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Short Eyes

Play trailer Poster for Short Eyes R 1978 1h 44m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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92% Tomatometer 12 Reviews 84% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Convicts try to stay alive in a brutal prison where certain fellow inmates violate nearly every known rule of decency.

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Short Eyes

Critics Reviews

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David Ansen Newsweek 03/07/2023
The flaws ultimately don't matter. Like the prison jargon, the sense of which is always clear even if the words are incomprehensible, Piñero's angry eloquence -- and his sudden flashes of tenderness -- burn away one's esthetic qualms. Go to Full Review Pauline Kael The New Yorker 05/26/2021
With sensational material like this, disorganization is preferable to a slick, false structure. And parts of this movie seem as good as they could possibly be. Go to Full Review Vincent Canby New York Times 05/09/2005
4/5
Remarkably effective film making. Go to Full Review Brian Orndorf Blu-ray.com 09/21/2020
B
The viewer walks away with a deep understanding of motivation, which helps "Short Eyes" through clichés it periodically encounters. Go to Full Review Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault 04/09/2007
A
A brutal, compelling slice of prison life, popularly described as "raw and powerful." Go to Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 07/18/2005
3/5
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Audience Reviews

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delysid d 04/01/2019 this is like the holy grail for all prison movies. the TV show Oz as well has strong similarities to this. but this movie is miles above that HBO sludge. the scene where they finally decide to kill the pedophile is intense! i like watching prison life from a safe distance See more 07/19/2015 A bit disturbing (even for a prison flick) See more 05/29/2014 Slightly stagy adaptation still packs quite a wallop. See more 10/27/2012 Prisoners roll out the welcome mat for a new child molester inmate. More memorable than most prison dramas for the brutal treatment of the new guy. I learned that short eyes is prison slang for a child molester. See more 10/06/2012 Thirty-five years on, this story still hold great relevance. One of the more thought provoking films I've seen in awhile. See more 08/03/2012 Prisoners roll out the welcome mat for a new child molester inmate. More memorable than most prison dramas for the brutal treatment of the new guy. I learned that short eyes is prison slang for a child molester. See more Read all reviews
Short Eyes

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Robert M. Young

Director

Bruce Davison

Clark Davis

José Pérez

Juan

Nathan George

Ice

Tito Goya

Cupcakes

Don Blakely

El Raheem

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Short Eyes

Short Eyes (1978) Short Eyes (1978) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Convicts try to stay alive in a brutal prison where certain fellow inmates violate nearly every known rule of decency.
Director
Robert M. Young
Producer
Robert M. Young, Lewis Harris
Production Co
Paramount Pictures
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
May 3, 2017
Runtime
1h 44m
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