Attica (1980)

Why so much hype?

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

ATTICA, a made-for-TV film released in 1980, is an intense re-telling of the true story of the Attica prison riot in 1971 which led to a number of inmates being gunned down in cold blood by the authorities. This devastating incident is an almost legendary part of American history - I knew about it from watching DOG DAY AFTERNOON - so I was eager to see how the material was handled.It turns out that this is a very well made production that sticks to the facts of the case without sensationalising them. The story is stark, complex, and deeply human, and the casting director deserves particular kudos for assembling a team of greats. On the one hand we have the likes of Charles Durning and Henry Darrow as the guys at the top trying to sort things out and then we get Morgan Freeman and David Harris as the empowered convicts trying to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis.This is a thoughtful exploration of a hot topic and really an actor's dream, because many of the dialogue scenes are powerfully put across. ATTICA might well be the definitive retelling of an unforgettable true story.

I think Emma Goldman noted that every civil war is class war. In this instance, that really rings true. One of the characters in the film notes that 60% of the inmates in Attica were black and 0% of the guards were black. As for the higher-ups of Attica, well, I'll pick my guess at the quotas there.The Attica riot was spectacular: the inmates took over and stood their ground for 22 days until riot police massacred a bunch of inmates and, actually, 10 of the hostages.The film deals with the humane aspects of the take-over in a lot of ways. The legal people mainly think the inmates' demands are valid. The governor is slammed by demands from outsiders, seemingly mainly the people and the police unions. The dilemma is plain to see.I really liked the fact that there's very little soundtrack here. The film ended abruptly, but that's due to the real chain of events. Recommendable because of the humanity.

Just a little note, my brother in law was the foreman on the jury, I still remember seeing his face on T.V. & his mother getting all upset, thinking the inmates or families would come after him. He never did have any problems but one of the other jurors & my brother in law became best friends and are still friends to this day.Strange how bad things can sometimes lead to strange things, like friendship, marriage among others. I now live within a dozen miles from the prison, I have driven past the prison on many occasion, thinking what a scary place it is and how tough you need to be to survive a stint inside the stone walls. I drove my son past one day, explaining about how his uncle was on the jury. I think it frightened him a little bit. I told him to behave or he could end up on the inside! I remember watching the guards in the towers watching me, holding what looked to be M-16 automatic weapons. That was enough to make me turn around and head out of the parking lot and not look back!!

I found this movie floating around on True Movies one afternoon and thought the film sounded interesting i.e. criminals vs cops.The acting was average and nothing special came from anyone including Morgan Freedman. I had to admit I've never seen Freedman looking as young as he did in that movie.The soundtracks were passable to accompany the dangerous moments and the ending. Could of been better.The script could of done with some, "dramatization". It wouldn't of hurt the film to add some more speeches, some little action moments between the criminals and cops. I understand its a true movie and it is trying to reflect the moment of September the 9th 1971, but thats what I think anyway.I have to say I was surprised to see how the ending was. I could not believe the U.S would be as ruthless and dangerous as to line up the guards and start shooting anyone who is not on the floor with their hands behind their back.Good movie with a sad ending.