#383: DASSIN, Jules: Brute Force (1947)

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DASSIN, Jules (United States)
Brute Force [1947]
Spine #383
DVD


As hard-hitting as its title, Brute Force was the first of Jules Dassin's forays into the crime genre, a prison melodrama that also takes a critical look at American society. 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 the lengths men will go to when fighting for their freedom.

98 minutes
Black & White
Monaural
1:33:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2007
Director/Writers


Story by Robert Patterson.
Screenplay by Richard Brooks.
Jules Dassin was 36 when he directed Brute Force.

Other Dassin films in the Collection:

#380: The Naked City (1948)
#273: Thieves' Highway (1949)
#274: Night And The City (1950)
#115: Rififi (1955)

The Film

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Forty-page booklet featuring essays by Michael Atkinson and Pete Martin; and Mark Hellinger and Joseph Breen: An Exchange.

Commentary

By film noir specialists Alain Silver and James Ursini.

Interview

With Paul Mason, editor of Captured by the Media: Prison Discourse in Popular Culture.
Stills gallery

Theatrical trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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