Overview
A harrowing look at the depths of human endurance and the struggle for dignity in the face of oppression.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- austere
- harrowing
- intense
- serious film night
- historical cinema viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Steve McQueen's debut as an unflinching, formally rigorous, philosophically reflective, and richly rewarding retelling of the 1981 hunger strike, despite its extreme difficulty to watch.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Bobby Sands and fellow prisoners use hunger, physical endurance, and bodily deprivation as resistance inside the Maze Prison.
Steve McQueen uses concentrated images, sparse dialogue, and unflinching prison detail to reject sentimental or traditionally resolving historical drama.
The Maze Prison's cells, strip searches, beatings, dirty protests, and controlled routines define the prisoners' physical and psychological world.
Bobby Sands's lengthy conversation with the priest presents the ethical and strategic argument for the hunger strike through sustained, confrontational dialogue.
Films like Hunger, and why
The Wind That Shakes the Barley
shared historical drama, political imprisonment, institutional brutality, and austere visual intensity
A Prophet
shared prison drama, moral conviction, bodily suffering, and uncompromising seriousness
The Battle of Algiers
shared historical political conflict, stark realism, and focus on state violence and resistance
The Baader Meinhof Complex
shared biographical drama, nontraditional structure, and emotionally devastating political subject matter
Movie Details
- Director
- Steve McQueen
- Release Date
- 2008-05-15
- Runtime
- 96 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (1263)
Cast
- Michael Fassbender
- Stuart Graham
- Liam Cunningham
- Helena Bereen
- Laine Megaw
- Brian Milligan
- Liam McMahon
- Karen Hassan
- Frank McCusker
- Lalor Roddy
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Hunger about?
- An uncompromising prison drama follows Bobby Sands and the 1981 Irish hunger strike as political resistance is reduced to the limits of the human body.
- What is Hunger like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Hunger as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Hunger violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Hunger as graphic.
- What did critics think of Hunger?
- Critics broadly regard Steve McQueen's debut as an unflinching, formally rigorous, philosophically reflective, and richly rewarding retelling of the 1981 hunger strike, despite its extreme difficulty to watch.
- Which films are like Hunger?
- Films with a similar feel include The Wind That Shakes the Barley, A Prophet, The Battle of Algiers, and The Baader Meinhof Complex.
- How long is Hunger?
- Hunger runs 96 minutes.
- Where can I watch Hunger?
- In United States, Hunger streams on Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now.
