For once, here's a prison movie without a riot or an impromptu cafeteria fight in which one inmate bashes the other over the head with a food tray.
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04/13/06
Shakespeare Behind Bars (2006)
92
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:26
Fresh:24
Rotten:2
Average Rating:7.8/10
Consensus: Shakespeare Behind Bars is a moving testament to the power -- and universality -- of art.
Theatrical Release:Mar 10, 2006 Limited
Synopsis: Shakespeare's plays have been performed in every major city, in every possible venue, but perhaps the most unusual and emotionally-charged performances of OTHELLO and TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA have... [More]
Director: Hank Rogerson
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Reviews for Shakespeare Behind Bars
Observes as the inmates use theater to massage knots of guilt and anguish in their psyches.
05/05/06
Top CriticThis fascinating video documentary covers a nine-month rehearsal of Shakespeare's final play by inmates at the Luther Luckett Correctional Complex in La Grange, Kentucky.
08/12/08
Few non-fiction films about the arts hit as hard or soar to such heights of poetry and humanity.
05/11/06
Top CriticThe up-close interviews with the prisoners, many of whom are in jail for murder, are the heart of the film.
05/19/06
Rogerson lets the cameras roll, and we get real insight into daily prison life. But he doesn't stop to create context, and we feel stuck inside the razor wire.
04/14/06
... a truly compelling examination of the extent to which art can lift the human spirit, no matter how tragic the surrounding circumstances may be.
07/10/07
The search for inner forgiveness is a ribbon that runs throughout the film...
04/08/06
It's a tribute to the dry-eyed empathy of the filmmakers that these men, guilty of the most heinous crimes of murder and violence, somehow manage to win your sympathy.
03/01/07
Rogerson has crafted an emotionally satisfying exploration of the creative process through people who, before the program started, weren’t comfortable with expressing themselves at all.
04/08/06
Albeit a tad repetitive, Shakespeare Behind Bars succeeds in humanizing men we might too easily label as monsters, and provides a solid argument in favor of prisons that place rehabilitation above retribution.
05/11/06
Rogerson and producer Jilann Spitzmiller ably convey the humanity of the inmates while also exposing them as deeply flawed individuals. The film also reconfirms the enduring relevance and power of Shakespeare and his adaptability to almost any milieu.
05/12/06
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10/18/08
Perhaps it's just the inner drama geek talking, but there's something extremely compelling about seeing hardened felons preparing to put on a classic play with the enthusiasm of giddy schoolgirls.
04/29/06
The mere fact that Shakespeare can teach hardened criminals to search their souls gives hope that forgiveness and redemption are possible -- even at the bottom of the human barrel.
03/10/06
Top CriticWe'd all like to believe that art is a lot more powerful than it is, but during rehearsals, two inmates who swear that Shakespeare has shown them the light are instead cast off to the Hole for breaking prison rules.
03/10/06
Top CriticIn Shakespeare Behind Bars, the most restricted people in society find freedom in performance and release in words.
03/09/06
Top CriticAny minute of this low-budget, digitally shot documentary packs more punch than the entirety of most triumph-of-the-human-spirit blockbusters.
03/09/06
Top CriticBy presenting murderers as actors and then filming those actors discussing their sins, the line between performance and soul-searching blurs in unnerving ways.
04/14/06
The film makes the case -- one that always needs making -- that, despite what they've done, these men retain some shred of humanity.
04/14/06
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