Attica

Name: Attica
Genre: Documentary
Released: October 29, 2021
Duration: 118 min
Rating: 87
Cast: Clarence B. Jones

2021

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 11 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 9 Ratings

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6.3

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6.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 9 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Showtime Documentary Films | Release Date: October 29, 2021 | Not Rated

Starring: Clarence B. Jones

Summary: Survivors, observers, and expert government officials recount the 1971 uprising at the Attica Correctional Facility. The violent five-day standoff between mostly Black and Latino inmates and law enforcement gripped America then, and highlights the urgent, ongoing need for reform 50 years later.

Director: Stanley Nelson

Genre(s): Documentary

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 118 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Ronda Racha Penrice

Sep 17, 2021

What unfolds is a bone-chilling account of what is widely regarded as the largest prison rebellion in U.S. history. Read full review

100

IndieWire Robert Daniels

Sep 17, 2021

A harrowing piece of filmmaking, and a fitting, powerful remembrance of those who fought for their humanity. Read full review

100

Roxana Hadadi

Oct 28, 2021

Attica is a jarring, engrossing, and enraging reminder of how those in power will lie, humiliate, kill and cover up to retain it, and the documentary is one of the year’s best. Read full review

Brad Wheeler

Sep 11, 2021

The racial context is incisive; the retelling is tense, tight and chilling. These kinds of stories are emotionally wrenching to watch but can’t be told too often. Read full review

The Film Stage Jared Mobarak

Oct 29, 2021

The purpose of Nelson and Curry’s film is to therefore turn the focus of what happened back onto the real perpetrators rather than the victims who have been vilified as such instead. Read full review

Wendy Ide

Mar 15, 2022

The film is scrupulous about giving voices to men who, as prisoners, were denied them. If there is an overlap in some of the observations and insights that the former inmates bring to the film, they tend to be points which bear repeating. Read full review

Daniel Fienberg

Sep 17, 2021

Nelson’s newest film ... may be his most important yet. ... That’s why it’s hard to criticize Nelson when there are gaps in his storytelling. Read full review

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User Reviews

Brent_Marchant

Nov 12, 2021

I'll come right to the point about this searing documentary -- it's a very difficult watch, even for those with steely tolerance and sensibilities. Director Stanley Nelson's chronicle of the five-day 1971 prison riot at New York's maximum security Attica Correctional Facility holds nothingI'll come right to the point about this searing documentary -- it's a very difficult watch, even for those with steely tolerance and sensibilities. Director Stanley Nelson's chronicle of the five-day 1971 prison riot at New York's maximum security Attica Correctional Facility holds nothing back, arguably the most graphic and uncompromising depiction of what turned out to be a horrific event for all concerned, the largest (and most deadly) such uprising in US history. The film thoroughly and meticulously explores what led to the incident and how it all unfolded through a wealth of archive footage and interviews with those who were there -- inmates, government officials, members of law enforcement, negotiators, observers and relatives of those who lost their lives. While arguments might be made that the insurgents deserved what they got, as this film so pointedly illustrates, incarceration is no excuse for brutally and inhumanely treating criminals like animals, both during their imprisonment or in whatever punishment they receive for their actions. "Attica" exposes what happened with an unrelenting candor that sugarcoats nothing, revealing an unmitigated, wanton, largely racist assault by officials driven by retribution and a penchant for maintaining order at any cost, no matter how egregiously barbaric. Admittedly, the film could have benefitted from more material on what was learned from the experience and any developments or reforms that have come out of the event. But, on balance, this is a tragic history lesson and a damning indictment of rigid, unyielding, retributive law and order policies that can't be condoned, no matter what the circumstances.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

UncleWillard

Nov 8, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I've seen better documentaries than this. Hell, the TV movie was better than this. Way too much time spent trying to make the prisoners look good, imo. Especially that one dude who was intent on beating on guards. Makes you wonder why you were in prison in the first place you pos.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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