bheadher If you think the corruption and brutality in this movie is just fantasy, I have some news for you...The corruption and brutal treatment of prisoners at state prisons was too often very real, until they were uncovered and dealt with. And it was not limited to the deep southern states, either. In fact, of the ten most infamous prisons in the US, five of them are in northern and western states...that doesn't mean the south gets a free ride though. Most of the southern prisons were notorious for the chain gangs, and some were identified for the corruption as well. The difference in the movie Brubaker, is that the corruption displayed is totally open and everybody knows about it...in reality, corruption was usually very localized, and many officials simply had no idea it was so rampant.Brubaker is an eye opener of a movie, and deserves every one of the stars...

Ian (Flash Review)The good 'ol boys down in Arkansas aren't happy with the new prison warden who is trying to uproot generations of corruption at the expense of the prisoners. Redford poses as an undercover boss for two weeks as an inmate to get a firsthand look at how this prison is being operated. Many people stealing from the government's teet. The more he uncovers, the more the officials and surprisingly some inmates become increasingly disgruntled. How much will he uncover? How many incriminating things will he uncover or even be able to change? This is a fairly novel screenplay for the prison movie genre and kept me hooked for the duration. Swift editing keeps the story moving. There is surprisingly solid cinematography for a 1980 movie. Solid drama. A must if you are a Redford fan.

Solnichka McPherson Robert Redford stars in this film about a new prison warden attempting to weed out corruption in a decrepit prison farm. The twist early on is Brubaker's entry to the farm as a prisoner, so he can witness first-hand the situation he will be dealing with as warden. As a prisoner on the inside, he sees the brutal beatings of prisoners and witnesses their uncomfortable environment. One of the more interesting aspects of the plot is the use of prisoners as "overseers" of the other prisoners. Like the character of Dathan in Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments", there are prisoners keeping other prisoners down, contributing to the penal deficiencies. These overseers take bribes, beat other prisoners and are generally malicious. This adds the twist to the plot - not only does Brubaker have to deal with the corrupt state officials running the prison system, he has to overcome the corrupt prisoners in charge of maintaining the farm. There is another complexity to this, because usually prisoner-on-prisoner brutality involves those on equal footing. Not here - the prisoners scramble for overseer appointments so they can dominate those they had just been with on equal ground. They learn their lessons well in the U.S. penal system. Almost every prison film features a scene or two dealing with "the hole," the solitary confinement cells. Brubaker is no different, although the two main scenes involving the isolation cells are pivotal. In the first, Brubaker is still posing as a prisoner, but he asserts his authority when an isolated prisoner (Morgan Freeman) loses his mind. The second scene takes place after Brubaker has taken over as warden, and he orders the solitarily-confined prisoners to be taken outside once a day and provided with sunglasses. The connection between these two scenes is very key in understanding Brubaker's motivations. He sees the effects of the penal system on Freeman's character, and when he takes over, Redford attempts to correct the ills of that particular penal problem. The symmetry was one of the better moments in the film, illustrating the process of improving the penal system. Redford's age is very apparent now, but in this 1980 film, he looks beleaguered. Is it the role, or the actor in the role? I enjoyed the stoic nature of his character, unwilling to bend or break when faced with the opposition presented by the corrupted state officials. The end of the film is sort of cheesy, with the inmates showing tribute to their fired warden as he rides out of sight. But overall, the film succeeds at showing two things - the mistreatment of prisoners (whether by fellow prisoners or "guards") and the corruption within the penal system. Redford shows a unique ability to respect many of his inmates, and this film is the only one focusing on the warden's perspective on prison. This different approach puts certain penal issues in a different light, although Redford's character still faces the same adversity as the inmates do--fighting a corrupt system attempting to keep them down. In one sense, Redford is an inmate, a "prisoner" of the penal system corruption, fighting for the rights of the prisoner. Last note - the movie is a little too long. That knocks it down a bit.

jc-osms Unremittingly tough jail-drama set in the modern-day but somehow feeling retro in many ways. There's a good true-to-life story here, of a newly installed reforming prison governor attempting a root and branch reform of the corrupt, inhumane and as it turns out evil practices at a prison somewhere in the prison south. Baulked by politics as his reforms start to make themselves felt, Redford's title character must decide whether or not to toe the party line and compromise his beliefs.For me, the story was weakened by just too any scenes coming over as second-hand, witnessed in so many prison dramas of yore. At least the movie tells its story from a different point of view, in placing Brubaker at the centre of the drama and not the usually heroic prisoners.The cinematography is excellent, as, for the most part is the ensemble acting. I'm not convinced Redford was right for the part, his good looks yet again working against him and his performance falling short of the crusading zeal the part demands. He rarely seems to get really angry, which is strange, as there's plenty for a liberal like him to rail against. I wasn't convinced by the over melodramatic "Spartacus" meets "Goodbye Mr Chips" finish, which just didn't ring true.All that said, I was reasonably engrossed all the way through but didn't in the end feel the film conveyed a suitably dramatic arc, or insightful delineation of character, to really make it remarkable.Good, yes, but not great.