The defence The Big-Idea Head
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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Brute Force
Crime · Drama · Thriller · 1947
Timeworn Joe Collins and his fellow inmates live under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey. Only Collins' dreams of escape keep him going, but how can he possibly bust out of Munsey's chains?
Movie details
Brute Force
“Power Packed Picture!”
1947 Crime · Drama · Thriller 1h 38m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.3 / 10
Community rating
Timeworn Joe Collins and his fellow inmates live under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey. Only Collins' dreams of escape keep him going, but how can he possibly bust out of Munsey's chains?
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Brute Force?
For the defence
The Big-Idea Head
“You watch with your brain, not your gut.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Nightmare Alley
Drama · 1947
A roustabout joins a traveling carny and schemes to figure out the mind-reading act of Mademoiselle Zeena and her alcoholic husband.
White Heat
Crime · 1949
A psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and then leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist. After the heist, events take a crazy turn.
The Night of the Hunter
Crime · 1955
In Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money.
Kiss of Death
Crime · 1947
An ex-con trying to go straight must face a crazed criminal out for revenge.
A Perfect World
Drama · 1993
A kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor: an escaped convict on the run from the law, headed by an honorable U.S. Marshal.
House of Strangers
Drama · 1949
Ruthless Italian-American banker Gino Monetti is engaged in a number of criminal activities. Three of his four grown sons refuse to help their father stay out of prison after he's arrested for his questionable business practices. Three of them take over the business but kick their father out. Max, a lawyer, is the only son that remains loyal.
Point Blank
Crime · 1967
After being double-crossed and left for dead, a mysterious man named Walker single-mindedly tries to retrieve the rather inconsequential sum of money that was stolen from him.
Odds Against Tomorrow
Crime · 1959
An old-time crook plans a heist. When one of his two partners is found out to be a black man tensions flare.
The Rainmaker
Drama · 1997
Fresh out of law school and desperate for work, idealistic rookie Rudy Baylor takes on a powerful insurance company accused of denying a dying boy’s claim. Teaming up with a scrappy, unlicensed paralegal, he finds himself in a David-versus-Goliath courtroom battle that tests his ethics, courage, and belief in justice.
The Parts You Lose
Drama · 2019
An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Jules Dassin
Written by
Richard Brooks · Robert Patterson
Burt Lancaster
Joe Collins
Hume Cronyn
Capt. Munsey
Charles Bickford
Gallagher
Yvonne De Carlo
Gina Ferrara
Ann Blyth
Ruth
Ella Raines
Cora Lister
Anita Colby
Flossie
Court is in session
Put Brute Force on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.