Attica (2021)
90%RT Audience Score: 82%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
2 wins & 8 nominations total
Attica revisits the titular riot with intelligence, compassion, and anger, presenting a version of events that honors history as much as it exemplifies the art of documentary filmmaking.
If you’re looking for a documentary that will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, Attica is not it. But if you want to be moved, outraged, and inspired to take action, then this film is a must-watch. Stanley Nelson’s searing look at the 1971 prison uprising is a powerful indictment of the institutional racism and human rights abuses that still plague our penal system today. With extraordinary archival footage and interviews with former prisoners and guards, Attica brings to life the people, politics, emotions, and tragedy of this pivotal moment in American history. It’s not an easy watch, but it’s an important one. So grab some tissues, steel yourself for some hard truths, and prepare to be shaken to your core.
Production Company(ies)
Universal Pictures, Amblin Entertainment,
Distributor
Showtime Documentary Films
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
TV-MA
Year of Release
2021
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.78 : 1
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Runtime:1h 56m
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Language(s):
-
Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 29, 2021 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 6, 2021
Genre(s)
Documentary/History
Keyword(s)
Attica, documentary, history, prison riot, inmates, guards, institutional racism, human rights abuses, American penal system, Stanley Nelson, Traci Curry, directed by, produced by, written by, reviewed by, critic reviews, audience score, box office performance, budget, Showtime Documentary Films, MPAA rating, Clarence Jones, self, cast and crew, archival footage, prison reform, justice, tragedy, wake-up call, politics, emotions, Oscar-nominated, streaming platforms, horror, MCU movies, TV shows, Netflix series, news, reviews
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Stanley Nelson – Director
Traci Curry – Director
Stanley Nelson – Writer
Stanley Nelson – Producer
Traci Curry – Producer
Director(s)
Stanley Nelson, Traci Curry
Writer(s)
Stanley Nelson
Producer(s)
Stanley Nelson, Traci Curry
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
2 wins & 8 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (53) | Top Critics (19) | Fresh (52) | Rotten (1)
A forthright indictment of the institutional racism and human rights abuses in the American penal system at the time.
March 14, 2022
Wendy Ide
Screen International
TOP CRITIC
Traci A. Curry and Stanley Nelson’s Attica utterly devastated me.
November 24, 2021
Dmitry Samarov
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Nelson has made a career of fixing our gaze, however strong the impulse is to avert it.
November 5, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Verne Gay
Newsday
TOP CRITIC
It’s a worthy – and sadly timely – remembrance of a singular event whose ghosts continue to haunt us.
November 5, 2021
Inkoo Kang
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
Extraordinary archival footage… You can’t just dismissive it as hyperbole.
November 5, 2021
Tim Cogshell
FilmWeek (KPCC – NPR Los Angeles)
TOP CRITIC
Nelson’s film cries out anew for prison reform while exposing America’s deep roots of racism entrenched in the corridors of politicians, police and prisons.
November 4, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
Randy Myers
San Jose Mercury News
TOP CRITIC
Attica brings us back to a moment in time that continues to resonate by capturing the people, politics, emotions and tragedy serving as a wake-up call for prison reform and a reminder of the responsibilities of justice.
May 9, 2022
Carla Renata
The Curvy Film Critic
Authorities rewriting history as it’s being made is nothing new.
What do you know?
March 20, 2022 | Rating: A+
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
The Oscar-nominated documentary, which is currently available to view free on many streaming platforms, is a searing look at a dark moment in our penal system.
February 27, 2022 | Rating: 4.5/5
Christopher Lloyd
The Film Yap
The breadth of interviewees allows director Stanley Nelson to expand the story of the riot beyond the prison walls.
February 27, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
Phil Guie
Film-Forward.com
I don’t think Attica glorifies the prisoners, but it does humanize them. That is, it presents them as human beings.
January 5, 2022
Kenneth R. Morefield
1More Film Blog
This is how you indict a system.
December 29, 2021
Noah Gittell
Washington City Paper…
Plot
Attica is a documentary that explores the 1971 prison riot at Attica Correctional Facility, highlighting the tensions between inmates and guards and the institutional racism and human rights abuses in the American penal system at the time.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
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