Overview
A new warden goes undercover in a corrupt prison, igniting a battle against the system.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Brutal
- grim
- harrowing
- confrontational
- serious movie night
- social justice viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regarded the film as a well-crafted and harrowing prison drama whose institutional detail is powerful, though its characters and speeches can feel overly schematic.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Brubaker initially poses as an inmate, directly experiencing the prison's corruption before revealing his authority.
The prison farm's officials and local business community benefit financially from inmate labor, scams, and deprivation.
Beatings, sexual abuse, torture, extortion, and political obstruction are presented as interconnected features of the penal system.
The film emphasizes investigations, administrative reforms, prison operations, and documented abuse to build anger through accumulation.
Films like Brubaker, and why
Cool Hand Luke
shared prison setting, institutional corruption, reformist protagonist, and grim social realism
The Shawshank Redemption
shared prison abuse, moral resistance, and confrontational institutional drama
All the President's Men
shared true-event-inspired social critique, procedural investigation, and resistance to entrenched power
The Hill
shared prison-film intensity, systemic brutality, and struggle for dignity within a corrupt institution
Movie Details
- Director
- Stuart Rosenberg
- Release Date
- 1980-06-20
- Runtime
- 131 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (533)
Cast
- Robert Redford
- Yaphet Kotto
- Jane Alexander
- Murray Hamilton
- David Keith
- Morgan Freeman
- Matt Clark
- Tim McIntire
- Richard Ward
- Jon Van Ness
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Brubaker about?
- An undercover prison warden confronts a profitable culture of brutality and the political machinery determined to preserve it.
- What is Brubaker like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Brubaker as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Brubaker violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Brubaker as brutal.
- What did critics think of Brubaker?
- Critics broadly regarded the film as a well-crafted and harrowing prison drama whose institutional detail is powerful, though its characters and speeches can feel overly schematic.
- Which films are like Brubaker?
- Films with a similar feel include Cool Hand Luke, The Shawshank Redemption, All the President's Men, and The Hill.
- How long is Brubaker?
- Brubaker runs 131 minutes.
- Where can I watch Brubaker?
- In United States, Brubaker is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
