Brute Force

Starring:Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn, Charles Bickford, Yvonne De Carlo, Ann Blyth, Ella Raines, Anita Colby, Sam Levene, Jeff Corey, John Hoyt, Jack Overman, Roman Bohnen, Sir Lancelot, Vince Barnett, Jay C. Flippen, Richard Gaines, Frank Puglia, James Bell, Howard Duff, Art Smith
Director: Jules Dassin
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Description

As hard-hitting as its title, Brute Force was the first of Jules Dassin's forays into the crime genre, a prison melodrama that takes a critical look at American society as well. Burt Lancaster is the timeworn Joe Collins, who, along with his fellow inmates, lives under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey (a riveting Hume Cronyn). Only Collins's dreams of escape keep him going, but how can he possibly bust out of Munsey's chains? Matter-of-fact and ferocious, Brute Force builds to an explosive climax that shows that man's desperation for freedom knows no bounds.

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

On the DVD
Criterion's beautiful restored print of Brute Force is accompanied by a small collection of supporting materials, including a commentary track by longtime film noir experts Alain Silver and James Ursini. They give a good brief on the film's history, such as the disagreements between producer Mark Hellinger and director Jules Dassin on the subject of the movie's use of flashbacks--an approach that would break the claustrophobia of the prison sequences and introduce female characters. Hellinger wanted the backstory, Dassin objected, and the producer won; but the point is definitely arguable. Prison-movie specialist Paul Mason gives a useful 15-minute talk, partly on Brute Force and partly on the genre of prison movies. Criterion's booklet has an excellent essay by critic Michael Atkinson, a vintage 1947 profile of the colorful columnist-turned-producer Hellinger, and an intriguing, bitter exchange of letters between Hellinger and Production Code chief Joseph Breen on the subject of the film's censorship problems. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

Brute Force.......2007-06-21

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, playing a corrupt, savage prison guard bent on bringing "discipline" to his inmates, while nursing a megalomaniacal ambition to replace the wimpy Warden. Aside from the ominous noir visuals, Dassin explores issues endemic to prison life and wraps them up in an ugly finale meant to evoke a Nazi bloodbath.

Brute Force.......2007-05-12

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.

WE ARE ALL TRAPPED!.......2006-04-08

"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 includes Charles Bickford,Sam Levine,and Roman Bohnen (as Warden Barnes) are oustanding,the women less so.This is not an easy DVD to get,so I wish someone maybe Universal,the original releasing company,would come out with a full-length commetary,with a special emphasis ,on the political repercussions that were felt by many members of the cast and crew of this and other left-leaning films.The films message is definitily anti-capitalist.The film rates 5 Stars,the DVD,with no special features rates a 3 and half Star rating.

Uncompromisingly Brutal, Pessimistic, and Affecting........2005-06-30

"Brute Force" is one of the most violent film noirs of the classic era, as well as one of the most pessimistic -and this is after some violence was removed to comply with the Production Code. The story takes place within the confines of Westgate Penitentiary, an overcrowded prison whose deficient living conditions and sadistic guards make the inmates' lives nearly unbearable. Prison life is no less than a war between the inmates and guard Captain Munsey (Hume Cronyn), who routinely uses blackmail and torture to control the prisoners. When the warden revokes all the inmates' privileges in response to the deaths of two men, inmate Joe Collins (Burt Lancaster) hatches a violent and risky escape plan with his cellmates and a senior, well-respected prisoner named Gallagher (Charles Bickford).

Director Jules Dessin doesn't let a glimmer of hope into this film. The violence is brutal and wholly without sentiment or regret. The utter hopelessness of the situation in the prison is overwhelming. Brute force is the only means in Westgate Penitentiary. The standout performance is by Hume Cronyn as the Nazi-inspired Captain Munsey, an unabashed sadist who uses social Darwinism to rationalize absolute dominance of the prisoners, who are, after all, behind bars, not free to challenge him. The prison doctor, a disgraced surgeon named Walters (Art Smith), numbs himself with alcohol and articulates the film's themes. "Do you know what this prison is?" he says. "One big human bomb!"

The film is a little too long, and the flashback scenes of wives and girlfriends are superfluous. This is perhaps the most blatantly existential film noir. It takes the position of Sartrean philosophy, articulated by Dr. Walters, which is juxtaposed with Nietzschean philosophy, articulated by Capt. Munsey. I'm not normally captivated by either of these schools of thought, but "Brute Force" kept me interested for the duration of the film. It is a brutal, beautiful film with sharp dialogue, solid character writing, and great attention to detail.

The DVD (Image Entertainment 1999): This is a good print of the film with no obvious image or sound problems. Bonus features include filmographies of director Jules Dessin, writer Richard Brooks, and 3 of the film's stars. (Choose "Filmographies", then "next" to see them.) The "Stills and Pressbook Gallery" (4 minutes) is a slideshow, with accompanying them music by Miklos Rozsa, of production stills, posters, and advertisements for the film.

Man - hate! Woman - love!.......2005-05-11

"Nothing's okay," Westgate Penitentiary inmate Joe Collins (Burt Lancaster) says, "I gotta get out." That's because the sadistic screws are keeping the otherwise tractable inmates down with BRUTE FORCE. You treat a man like an animal and he turns into one, right?
At least so sayeth the usually reliable director Jules Dassin in this overripe movie about a prison on the edge of explosion. You see, the bad guys - the inmates - have a backstory, told in a series of flashbacks, that proves they're good guys under the prison grays. They just got hooked up with bad women who made them do bad things. Flashbacks don't lie. They don't necessarily entertain, or keep a movie chugging onward at a comfortable clip, but they don't lie. The prison officials, on the other hand... the otherwise decent warden is weak and vacillating. The avuncular doctor drowns his reprehension in brandy, emerging from his alcoholic stupor periodically to crack wry about the inhumanity of it all.
The baddest good guy is Capt. Munsey (`Sir' to you), Hume Cronyn, an effete sociopath with a blood taste for dishing it out (he seems particularly fond of whips) and a penchant for the insinuating seduction.
I wanted to like it, but as BRUTE FORCE plodded forward, piling melodramatic excess on melodramatic excess, I found myself fighting it. Fighting the notion that everyone in effective authority was a heartless goon, the ineffective ones were broken (presumably by the ruthless System), and the inmates were misunderstood choirboys. Despite its good looks, good performances and exciting final scene I had too many "Aw, c'mon" moments to honestly say I liked this movie.
The transfer print is in good condition, and the disk includes a hands-free Stills Pressbook Gallery with a number of behind-the-scene photographs, publicity stills, lobby cards and posters.

Average customer rating:

Brute Force
Brute Force
WE ARE ALL TRAPPED!
Uncompromisingly Brutal, Pessimistic, and Affecting.
Man - hate! Woman - love!

Brute Force
Starring: Burt Lancaster , Hume Cronyn , Charles Bickford , Yvonne De Carlo , and Ann Blyth
Director: Jules Dassin
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Crime & Criminals | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Film Noir | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Indie & Art House | Stores | DVD | Video

( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00000IYR1
Release Date: 1999-07-06

Amazon.com

Description

Caged men, cut off from their women by a wall of stone and steel! Joe Collins (Burt Lancaster) schemes to break out of Westgate prison to be with his girl, who won't have a lifesaving operation until Joe is at her side. But Joe's hatred of Munsey (Hume Cronyn), the cruel guard captain, grows intense and threatens his escape. Tipped off to the plan, Capt. Munsey meets the prisoner's escape attempt with machine guns...

Customer Reviews:

Brute Force.......2007-06-21

Brute Force.......2007-05-12

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.

WE ARE ALL TRAPPED!.......2006-04-08

Uncompromisingly Brutal, Pessimistic, and Affecting........2005-06-30

Man - hate! Woman - love!.......2005-05-11

Average customer rating:

Roy Shaw - Brute Force
Director: Liam Galvin
Manufacturer: Epi
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Biography | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

( R ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

"Pretty Boy" Roy Shaw is Britain's hardest man. Also included is Legend, Tony Lamrianou another Kray loyalist and Charlie Bronson, Britain's most dangerous prisoner, doing a life sentence and he never killed anyone. Find out why.

Brute Force [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - France ]

Average customer rating:

Brute Force [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - France ]
Director: Jules Dassin
Manufacturer: Universal
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

France released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: English (Mono), French (Mono), French (Subtitles), SYNOPSIS: Burt Lancaster had one of his first starring roles in this hard-hitting prison drama. Capt. Munsey (Hume Cronyn) is a cruel, corrupt prison guard who has his own less-than-ethical ways of dealing with inmates, enough so that Joe Collins (Lancaster) -- the toughest inmate in the cell block -- has decided to break out. Collins tries to persuade Gallagher (Charles Bickford), the unofficial leader of the inmates and editor of the prison newspaper, to join him, but Gallagher thinks Collins' plan won't work. However, Collins does have the support of his cellmates, most of whom, like himself, wandered into a life of crime thanks to love and good intentions. Tom Lister (Whit Bissell) was an accountant who altered the books so he could buy his wife a mink coat. Soldier (Howard Duff) fell in love with an Italian girl during World War II and took the rap for her when she murdered her father. Collins pulled a bank job to raise money to pay for an operation that could possibly get his girl out of a wheelchair. And Spencer (John Hoyt) made the mistake of getting involved with a female con artist. After Munsey drives Tom to suicide and prevents Gallagher from obtaining parole, Gallagher joins up with Collins and his men in the escape attempt. Director Jules Dassin would next direct the influential noir drama The Naked City; six years later, he would move to Europe after political blacklisting prevented him from continuing to work in the United States. SPECIAL FEATURES: Filmographies, Interactive Menu, Photo Gallery, Posters,

Average customer rating:

Brute Force

Manufacturer: Film Prestige
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0007NJC2M

Product Description

This is NTSC DVD (USA & Canada) without region coding, officially released in Russia by studio "FILM PRESTIGE". Available Audio Tracks: original ENGLISH and RUSSIAN (voice-over). Available subtitles: RUSSIAN (removable). CUSTOMERS FROM NORTH AMERICA and JAPAN: Please, make sure your DVD player supports PAL DVDS (Europe, Australia, and Asia) before bidding; otherwise you can watch PAL DVDS on computer with DVD-ROM.

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