Back to trending
Against the Wall

Against the Wall

Drama · History · TV Movie · 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.

Movie details

Against the Wall

“39 men died. The story never will.”

1994 Drama · History · TV Movie 1h 51m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.2 / 10

Community rating

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.

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 Against the Wall?

The 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.

Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher

Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher

History · 2022

At the turn of the 19th century, Pugilism was the sport of kings and a gifted young boxer fought his way to becoming champion of England.

Panther

Panther

Drama · 1995

In this sprawling, fictionalized history of the Black Panthers, 1960s Oakland becomes a war zone as the Panthers battle for the right to exist.

Hunger

Hunger

Drama · 2008

The story of Bobby Sands, the IRA member who led the 1981 hunger strike during The Troubles in which Irish Republican prisoners tried to win political status.

And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself

And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself

Drama · 2003

In 1914, the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa invites studios to shoot his actual battles against Porfírio Diaz army to raise funds for financing guns and ammunition. The Mutual Film Corporation, through producer D.W. Griffith, interests for the proposition and sends the filmmaker Frank Thayer to negotiate a contract with Pancho Villa himself.

Iron Jawed Angels

Iron Jawed Angels

Drama · 2004

Defiant young activists take the women's suffrage movement by storm, putting their lives at risk to help American women win the right to vote.

Nuremberg

Nuremberg

History · 2025

In postwar Germany, an American psychiatrist must determine whether Nazi prisoners are fit to go on trial for war crimes, and finds himself in a complex battle of intellect and ethics with Hermann Göring, Hitler's right-hand man.

Introducing Dorothy Dandridge

Introducing Dorothy Dandridge

Drama · 1999

An acclaimed stage performer, Dorothy still struggled with the challenge of her color, in a time that wouldn't let some stars in by the front door. Yet against the odds she beat out many more famous rivals for the role of "Carmen Jones", becoming the first black woman ever nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award. Marriages and affairs would break her heart, but her heart was strong. Seductive and easily seduced, she was born to be a star - with all the glory and all the pain of being loved, abused, cheated, glorified, undermined and undefeated. Here was a woman who wouldn't wait in the wings. Halle Berry stars as Dorothy Dandrige.

Birdman of Alcatraz

Birdman of Alcatraz

Drama · 1962

After killing a prison guard, convict Robert Stroud faces life imprisonment in solitary confinement. Driven nearly mad by loneliness and despair, Stroud's life gains new meaning when he happens upon a helpless baby sparrow in the exercise yard and nurses it back to health. Despite having only a third grade education, Stroud goes on to become a renowned ornithologist and achieves a greater sense of freedom and purpose behind bars than most people find in the outside world.

Maze

Maze

Drama · 2017

Inspired by the true events of the infamous 1983 prison breakout of 38 IRA prisoners from HMP Maze, which was to become the biggest prison escape in Europe since World War II.

The Secrets We Keep

The Secrets We Keep

Thriller · 2020

In post-World War II America, a woman, rebuilding her life in the suburbs with her husband, kidnaps her neighbor and seeks vengeance for the heinous war crimes she believes he committed against her.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Frankenheimer

Written by

Ron Hutchinson

Kyle MacLachlan

Kyle MacLachlan

Michael Smith

Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson

Jamaal

Clarence Williams III

Clarence Williams III

Chaka

Frederic Forrest

Frederic Forrest

Weisbad

Harry Dean Stanton

Harry Dean Stanton

Hal

Anne Heche

Anne Heche

Sharon Smith

Danny Trejo

Danny Trejo

Luis

Court is in session

Put Against the Wall on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

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.

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.