Riot in Cell Block 11 [Criterion Collection] [2 Discs] [Blu-ray/DVD] [1954]

Blu-ray. Early in his career, Don Siegel (THE KILLERS) made his mark with this sensational and high-octane but economically constructed drama set in a maximum-security penitentiary. RIOT IN CELL BLOCK 11, the brainchild of producer extraordinaire Walter Wanger (FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT), is a ripped-from-the-headlines social-problem picture about prisoners' rights that was inspired by a recent spate of uprisings in American prisons. In Siegel's hands, the film is at once brash and humane, showcasing the hard-boiled visual flair and bold storytelling for which the director would become known and shot on location at Folsom State Prison, with real inmates and guards as extras.

Riot in Cell Block 11 (Criterion Collection) (Blu-ray)