Brubaker
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| Brubaker | |
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 Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Stuart Rosenberg |
| Produced by | Ron Silverman |
| Written by | Screenplay W.D. Richter Arthur A. Ross Story Joe Hyams Tom Murton |
| Starring | Robert Redford Yaphet Kotto Jane Alexander Morgan Freeman Nicolas Cage |
| Music by | Lalo Schifrin |
| Cinematography | Bruno Nuytten |
| Editing by | Robert Brown |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | June 20, 1980 |
| Running time | 132 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Brubaker is an American 1980 film about a prison in distress and the Warden Henry Brubaker (Robert Redford) who attempts to reform the system.
The film boasts a large supporting cast of stars including Yaphet Kotto, Tim McIntire, Nathan George, David Keith, Everett McGill, Murray Hamilton, Matt Clark and Jane Alexander, with an early appearance by Morgan Freeman. Nicolas Cage appears as an extra in his very first film.
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[edit] Plot
A mysterious man (Redford) arrives at a prison as an inmate and witnesses rampant abuse and corruption, including open and endemic sexual assault, torture, worm-ridden diseased food, insurance fraud and a doctor charging inmates for care, amongst other things. During a dramatic standoff, he reveals himself to be the new prison warden, Henry Brubaker, to the amazement of both prisoners and officials alike.
With ideals and vision, he attempts to reform the prison, with an eye towards prisoner rehabilitation and human rights. He recruits several long-time prisoners, including Larry Lee Bullen (Keith) and Richard "Dickie" Coombes (Kotto), to assist him with his reformation. Their efforts improve the prison conditions, but his stance inflames several corrupt officials on the prison board who have profited from graft for decades. When he discovers multiple unmarked graves of prisoners on the property, he attempts to unravel the mystery, leading to political scandal. When a trustee realizes that he might be held accountable for killing another inmate, he decides to make a run for it, the resulting gunfight proves to be the final ammunition that the prison board (acting with the tacit approval of the governor) needs to fire Brubaker.
[edit] Background
The film is based on the 1969 book Accomplices To The Crime: The Arkansas Prison Scandal by Tom Murton and Joe Hyams. Murton was a warden at the Tucker and Cummins Prison in Arkansas. The abuses detailed in the film and the discovery of unmarked graves are based on fact.
Murton served as technical advisor to the film.
Filmed at The Junction City Prison Farm in Junction City, Ohio, Bremen, Ohio, New Lexington, Ohio, and at the Fairfield County Fairgrounds in Lancaster, Ohio.
[edit] Cast
- Robert Redford as Henry Brubaker
- Yaphet Kotto as Richard 'Dickie' Coombes
- Jane Alexander as Lillian Gray
- Murray Hamilton as John Deach
- David Keith as Larry Lee Bullen
- Morgan Freeman as Walter
- Matt Clark as Roy Purcell
- Tim McIntire as Huey Rauch
- Richard Ward as Abraham Cook
- Jon Van Ness as Zaranska
- M. Emmet Walsh as C.P. Woodward
- Albert Salmi as Rory Poke
- Linda Haynes as Carol
- Everett McGill as Eddie Caldwell
- Val Avery as Wendel
- William Newman (credited as William M. Newman) as Dunfield
- Nicolas Cage (cameo)
- A. Daniel Parrish as Prisoner
[edit] Awards
Wins
- Motion Picture Sound Editors: Golden Reel Award. Best Sound Editing.
Nominations
- Academy Awards: Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen; W.D. Richter (screenplay/story) and Arthur A. Ross (story).
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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