Scum

this movie was made after the B.B.C. had problems with the original TV version,which to my mind was just as brutal.you can't help but root for Carlin as he gets his revenge,the greenhouse scene has to be up there with the likes of certain scenes from 'cannibal holocaust' and 'last house on the left'.Truly harrowing and unforgettable.Ray Winstone is one of my all time favourite actors,as is Phil Daniels.This film stands as a tribute to Alan Clarke (Made In Britain is also another classic).This movie remains as one of the grittiest movies I have ever seen.I saw it for the first time when I was about ten years of age,on a pre-certificate VHS copy round at my dad's mate's house one Saturday night.The film has stayed with me ever since,and now I own my own copy of the film,I hope to show it to my son when he is older(I hope he appreciates it!!!)

Scum (1977) was originally produced as part of the BBC's Play for Today series, but the result, shot in a gritty docu-drama style, was considered too harrowing for broadcast and was effectively banned. Two years later, director Alan Clarke remade his play as a film, which became one of the most talked about movies in British school playgrounds during the early 80s thanks to its unrelenting violence, racist language, and a particularly notorious rape scene.

So, how do the two versions compare? Well, barring one or two minor scenes, the original TV play and the 1979 film are almost identical to each other in terms of basic content and structure, with much of the same dialogue, many of the same cast members, and Clarke using the same set-ups and angles for his shots. However, the two versions do differ from each other in terms of performances: although the cast are more than adequate in the TV version, the play feels a bit like a dress rehearsal when compared with the movie, the cast seemingly still working out how best to tackle their roles. Two years down the line, and everybody absolutely nails it, but here there are one or two performances that fall a little flat.

That said, the play is still a fine piece of work, a powerful and highly controversial drama—one that, to this day, I find it hard to believe the BBC even contemplated showing in 1977.

Scum is a fabulously gritty borstal drama revolving around troublemaker Carlin (Winstone) and his campaign to do his time quietly. The menacing staff and inmates of the Borstal (young offenders prison) are frighteningly realistic and the whole film has the feel of a fly-on-the-wall documentary. Sporadic violence comes with no warning and the rape scene in the greenhouse is one of the most harrowing I have seen on film (may be cut in some versions). Full marks to Alan Clarke and Ray Minton for this beauty.

Alan Clarke's film introduced us to a powerful new talent in Ray Winstone. Undeniably brutal but an allegory on the worship of simple governance by power. This film, coupled with another film, "Made in Great Britain" with Tim Roth was an indictment of the Thatcher type anti-society policies. Ray Winstone builds his part slowly, gathering power and authority during his stay in the institution and is climaxed when he says "who's the daddy now?" It was such a powerful performance that I always wait with anticipation his next outing and have rarely been disappointed.

This film was to show the horrors of a typical British Reform School, complete with regular beatings, humiliations, and even a rape scene. Sadistic staff and a team of violent and intimidating "daddys" terrorize the weak and timid members of the roughly 100 detainees. Racism and hypocrisy are in full gear. This is the Jr. Version of "Glass House", only even more graphic.

This film is very difficult to watch and was actually banned by the BBC to ever be broadcast due to the extreme violence and shocking situations. Although I watched to the end, I just don't quite see the value (especuially for entertainment) in this fictional nightmare. Perhaps as a "Scared Straight" project it could deter at-risk children from a life of crime. Otherwise any slasher movie will do less emotional damage to an impressionable mind. I do not recommend this film