Scum

i'm exactly the sort of person you'd expect to enjoy this film; it's a brutal portrayal of prison life. and i did like it to an extent. however it also feels quite sensationalistic, no matter how much i agree with clarke's concerns, and even a bit contrived. archer was by far the most interesting character, the rest of them were pretty typical, stock sort of people.

Top badass moment? It has to be the riot in the food hall. Pointless, stupid and ultimately achieving nothing (except a beating). However, taking back a feeling of controlling your own destiny, however fleeting, is badass. No cats, chainsaws or decapitations.

A prison film except with children, which makes it a lot more brutal and hard-hitting. If they toned it down it would not have the safe effect I'll check out the TV version sometime to see if that's true. The movie drifts a bit. Fav scene: I liked the interview with Archer which starts off nice but then the adult's ego is hurt.

Nasty, vindictive and brutal. In short; exactly what you expect from Clarke.

A lot of very powerful episodes, but everything seems poorly tied together. Perhaps the 'raw' directing style was to enhance the rawness of the overall story, but I doubt this level of disjointedness is anything but on purpose.

A potent, hard-hitting film. I wonder what Dom and Liam would think of it considering how much they bitched about Shawshank for seeming like a holiday, cos they're bellends. The way it shows the prison administration was chilling and shocking.

Very dark, very disturbing, very well done. Although this movie couldn't have been made if it weren't for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Appalling, shocking and cruel - a savage indictment of a terrible regime. The only thing that struck me was that it felt like an extended pilot

"There is no violence here!" Considered shocking and quite controversial in its time, graphic violence has become common currency in the intervening decades, and the intense, violent episodes still pack a punch. Very well done, with a lot of strong performances, especially Ray Winstone and Mick Ford.

and here i was thinking that loach, leigh and greenaway were pissed off with the british government. good time to be watching this as we continue the sink back into the dark days of thatcher. who do you guys prefer out of truss and sunak? personally i choose urethral sepsis via mutilation by jagged toenail.

Vicious and bleak-funny, forceful acting and wonderful dialogue. Its depiction of prison life is "realistic" but has obviously been mined by subsequent works for its unreal qualities.

83.000

I was still waiting for the ending when the end credits began...

Memorable and influential little piece of Brit culture.

Lots of really great young actors in this one (including an incredibly young Ray Winstone), and an excellent portrayal of how prisons aren't really the centres of rehabilitation they're meant to be -- even today.

86.500

Anarchy! This is an angry film, full of incredibly confronting scenes, morally malleable on purpose to incite thoughtful discussions of the thread of violence amongst people and the use of punishment in our society. Certainly makes other movie prisons seem incredibly tame in comparison.

When I first saw this 30 years ago I was traumatised now it seems like a violent episode of Grange Hill.

Portrays the physical, sexual, and psychological violence committed. Horrifying and powerful.

Brutal.

Be ready to grit your teeth.

Stunning and disturbing.