The defence The Prestige Tourist
“Ambition earns the room.”
The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.
Back to trending 
Cadence
Drama · 1990
As punishment for drunken, rebellious behavior, a young white soldier is thrown into a stockade populated entirely by black inmates. But instead of falling victim to racial hatred, the soldier joins forces with his fellow prisoners and rises up against the insanely tyrannical and bigoted prison warden.
Movie details
Cadence
“Sometimes you've got to stand out to fit in.”
1990 Drama 1h 37m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
6.5 / 10
6.5K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
46 %
Tomatometer
Metacritic
44 / 100
Metascore
TMDB
6.7 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
As punishment for drunken, rebellious behavior, a young white soldier is thrown into a stockade populated entirely by black inmates. But instead of falling victim to racial hatred, the soldier joins forces with his fellow prisoners and rises up against the insanely tyrannical and bigoted prison warden.
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 Cadence?
For the defence
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
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.
The Mustang
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While participating in a rehabilitation program training wild mustangs, a convict at first struggles to connect with the horses and his fellow inmates, but he learns to confront his violent past as he soothes an especially feisty horse.
Hands of Stone
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The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
The Young One
Drama · 1960
A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.
Imperial Dreams
Drama · 2014
A 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
Drama · 1962
A rebellious youth, sentenced to a boy’s reformatory for robbing a bakery, rises through the ranks of the institution by impressing its Governor through his prowess as a long distance runner. He is encouraged to compete in an upcoming race, but faces ridicule from his peers.
All Day and a Night
Drama · 2020
While serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path toward his crime.
Against the Wall
Drama · 1994
In 1971, a warden at Attica Penitentiary is caught up in a hostage crisis when inmates take over the prison to demand better living conditions.
Animal Factory
Crime · 2000
Suburbanite Ron is spoiled, young and not overly worried about the marijuana charges leveled against him. But, after being made out to be a drug dealer, he faces a five-year jail sentence in San Quentin State Prison. Physically frail and unaccustomed to his rough surroundings, Ron is primed to fall victim to sexual predators and bullying guards – that is, until he's befriended by Earl, a veteran inmate who finds meaning in protecting the vulnerable new kid.
Brubaker
Crime · 1980
The new warden of a small prison farm in Arkansas tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate.
The Unforgivable
Drama · 2021
A woman is released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent crime and re-enters a society that refuses to forgive her past.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Martin Sheen
Written by
Dennis Shryack · Martin Sheen
Charlie Sheen
Pfc. Franklin Fairchild Bean
Martin Sheen
MSgt. Otis V. McKinney
Laurence Fishburne
Roosevelt Stokes
Blu Mankuma
Eugene 'Spoonman' Bryce
Michael Beach
Edward James Webb
H
Harry Stewart
Harry 'Sweetbread' Crane
James Marshall
Cpl. Harold Lamar
Court is in session
Put Cadence on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Importance has entered the chat.”
The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.