We're all used to the fact that the studios save the films they have
Oscar hopes for until late in the year. I remember seeing this at the very beginning of 1995 and when I saw Kevin Bacon's brilliant performance, I couldn't believe that this film was not given better publicity and an end of the year release.
49 other people have already commented on how good Kevin Bacon was and there's nothing I can add there. I'm gratified he got the awards and nominations he did get.
But Kevin if you're reading this, YOU WUZ ROBBED as far as the Academy Awards are concerned.
Murder in the First
1995
Action / Drama / Thriller
Plot summary
Henri Young stole five dollars from a post office and ended up going to prison - to the most famous, or infamous, prison of them all: Alcatraz. He tried to escape, failed, and spent three years and two months in solitary confinement - in a dungeon, with no light, no heat and no toilet. Milton Glenn, the assistant warden, who was given free reign by his duty-shirking superior, was responsible for Young's treatment. Glenn even took a straight razor and hobbled Young for life. After three years and two months, Young was taken out of solitary confinement and put with the rest of the prisoners. Almost immediately, Young took a spoon and stabbed a fellow prisoner in the neck, killing him. Now, Young is on trial for murder, and if he's convicted he'll go to the gas chamber. An eager and idealistic young attorney, James Stamphill, is given this impossible case, and argues before a shocked courtroom that Young had a co-conspirator. The true murderer, he says, was Alcatraz.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Brad Dourif as Byron Stamphill
Gary Oldman as Milton Glenn
Kevin Bacon as Henri Young
Christian Slater as James Stamphill
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU 1.05 GB
1280*700
English 2.0
R
Movie Reviews
Reviewed by
Badly handled in the publicity department
Reviewed by
Courtroom drama with a gritty prison vibe
MURDER IN THE FIRST is an extremely gritty and brutal slice of life prison drama that becomes a courtroom film in the second half. It has the hook of being based on a true story although plenty of the facts have been altered to give it more mainstream appeal. The film covers the brutal treatment meted out to Alcatraz prisoners in the 1930s, focusing on the plight of Kevin Bacon, a convict at the mercy of Gary Oldman's sadistic assistant warden.
The film itself is a mix of the good and bad, let down only by that dated '90s filming style that makes the whole thing feel a little bit cheesy and irrelevant despite the seriousness of the subject matter. Still, an ensemble cast do their jobs well here, with a typically loathsome Oldman on strong form, Christian Slater convincing as the ambitious young lawyer, and folk like Stephen Tobolowsky, Brad Dourif, William H. Macy, and R. Lee Ermey propping up the scenery. Best of the bunch is Bacon himself who gives a performance loaded with anguish and violence; it's the best of his career.
Reviewed by
Kevin Bacon stripped down performance
The guards at Alcatraz kill one prisoner and recapture others including Henri Young (Kevin Bacon) during an escape attempt. Young would spend three years and two months in solitary confinement. He had stolen $5 from a grocery store to take care of his sister. The fact that a U.S. Post Office is also in the store made it a Federal offense. After being released from solitary, he kills a fellow prisoner. Young James Stamphill (Christian Slater) becomes his defense lawyer who makes Alcatraz and Warden Milton Glenn (Gary Oldman) as the ultimate cause of the murder.
This is one of those based on true story but one shouldn't look too closely. The story is filled with big stereotypes. Kevin Bacon is stripped down in an amazing performance. I like certain touches of this historical setting. Slater is fine and Oldman is great evil. I can't shake off the feeling that this has a fake fable feel.