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Movie Info
Posing as an inmate at a small Arkansas prison, the new warden of the penitentiary, Henry Brubaker (Robert Redford), witnesses firsthand the corruption and abuse inflicted upon the prisoners by the staff. After revealing his true identity, Brubaker brings much-needed reform to the prison with the help of supporters Dickie Coombes (Yaphet Kotto) and Lillian Gray (Jane Alexander). Yet when the benefactors of the old corrupt system are threatened by the changes, Brubaker's battles really begin.
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Rating: R
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Genre: Drama
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Original Language: English
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Director: Stuart Rosenberg
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Producer: Ron Silverman
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Writer: W.D. Richter
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Release Date (Theaters): original
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Runtime:
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Distributor: 20th Century Fox
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Production Co: 20th Century Fox
Cast & Crew
Critic Reviews for Brubaker
Audience Reviews for Brubaker
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Brubaker sounds like something someone would grunt out, or rather, what Robert Redford might grunt out in the shower. Redford might just be playing a warden undercover as an inmate, but he should watch his step, or else he'll end up over his head and down on his knees. "Cool Hand Luke II: Still Too Pretty for Prison"! Stuart Rosenberg had to go with the Sundance Kid, because he just couldn't wait around for Butch Cassidy forever, and now that both Rosenberg and Paul Newman have tragically passed, you shouldn't expect the crossover, "Brubaker and the Cool Hand Luke". Yeah, when you mix the titles of these two prison films together, the result does kind of sound like yet another Newman-Redford outlaw buddy film, so maybe Rosenberg really is hoping to get the attention of the "Butch and Sundance" crowd through these films. I don't know why exactly, because "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" was dull enough when it was just one movie, and the outlaws were still at large, not stuck in prison. Well, don't worry, because this film is fairly compelling, although momentum is still shaken, partly because you can compare it a little too much to more than just "Cool Hand Luke" and, apparently, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". The film isn't simply formulaic, but all-out clichéd, at least at times, in which storytelling falls too far into conventions as a prison drama whose familiarity could be easier to get past if the focuses of this character drama were more distinguished. The performances are convincing enough to help a great deal in selling you on the roles in this narrative, but even the performers' material is thinned down by thin characterization which does little to truly flesh out the depths of each major character. Maybe this film would have had more time to do some fleshing out for the leads if it didn't take some time to introduce ultimately inconsequential roles whose forced incorporation take away from the primary focus of this uneven plot, and add to a sense of excess. The film is a little too long, maybe even aimless in all of its dragging, despite doing a decent job of sustaining your attention that, even then, isn't particularly consistent. Actually, I don't know if the film is especially long, as much as it feels long, when backed by steady directorial pacing by Stuart Rosenberg whose cold spells range to dull from a certain blandness that is actually pretty prominent throughout the film, trying your patience time and again. Many ought to stand their ground against the coldness and be rewarded, and many others ought to be underwhelmed, if not worse, due to an overt thoughtfulness that fails to go justified by more unique, nuanced, even and tight storytelling. Still, the point is that, with patience, one ought to be decidedly rewarded, drawn to the subtle grace to and, for that matter, story concept behind the film. Not much of anything is particularly fresh about this story, but potential still stands firm in this, in a way, unpredictable portrait on prison life, and how a new warden interprets it and works to better the system behind it, and yet, there's also something minimalist about this subject matter. Considering the flaws, this drama's minimalism could have driven the final product shy of rewarding, but the telling of the story ultimately proves to be strong much more than anything, even in a script by W. D. Richter that delivers on fair dialogue and memorable, subtly dynamic set pieces, whose believability helps in immersing you into this intimate drama. Richter does what he can to compensate for characterization thinness and an unevenness in the juggling of the many roles, but he started those problems, so he doesn't pay as much mind as he should towards mending them, thus, the characters have to be brought to life by the cast. At the same time, the thinness to characterization limits material, but when the performers are given something to do, just about all of them deliver, with the portrayers of the prisoners being particularly convincing and effective in their nuance. At least compared to his peers in the central cast, Robert Redford actually isn't particularly impressive, playing himself, but therefore delivering on plenty of charisma to help win you over, though still not quite as much as a certain offscreen performance. Director Stuart Rosenberg takes things steadily, but surely, and much too often, that blands things up, maybe even dulls things down, due to plot structure's being too questionable for all that much momentum to be sustained, but that sort of thoughtfulness, when realized, is solid in its impact, with a subtle tension and resonance that captures the edge of this drama. There is a lot of bite to this audacious and only slightly melodramatized portrait on harsh prison life, into which Rosenberg and his fellow storytellers immerse you enough to reward the patient. In conclusion, conventions, as well as thinness and an uneven juggling of characterization join directorial cold spells in retarding the momentum of an already overlong affair, until the final product runs the risk of falling short of a reward value which is ultimately secured by the intriguing story concept, rich script, solid cast and thoughtful direction which make "Brubaker" an ultimately biting, maybe even immersively gripping prison drama. 3/5 - Good
cameron j Super Reviewer -
Brubaker is a prison drama - a little like Shawshank Redemption, but in this one, it is Brubaker that is fighting corruption in prison. It is almost too idealistic, but it is always cool when corruption is stifled.
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It's no Cool Hand Luke (Rosenberg's earlier film), but Brubaker is still a great prison drama. Depressing as it may be, it's a fact-based story, featuring an umcomprimising idealist played powerfully by Redford. I appreciated the film's willingness to not strain away from the harsh realities involved, and not opting for an overly simplistic and studio-friendly happy ending. Solid performances and direction all around. Of note for film buffs- you'll notice an early appearance by Morgan Freeman (Nicolas Cage also appears as an extra in his first film). 4/5 Stars
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Classic Robert Redford from the early 80's. A gripping movie from the director of "Cool Hand Luke".
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