Brubaker (1980)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Stuart Rosenberg

Writers:

Joe Hyams (book)
Thomas O. Murton (book)

Release Date:

20 June 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The most wanted man in Wakefield prison is the warden!

Plot:

The new warden of a small prison farm in Arkansas tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate.

Plot Keywords:

Corruption | Prison | Abuse | Prison Farm | Murder

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

Robert Redford	...	Henry Brubaker
Yaphet Kotto	...	Richard 'Dickie' Coombes
Jane Alexander	...	Lillian Gray
Murray Hamilton	...	John Deach
David Keith	...	Larry Lee Bullen
Morgan Freeman	...	Walter
Matt Clark	...	Roy Purcell
Tim McIntire	...	Huey Rauch
Richard Ward	...	Abraham Cook
Jon Van Ness	...	Zaranska
M. Emmet Walsh	...	C.P. Woodward
Albert Salmi	...	Rory Poke
Linda Haynes	...	Carol
Everett McGill	...	Eddie Caldwell
Val Avery	...	Wendel

Runtime:

132 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Norway:18 (1980) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Columbus, Ohio, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Nicolas Cage has a cameo role in the film, making it the first film he ever appeared in.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: In a restaurant scene, a Conn's Potato Chip sales display can be seen. Conn's are only made and sold in Ohio, not Arkansas.

Quotes:

Henry Brubaker: That's murder they're talking about in there. And if they condone it, how are you gonna turn around and tell these guys why they're locked up?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Teen-Age Crime Wave (#6.22)" (1994)

A true story...and things still ain't changed much.

I saw this movie with my wife, who wasn't thrilled that I brought this back from the video store. She's the type that pulls movies off of the "new release" shelf without fail. But as we got into this movie, she changed her mind.

Robert Redford plays Henry Brubaker, a prison warden who is recruited to reform brutal Wakefield Penitentiary, in Arkansas. The conditions are terrible, with men sleeping in puddles of mop water and being regularly beaten, tortured, and murdered. Brubaker gets a handle on the conditions there by sneaking into the jail disguised as an incoming criminal.

When he finally begins his tenure as warden, he meets strong resistance from the community, which is used to the prison being the source of local income and slave labor. The scenes in which Brubaker has to deal with the morally corrupt prison board are powerful and captivating. A good view.

Cinematography is questionable, and the editing TV movie-like. Acting is superb, and the local color interesting. I give the film a B-.

Things to watch for: white trash sister, Morgan Freeman's debut, rape scene.