One of my all time favorites.

Fantastic!

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The new warden (Robert Redford) of a small prison farm in Arkansas tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate.I don't think this is one of Redford's better-known films, and the true story it is based off of is not well known either. But it is a darn fine film, and if for no other reason, people should see it for the young Morgan Freeman. At this point in his career, he didn't even have the full "voice of God" yet.What I find most interesting about this story is not the treatment of the prisoners, but how those on the outside abused the system. In real life, did they really purchase all sorts of equipment that was never sent? That is major corruption. And the "slave labor" seems sketchy, even more questionable than the 13th Amendment's rules allow.

A prisoner (Robert Redford) arrives at Wakefield State Penitentiary in Arkansas. He witnesses rampant abuse and corruption from the guards and prison officials. The prison is a dangerous overcrowded gulag. Eddie Caldwell (Everett McGill) is a cruel inmate given the powers of a guard. Larry Lee Bullen (David Keith) is a lifer trying to do right. Prisoner Walter (Morgan Freeman) suffering from solitary confinement takes Bullen hostage. The mysterious prisoner comes to the rescue revealing himself to be the new warden Henry Brubaker. He institutes reforms with the help of inmates Bullen and Dickie Coombes (Yaphet Kotto).The scariest thing about this prison isn't the torture, the rape, or the corruption. It's that most of prison seems to be run by the inmates. The tower guards are prisoners. The clerks are prisoners. In fact, I can't tell who's not a prisoner. Brubaker is a bit too heroic. He's one of those impossible people and almost inhuman. It's trying to advocate something rather than be a compelling story. The prison is a gritty place. That's one of most compelling aspect of the movie.

In my summary, I say not to watch this film unless you he two and a quarter hours to spare. That's because I made the mistake of starting the film around midnight--intending to only watch a few minutes and then go to bed. However, at almost 2:30am, I was still awake--ratcheted to the TV screen watching "Brubaker" until its exciting conclusion.The film is essentially the experiences of Tom Murton as warden of a hellish prison in Arkansas--although unlike the movie, he did NOT enter the prison disguised as a prisoner. The horror of it all is what makes this very compelling viewing--and a film you should NOT let your kids watch. Rather vivid depictions of beatings, rapes and other violence against the prisoners (mostly by other prisoners) make this tough viewing--and the viewer should think about this first. Now this is NOT a criticism--the harsh language and violence is necessary to adequately show the horrible conditions existing in this prison in the 1960s. In many ways, it's much more horrific than "The Shawshank Redemption"--and unlike this Stephen King story, "Brubaker" is true. Corruption on a massive scale and the state's unwillingness to reform make this a very compelling movie.Excellent acting by the ensemble cast make this an amazing movie to watch. And, not surprisingly, Robert Redford is his usual exceptional self. The only negative is that despite a great story and acting, the direction and editing are poor. An egregious example is late in the story. One of the trustees escape during a rain storm and is being tracked down by Brubaker and some other trustees. However, as they track him down there is dust everywhere and no trace of rain---talk about sloppy! Still, this is a minor technical quibble and the film is one of the best prison films I have seen.

This movie tells the true story of a man called Henry Brubaker.This man arrives at a prison as an inmate and witnesses all the bad stuff that's going on there.Later he reveals he's the new warden of that prison and he's gonna make some changes.Brubaker from 1980 is directed by Stuart Rosenberg.Bob Rafelson started as the director before being replaced.Robert Redford does excellent job as Brubaker.Yaphet Kotto is superb as Richard "Dickie" Coombes.Jane Alexander is very good as Lillian Gray.Murray Hamilton is great as John Deach.Morgan Freeman is good as always as Walter.Matt Clark is terrific as Roy Purcell.M. Emmet Walsh does convincing job as C.P. Woodward.Albert Salmi is great as Rory Poke.Noble Willingham plays Dr. Fenster.Nicolas Cage makes his debut as an extra.The movie succeeds in showing the cruelty of the prison world.One can ask is this something they deserve.Once you commit a crime, you need to be punished.But how much punishment is too much?