Scum

A must see for boys groeing up.

Re Watched this again recently & it's safe to say it hasn't lost any of its grim brutality. Alan Clarke's controversial & disturbing take on the British borstal system in the seventies is a tough watch.

Brutal and bleak film that shows the borstals to be a bit like Siberian prison camps. I enjoyed it.

Gripping, heartbreaking, and probably the grimmest thing I've seen since since Threads. Scum is a Tour de Force which deconstruct the punitive institutions of the state. Clarke does an awful lot with very little (I can't recall hearing a single piece of music in the film), and having also seen Penda's Fen recently it's fair to say I'm something of a convert to the guy. Some fantastic performances as well from the young actors, though I note that at 22 Winstone was a little older than his character!

You're not watching for the characters or the plot so much as the awful environment that makes the story what it is.

Alan Clarke's infamous portrayal of the borstal system forced a reevaluation of the structure on its release back in 1979. Banned on release, labeled repulsive and disgusting amongst other things, none of these accusations are unfounded, but they do miss the point somewhat. I consider myself pretty desensitised over many years of watching films, but I was shocked at the violence in Scum, in the best way possible. It's probably the best I've seen Ray Winstone, this his breakout role, and there's also a terrific performance from Mick Ford as the eccentric Archer. Despite the violence, I couldn't tear my eyes from Scum. It's far from just a video nasty, and it's certainly not just a shock picture. It's engrossing and harrowing, well performed, and wonderfully raw. It's lost absolutely none of the power it would have had on release in 1979, and if you can stomach some wince inducing violence, Scum is ninety minutes you won't regret.

British classic full with future legends.

God, what a grim decade the seventies were. In Alan Clarke's relentlessly bleak and humourless borstal-set movie, there's an almost pornographic emphasis on the worst aspects of human behaviour. Which makes for a fairly joyless watch, despite the excellent performances from a large cast (particularly Mick Ford as the sardonic Archer). It's not a film you want to revisit, its points are made and then repeated. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest occupies similar territory but leavens it with wit and humour.

(1979 theatrical release) Absolute classic! Seminal filmmaking by Alan Clarke. Career making and defining central performance from Ray Winstone. Cult Brit-flick.

Very gritty and ultimately realistic film