80s, but this one has slightly more to offer. In fact, I daresay that if "Purgatory" (1) had been based on a true story, (2) starred an actress like Angelina Jolie, and (3) was directed by an acclaimed name like Roland Joffé, this film easily might have won an Oscar. I'm serious.

    Does that mean "Purgatory" is an underrated hidden gem? Unfortunately not, it could and should have been much better, but at least it has a captivating story to tell, and there's enough drama and misfortune to last a lifetime. By picking up the wrong type of hitchhiker when they drive to the airport in a fictional African country, two female Peace Corps volunteers are accused of drug-trafficking. What follows is an incredible series of disastrous and downright rotten breaks. The DEA agents don't believe their story, the arrogant US ambassador refuses to help, the corrupt judge accept a $10,000 bribery but still sentences them to 11 years of prison, and the penitentiary - aptly named Purgatory - is a lawless slammer where the head warden rents out the prettiest girls as prostitutes. The whole country is so corrupt that every honest procedure lasts months, and whenever a good Samaritan tries to help, he/she ends up brutally assassinated. Start a riot and attempt to escape seems the only way out for the poor and desperate Carly, but her spirit has - understandably - weakened.

    I love Tanya Roberts. Not only because she's unearthly beautiful, but she's normally also a good actress. She doesn't exactly demonstrate this in "Purgatory", however. Her dramatic over-acting is too obviously fake, and even after spending several months in this hellhole of a prison, her hair and skin still look perfectly silky. Director Ami Artzi does manage to create a strong and compelling atmosphere of despair, and you do feel genuine empathy and pity for Carly and her allies. The abuse and torture sequences are quite dull, but they remain decent, and the last 15-20 minutes are action-packed and full of (badly executed) building fires and explosions. Difficult film to rate, this "Purgatory", but don't want to flunk it (like most other reviewers obviously did).
    4lost-in-limbo

    Straight from the clichéd hand-book.

    Peace Corps Carly and Melanie are leaving the African country Umlanga, but when they're pulled over by the authorities. The hitcher-hiker they picked up, happened to be carrying drugs. The two ladies are falsely convicted of smuggling drugs too. So the judge, sentences the pair to eleven years to the penitentiary known as Purgatory. When they get there, Carly soon discovers that showing fear and aggression is a big mistake and only backfires. The abuse going on behind the scenes sticks to the warden and the guards taking advantage of the inmates sexually. After their first encounter, Melanie cracks insistently. Carly becomes the warden's favourite and is forced to work in a brothel. While, her mother is doing her best to get her daughter out, despite finding it hard getting help from the American embassy.

    Tanya Roberts (who's basically wasted) is the main draw card to this highly dank, lewd and by-the-numbers women-in-prison exploitation fodder. Well there's plenty of leering shots on Tanya Roberts (who wears some skimpy outfits and naively whimpers a lot over her innocence), but it really does utilize the lustful sexual attraction that's brewing. However, while it's sordidly suggested, it falls mostly into the implied bracket. It's pretty weak and tame in what you see and there's very little sleaze and flesh. Too much jilted dialogues involving whining or long-winded speeches with political interference has a certain seriousness about it, which just drowns out the fun that could've been and only aggravates. It doesn't quite ignite until the last fifteen minutes, but even then the action is amateurishly staged and the final big bang (the usual break out with some explosions and sweet revenge) lacks zing. Obvious plotting in the material doesn't help the stuffy pacing either. The look of the film comes across like a jagged TV episode, but it cooks up a gritty, dour and harsh atmosphere despite not entirely illustrating it. Director Ami Artzi does an systematic job, but can succumb to lazy touches, just like the conclusion. Free-willed camera-work can get murky with one or two unusual handled POV shots and the broodingly over dramatic music score is totally mishandled. The voluptuously stunning Roberts has trouble holding the film together in the lead role, but however it's a gusty performance. Clare Marshall provides much added spark as the mother Ruth Arnold. The performances aren't terrible, just extremely plain and shell-like.

    A visually enticing Roberts and couple of unintentional chuckles can be found in this free-risk, below-average cheapjack "WIP" exploitation staple. Tanya Roberts' fans will eat it up, but I don't know about others.
    1Aussie Stud

    Tanya Roberts stars in this late 80's female prison exploitation flick.

    Tanya Roberts tries to break free from her typecast image that stemmed from her infamous one-season stint on the highly successful "CHARLIE'S ANGELS" series and her turn as the title role in the atrociously awful camp classic, "SHEENA, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE".

    In "PURGATORY", Tanya Roberts is Carly. She and her best friend Melanie are vacationing in South Africa and make the fatal mistake of picking up a 'hunky' hitch-hiker in their jeep who turns out to be nothing more than a filthy drug runner. When their jeep is stopped at a military checkpoint run by an outfit of South African army officers, the hitch-hiker tries to make a run for it but is gunned down in a Sunflower field. As a result, his bag is searched by the officers who discover a reasonable amount of drugs and naturally, Carly and Melanie are arrested despite their pleas that they had nothing to do with this.

    So into the filthy slammer Carly and Melanie go. As two naive westerners, their case is fed to the dogs and they are sentenced to a life sentence inside a female prison where they are sexually molested by prison guards and treated as outcasts by the 'local' prison inmates. Naturally, Tanya Roberts uses her 'sexuality' to try to get them out of this intense and hopeless situation as she makes moves to seduce the Warden of the female prison in order to buy a ticket out for their freedom.

    "PURGATORY" comes off more as a sleazy exploitation flick rather than something dramatically serious that you could actually believe might have happened in real life. From the 'hosing down' sessions within the prison walls to the countless sex scenes we get to witness shared between Tanya Roberts and the Warden, this film finds its place among other cinematic gems such as "THE CONCRETE JUNGLE" and "THE BIG DOLL HOUSE".

    While no one can really take this movie seriously, most men will find the eye candy gratuitously supplied by Tanya Roberts enough to suffice their appetites. Women should look elsewhere.

    "PURGATORY" is a relatively hard movie to catch sight of these days - but if you do happen to see this on your TV Guide or find a dusty copy on video at your local store, give it a gander... it's actually pretty funny.

    My Rating - 6 out of 10
    3gridoon

    Dreary exploitation junk

    Despite the initial set-up (2 American girls in a foreign - here African - country get arrested and sentenced to 11 years in jail for a crime they didn't commit), "Purgatory" is not really a Women-In-Prison film. It almost completely ignores the daily prison life of the women and focuses on one aspect only: their sexual exploitation. The warden has set up a prostitution ring and the prisoners are used to satisfy the needs of many high-paying customers. After 75 minutes of this repellent junk, we finally get to the escape part. "Purgatory" supposedly has serious intentions: there are even title cards telling us what date it is, and at the end another card telling us what happened to the surviving characters, as if this was based on a true story, even though at the end of the credits there is the usual "any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental" disclaimer. But it is technically rough, even amateurish at times, and although Tanya Roberts deserves credit for taking on a role that has her appear completely unglamorous, she's still too limited an actress to carry a movie by herself. (*)
    herzogvon

    John Newland????

    This truly crappy women-in-prison flick looks like a leftover from the 1970s. Like so many of that genre, it was shot in the Philippines. One difference; instead of a totally no-name cast, it has Tanya Roberts, the erstwhile Charlie's Angel. Hold your Oscar nominations, please.

    Though none exists, this movie could easily be subtitled, "Carly and Melanie Go to Africa and Get Gang Raped." That's pretty much the size of it. Sadly, poor Melanie drops out in the first twenty minutes, so that leaves Carly ( Roberts ) to fend for herself against a bunch of really yucky people. They're yucky, she's plucky. The outcome is predictable.

    Lots of people get killed along the way, not that anyone really cares. The biggest question remains: What is John Newland doing in this dreck? Yes, that's right; the same John Newland who hosted the Sci-Fi TV classic from the 1950s, "One Step Beyond". He's dead now, so it's impossible to ask him. One can only imagine that his last wish was to have his name deleted from the credits. That appears to have been granted.

    More like this

    Mardi Gras Massacre
    4.0
    Mardi Gras Massacre
    Body Slam
    5.2
    Body Slam
    Road to Revenge
    4.0
    Road to Revenge
    Délire à l'université
    3.8
    Délire à l'université
    She
    4.8
    She
    Vengeance
    5.7
    Vengeance
    Les Amazones du temple d'or
    3.7
    Les Amazones du temple d'or
    Attaque à mains nues
    5.6
    Attaque à mains nues
    Confessions d'un laveur de carreaux
    4.8
    Confessions d'un laveur de carreaux
    La fille en laisse
    5.7
    La fille en laisse
    Purgatory
    6.8
    Purgatory
    Ski School
    4.9
    Ski School

    Related interests

    Bruce Willis in Piège de cristal (1988)
    Action
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In this 1988 movie Purgatory, Tanya Roberts was the lead character. Eleven years later in 1999, Eric Roberts (no relation) was the lead character in a movie also named Purgatory. The two movies did not resemble each other in plot or theme.
    • Quotes

      Bledsoe: [Chasing Carly after she has escaped] Beautiful bitch!

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ14

    • How long is Purgatory?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 14, 1988 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • South Africa
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Purgatory
    • Filming locations
      • South Africa
    • Production companies
      • International Media Exchange
      • Kingsway
      • The Film Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 29m(89 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.