Brute Force

There have been a number of prison dramas made over the years, and this 1948 classic is debatably the best of the lot. Directed by Jules Dassin with his usual vigour, Brute Force is a powerful and brutal indictment about the penal situation in the US.

The film virtually starts in Cell R17, which is inhabited by six prisoners, and we soon get to know them and their stories very well (told in brief flashbacks by themselves). The ‘mates’ in question being – in no specific order – Spencer (John Hoyt), Gallagher (Charles Bickford), Freshman Stack (Jeff Corey), Robert ‘Soldier’ Becker (Howard Duff), Tom Lister (Whit Bissell), and last but least Joe Collins (Burt Lancaster). No prices for guessing who the stool pigeon is in this cell!
Lancaster, who like another contemporary actor of the time with whom he was often compared, that is to say Kirk Douglas, performs with bristling intensity.

All of these men are in fact (in reality) decent ‘types’ who just happen to be shit outta luck (as Clint Eastwood might say, the only bloke who ever escaped from Alcatraz!). Unfortunately, this penitentiary is reigned over by the sadistic Captain Munsey (Hume Cronyn). The warden Barnes (Roman Bohnen), sad to say, is a weakling… and we all know what happens to them.
Munsey, who sees himself as some kind of narcissistic little Nietzschean ‘Übermensch’ even listens to Wagner’s music as he tortures the prisoners. This is a truly disturbingly chilling performance by the diminutive stage actor/director Cronyn. It is in fact Cronyn’s film rather than Lancaster’s!

Munsey, filled with hate, blackmails the prisoners into getting what he wants from them – namely information as to what’s going on inside the prison walls! This tactic results in extremely unpleasant deaths for those who go along with him or not. Prison doctor Dr. Walters (Art Smith) is wise to Munsey’s every move – this makes for an interesting scene, in which his thoughts are revealed. Now clearly this is a man who does not believe that ‘the meek shall inherit the earth’.
We know that sooner or later someone’s going to light the match for the ignition – and indeed all hell breaks lose in Westgate, resulting in a big scale prison riot.

Brute Force boasts a standout score by composer Miklòs Rózsa (The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid). The taut screenplay by Richard Brooks is based on a story by Robert Patterson and is stark and atmospherically lit by William Daniels – turning this into a damning indictment indeed!

This deluxe package will be full of Special Features and bonus material including:

· New High Definition digital transfer of the film
· High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation
· Original mono 1.0 audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
· Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
· ‘Burt Lancaster: The Film Noir Years’ – an in-depth look at the actor’s early career by Kate Buford, author of Burt Lancaster: An American Life
· Theatrical trailer
· Stills gallery
· Reversible sleeve featuring the original poster and newly commissioned artwork by Reinhard Kleist
· Collector’s booklet containing new writing on the film by Frank Krutnik, author of In a Lonely Street: Film Noir, Genre, Masculinity, and Swell Guy, an obituary of Brute Force’s producer, Mark Hellinger, by its screenwriter, Richard Brooks, illustrated with original stills