While the landmark 1971 riot at the Attica State Prison in New York may not be fresh in everyone's mind, filmmaker Brad Lichtenstein's Ghosts of Attica, narrated by Susan Sarandon, will serve to bring it back…in all its unpleasantness. In the wake of a four day inmate rebellion, Governor Nelson Rockefeller ordered an assault to retake the prison during which New York State police fired a fusillade of 1,600 bullets in a confrontation that took the lives of 29 inmates and ten guards who were being held hostage, as well as wounded scores of others. Numerous prisoners were subsequently beaten and tortured by the police and correctional officers. Recounting the entire fiasco and the government cover-up that followed, while documenting attorney Elizabeth Fink's legal battle with the state of New York to obtain compensation for the Attica prisoners, this fine documentary also addresses the demands of the guards who were wounded in the attack and of the families of the guards killed in the police action (many of whom were fobbed off with workmen's compensation checks). Well-edited and loaded with revealing still photographs and cogent commentary (particularly from Frank “Black” Smith, an inmate who was appointed Chief of Security by his peers during the riots), this is an exceptional piece of filmmaking. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: H, C, P. (P. Van Vleck)
Ghosts of Attica
(2001) 89 min. $440. First Run/Icarus Films. PPR. Color cover. Volume 17, Issue 3
Ghosts of Attica
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