Attica (1980)

The behind the scenes of the 1971 prisoners revolt at the Attica prison.

Director:

Marvin J. Chomsky

Writers:

James S. Henerson, Tom Wicker (book)

Stars:

Henry Darrow, Charles Durning, Joel Fabiani

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Henry Darrow	...	Herman Badillo
Charles Durning	...	Commissioner Russell Oswald
Joel Fabiani	...	Senator Gordon Conners
Morgan Freeman	...	Hap Richards
George Grizzard	...	Tom Wicker
David Harris	...	T. J.
Roger E. Mosley	...	Frank Green
Arlen Dean Snyder	...	Superintendant Vince Mancusi
Glynn Turman	...	Raymond Franklin
Anthony Zerbe	...	William Kunstler
Andrew Duncan	...	Lieutenant John Driscoll
William Flatley	...	Carl Dudley
Ron Foster	...	Leon Clay
Noble Lee Lester	...	Bobby Seale
Paul Lieber	...	Art Silver

Storyline

A TV-movie re-creation of the tragic events which followed the Attica Correctional Facility rebellion of September 9, 1971. Inmates demanding better food and living conditions took 38 guards as hostage. Negotiations begin immediately, only to continually break down thanks to uncompromising stubbornness on both sides. Four days into the crisis, the rebellion ends in a bloodbath, with state troopers firing on the prisoners, killing several of the guards in the process. Based on the eyewitness reporting of the New York Times' Tom Wicker, who was one of the civilian negotiators during the stalemate.

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Plot Keywords:

attica | guard | prisoner | prisoner revolt | inmate | 

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Taglines:

The motion picture based on Tom Wicker's eye-witness account.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 March 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Attica - Revolte hinter Gittern

Filming Locations:

Lima, Ohio, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

ABC Circle Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Morgan Freeman has appeared in a number of other prison movies, including The Shawshank Redemption (1994), _Brubaker(1980) (TV)_, and The Execution of Raymond Graham (1985).

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Connections

Version of Attica (1974)

User Reviews

Well done docudrama

Not knowing much more about the Attica Prison Riots than hearing about it through "Dog Day Afternoon" and "Saturday Night Fever", but familiar enough that it was a dark period of history, I chose to start my study of the riots by watching this film. Regardless of whether that method of research was the smartest, I watched "Attica" with an open mind and the realization that TV movies tend to overdramatize and take liberties with historical-based subjects. However, I found little of this in "Attica". The movie seems to take a bold, straight-forward look at the events without muddying it with personal relationships, unnecessary side stories or drawn-out dialogue. There is a sympathy, a compassion and an understanding of both sides of the story for both the prisoners and the negotiators. It swiftly moves from one important scene to the next, addressing the pivotal points that occurred throughout those four days, climaxing on the unavoidably prolonged massacre at the film's conclusion. As a whole, I thought this was a well made, well directed, and a well acted movie, and hope that it has been faithful to the facts.