Against the Wall (1994) on Netflix
In 1971, 22-year-old Michael Smith takes a job as a corrections officer at Attica Penitentiary for the pay. Inmate Jamaal X, a Muslim leader, presses the prisoners' demands for basic rights.
- Netflix3.3/5
- IMDb6.6/103,529 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes64%
Trailer
Plot summary
Attica Penitentiary in 1971 is a place of beatings and needless strip searches, where basic needs like working toilets are ignored, and the prisoners are growing politicized. Michael Smith, 22 and an expectant father, joins the staff as a corrections officer because of the pay. On his first day, inmate Jamaal X arrives, a Muslim leader who speaks for the men. Michael treats the prisoners with respect, and his co-workers distrust him for it; his wife Sharon tells him he is changing. Lieutenant Weisbad and the seasoned officers permit no challenge to their control. When a gate malfunctions, prisoners overpower the officers and take them hostage.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Against the Wall (1994)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
SPOILER
The real Attica uprising ended on September 13, 1971, when Governor Nelson Rockefeller ordered 1,000 state troopers, sheriff's deputies, corrections officers and National Guard members to fire at will, killing 29 inmates and 10 officers they were holding hostage.- Governor Nelson Rockefeller, who wanted to be president, decided not to go to the prison to broker a peaceful resolution as the inmates and their negotiators had asked.
- Michael Smith, the real corrections officer the film follows, never worked in a prison again; he was located with the help of private investigators.
- The film's inmate leader Jamaal X, played by Samuel L. Jackson, is based on several real inmates, including the one Corrections Officer Michael Smith credits with saving his life.
- Former inmates who were present during the riot were cast as extras in the film, which dramatizes the 1971 Attica prison takeover.
