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starring: Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn, Charles Bickford, Yvonne De Carlo, Ann Blythdirected by: Jules Dassin
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786305226154
Format: Black & White, NTSC
ISBN: 6305226156
Label: Kino Video
Manufacturer: Kino Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Kino Video
Release Date: November 11, 1998
Running Time: 95 minutes
Sales Rank: 24450
Studio: Kino Video
Theatrical Release Date: June 30, 1947
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
Jules Dassin's brooding, brutal drama about a prison wound to the breaking point by a sadistic captain of the guards is a classic film noir as well as one of the greatest prison films ever made. Burt Lancaster (in only his third film but already commanding the screen like a pro) is the savvy prison veteran whose clashes with Hume Cronyn (the ambitious guard with a god complex) land him first in solitary then in the claustrophobic drain pipe, a muddy, airless work detail that slowly kills every man assigned to it. With the help of his cellmate buddies and former gangland boss Charles Bickford he hatches a plan to break out, but Cronyn has his own plans for the unbreakable prisoner. Dassin's oppressive prison is thick with atmosphere: cavernous buildings and halls that echo with the footsteps of inmates and the clanking of bars, overcrowded cells that seem to close in on the men, a busy machine shop where the film's most memorable scene takes place--the ruthless assassination of a stoolie in a pounding metal press. Cinematographer William Daniels, a master of Hollywood's soft-focus glamour, creates a harsh, hard-edged look for the film, softened only by looming shadows. A sense of doom hovers over everything, culminating in an explosive finale, but the barbaric, brutish violence hangs in the air long after the film is over. --Sean Axmaker
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Don't drop the remote...or the soap
I've been anxious to broaden my film horizons with some classic pieces of American cinema. The results have been mixed. Some times I feel some of these "classics" are a bit of a bore. They might have some significant themes, but also have unrealistic plot developments, fanciful dialogue, and a severe case of overacting.
Thankfully that is not the case with Brute Force. This is just a gritty, intense prison-break movie. Like nearly all movies of this sort, you have the evil Captain abusing ... Read More
Rating: - a fine movie
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.
Brute Force is about a group of people attempting to escape from a prison. The prison has a particularly sadistic guard who beats the prisoners savagely. The film also has a prison riot in it which is somewhat intense.
The special features are audio commentary by Alain Silver and James Ursini, an interview with Paul Mason, author of a book on the depiction of prison life in popular culture, a trailer and a ... Read More
Rating:  - Brute Force
Made just prior to "Naked City," Dassin's gritty prison melodrama puts a twist on the archetypal bust-out scheme by revisiting, in flashback, the pre-penitentiary lives of Collins--ably played by an intense young Lancaster--and his crew, colorfully brought to life by character actors Whit Bissell, Howard Duff, and John Hoyt. In a fine performance, Charles Bickford appears as the prison's gruff de facto leader and newspaper editor who throws in his lot with Collins. The other ace in Dassin's deck is Cronyn, ... Read More
Rating: - Brute Force
Excellent movie! Unlike today's movies with lots of special effects and very little story developement with dialogue, this movie is the opposite.
A must-see for all Burt Lancaster fans.
Rating: - WE ARE ALL TRAPPED!
"BRUTE FORCE", ever since I first saw it on TV forty years ago,has been one of my favorite films.Directed with great vigor by Julues Dassin,it tells the story of "the men on the inside",and "the women on the outside.Burt Lancaster,Jeff Corey,Howard Duff,and John Hoyt,are some of the men "on the inside",Ann Blyth,Ella Raines,Anita Colby,and Yvonne DeCarlo are the woman on" the outside".Hume Cronyn gives a masterfull performance as the sadistic,fascist Caption of the guards.All the male characters, which also ... Read More
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