As prisons proliferate in the U.S. Attica, a documentary made in 1973-4, could prove instructive. It chronicles the events of a 1971 prison rebellion in upstate New York, at the Attica Correctional Facility. In that uprising, begun as a protest over inhumane living conditions, on the instructions of Governor Nelson Rockefeller (later a U.S. Vice President), state troopers killed a large number of prisoners and several of their hostages when negotiations remained stalemated for several days. This documentary, which makes extensive use of contemporary television coverage, is made by Cinda Firestone of the Liberation News Service: it's point of view is outspokenly in accord with that of the rioting prisoners. The new material features interviews with former inmates of Attica, who recollect that time.
by Clarke Fountain
synopsis
