Penitentiary

Rating:
Summary: I've loved this movie since i was 15. It's crazy and funny.
Review: Even though it is a B movie, it was great. The fight scenes were just nutty. The characters in this movie are wild. The gay guys at the matches were great. When the women pentitiary came over to watch the matches then things really got crazy. It was tooo funny. I watch it over and over.

Rating:
Summary: A long lost blacksploitation Gem!
Review: Suprise, suprise blaxpo fans the movie that started off the penitentiary trend is available. No, it's not the one with Mr. T (penitentiary II) or that horrible one with the midget. (penintiary III) This is the one with the original too sweet, half dead and seldom seen. The movie is low budget and cheap, try to find the boom mike in some scenes, but that's not what impresses me. It's the fact it transends the usual blacksploitation stereotypes. They are still there but also there is also a lot of truth within it. The seldom seen character is no characture he's a real. (He play's too sweet trainer.) I was amazed at how realistic his portrayal of an institutionalized convict was. We really get to understan him and why he does what he does. Another interesting thing about this movie is the the character half dead (Badja Djola) was hilarious. (You want some Mr. goodbar) You might remember him from the dozens of movies afterward (a rage in harlem, mississippi burning and other films) I also liked the fact that this was funny(mostly) but it also was serious at times. If you are any kind of fan of blacksploitation movies, or cult movies in general I urge you to buy or rent if you can find this video. Trust me it's HARD to find!

Rating:
Summary: Quite possibly one of the best
Review: The poetry and hidden beauty of Penitentiary are not simple yet astounding. Badja Djola's (Half-Dead) expressionism of the violence of prison life, and Lion Isaac Kenneday's portrayal of Too Sweet as the hero struggling against all to prevail make this movie this instant classic it is. The amazing fight scenes that depict the sole outlet for these oppression and violence of the unfortuate inmates brings to the fore the struggles of the nation itself in the 70s. Deep, thoughtful, and above all entertaining, one of the best!

Rating:
Summary: Quite possibly one of the best
Review: The poetry and hidden beauty of Penitentiary are not simple yet astounding. Badja Djola's (Half-Dead) expressionism of the violence of prison life, and Lion Isaac Kenneday's portrayal of Too Sweet as the hero struggling against all to prevail make this movie this instant classic it is. The amazing fight scenes that depict the sole outlet for these oppression and violence of the unfortuate inmates brings to the fore the struggles of the nation itself in the 70s. Deep, thoughtful, and above all entertaining, one of the best!

Rating:
Summary: A low-budget classic!
Review: The quality of the movie is poor, but if you want a good movie, with black actors, get this classic.