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Shock Corridor - Criterion Collection | Year: 1963 Classification: Drama Directed: - Samuel Fuller Actors/Actresses: - Peter Breck - Constance Towers Something Really Different To describe SHOCK CORRIDOR as lurid would be an understatment: it plays like something torn from a supermarket tabloid. An ambitious reporter feigns madness and has himself committed to an insane asylum in order to investigate a recent and unsolved murder--and once inside he encounters everything from hateful attendants to a whole ward of crazed nymphos, and all the characters are presented in the most explotational tone possible. But SHOCK CORRIDOR has a lot more going for it than just lurid explotation. Director-writer Sam Fuller was reknowned for his gutsy, no-frills, straight-to-the-point style, and in his hands SHOCK CORRIDOR becomes a vision of America as a society that places so much emphasis on conformity and success that people crack and go mad under the strain. And Fuller's cast is remarkable: even when the story goes ridiculously over the top, they perform with such sincerity, conviction, and realism that you can buy into the story in spite of its improbabilities. SHOCK CORRIDOR will not be to every one's taste, but even those who dislike it will probably find themselves grudingly fascinated by the film, and although the film transcends such labels fans of explotational and cult cinema will also find lots to enjoy. A classic of its kind. Recommended... but don't say I didn't warn you. A DISTURBING MOVIE... A reporter seeking a Pulitzer Prize cons his way into being committed to an asylum to get the story on an unsolved murder case. Peter Breck (from TV's "The Big Valley") is good as the reporter. He blends in with the other male inmates trying to ferret out the facts but discovers insanity is nothing to toy with. Constance Towers (also in Fullers' "The Naked Kiss") is a stripper and his loyal girlfriend who notices Breck's mental deterioration on her visits. She tries but can't get him out. He has more or less sealed his own fate. The portrayals of the other inmates are powerful and there are some real doozies locked in with Breck. But I found the movie to be so vivid that it was almost unpleasant to watch. The scenes in the asylum are disturbing. The scenes outside the asylum are depressing and even Towers' strip routine at the nite club where she works is downbeat. Breck's plight is overwhelmingly doomed. This is without a doubt a challenging film but I can only recommend it with a warning. If you are emotionally affected by films be careful with this one. It will linger with you after you've seen it. Still it's a powerful and unusual film worthy of a cult following and a collector's item. One of Sam Fuller¿s most powerful pictures This precursor to ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, Written, Produced and Directed by Sam Fuller (THE BIG RED ONE) was originally banned in NZ on its initial release and for some odd reason carries an R18 certificate today (higher than the UK's 15 cert). But even despite the twelve year gap between this and Milos Forman's multi Oscar winning masterpiece, I personally felt that SHOCK CORRIDOR came across as a more subtly unsettling movie.<BR>In this overlooked classic Peter Breck gives a terrific performance as Johnny Barrett, a newspaper reporter who goes undercover as a patient in a mental asylum in order to expose the ill treatment of the inmates. But he soon finds himself fearing for his own sanity when he himself winds up being abused. The situation is not helped when he begins to have disturbing dreams about his stripper girlfriend (Constance Towers) whom he harbours a secret anger against for exposing herself to other men. (The stripping scenes are a special highlight too). However Johnny also gains the unwanted attention of half a dozen attractive-slash-deranged female inmates who want to sexually exploit and degrade him. Who said only women were victims? Unfortunately some of the audio synchronicity in SHOCK CORRIDOR is appalling, especially in this scene and as a result the potential power of this sequence is lessened somewhat. (I viewed the UK videotape so I'll presume this was the work of the Pommie censors and not the intention of Fuller).<BR>As if all this isn't bad enough, among the other inmates is an African American man with a split personality- his alter ego being a white supremacist. This leads to one of the movie's more unnerving moments where he dons a KKK outfit and sets an angry mob upon another Negro patient. This would have been pretty wild stuff for 1963 and the scene still packs a wallop four decades on. It's safe to presume that this wouldn't be allowed in movies today (unless it was being spoofed by the Wayans brothers). It's also of note that several flashback scenes are shot in color- including a brief but effective montage of the movies most powerful incidents during the scene in which Barrett undergoes electroshock therapy.<BR>The combo of b&w photography with a shady atmosphere help to give SHOCK CORRIDOR a chillingly brilliant claustrophobic feel, which is so effective that while watching it you feel that you are incarcerated along with Barrett and suffering with him. Keep your eyes peeled for James Best, later to be better known as Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane on THE DUKES OF HAZZARD.<BR>There are also a couple of amusing parts amongst all the despair, most notably the scenes featuring the screaming mad cowboy and a bit where one of the inmates proclaims with pride: "I am impotent and I like it!" Yup, the man is certifiable in my opinion.<BR>SHOCK CORRIDOR is a movie well worth tracking down. Fuller manages to seamlessly blend thriller, psychological drama, social commentary horror, black humor Buy Shock Corridor at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Shock Corridor Search with the Priority Search Engine on Shock Corridor This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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