Item #: 6028 Category: FRENCH Format: VHS MPAA Rating: PG

Woolly Rating: 5/10 (138 votes)

MEMBER COMMENTS ON THIS VIDEO

DKB	Jul 7, 2005 @ 11:13:29

NICE CONVICTS FROM NICE FRENCH PRISON
Several unbelievable and unrealistic details mar this otherwise interesting French prison escape flick from Jacques Becker. Four men inhabit a cell in an Alcatraz-like prison in Paris. When a fifth man is thrust into their midst, they decide to include him in their escape plans even though he might be a stoolie. These men have apparently never been convicted, but are being held until their trials. With the exception of the newcomer, we are never told what crimes they are accused of. But they are far from the stereotypical brutal thugs so familiar from Hollywood. No beatings or threats of rape here! These are all decent working class Pierres. Even the guards threat them with respect and allow them to wear their street clothes! Under these conditions, escape seems foolish at best. But escape they must. So they begin by removing the WOODEN floor boards of their cell. I mean, really, would any prison worth the name have wooden floors? Then they smash through the concrete floor, making an unholy racket which the guards inexplicably ignore, to the cellar beneath. More noisy digging and banging eventually opens up an escape route to the streets of Paris. The denouement is supposed to be a bit of a surprise to both the viewer and the escapees, so I won't say more. If you aren't a stickler for realism, you may well enjoy this longish flick. If, like me, you find that deviations from common sense detract from the film's believibility, you may find occasional scoffs and jeers spontaneously erupting from deep within.

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