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Movies / On DVD / Murder in the First
Murder in the First

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Murder in the First (1994)

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52 %
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Reviews Counted:33

Fresh:17

Rotten:16

Average Rating:5.6/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 3 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: The true story of Henri Young, a 1930's convict who has been sent to prison for stealing five dollars. But when Young and others attempt to escape, they are caught. As punishment, a naked and wet... The true story of Henri Young, a 1930's convict who has been sent to prison for stealing five dollars. But when Young and others attempt to escape, they are caught. As punishment, a naked and wet Young is thrown into a dark, damp, rat-infested cell, where he is his beaten continuously. He emerges from this hellhole three years later a virtual madman -- and promptly kills the inmate who snitched about the escape attempt. Now facing a charge of murder in the first degree, Young is defended by inexperienced go-getter James Stamphill. Although the cards are stacked high against him, the lawyer makes Young plead innocent. Stamphill's plan: to put Alcatraz, and the whole prison system on trial, as both institutions have turned his client into a homicidal maniac. [More]

Starring: Christian Slater, Kevin Bacon, Gary Oldman, Embeth Davidtz

Starring: Christian Slater, Kevin Bacon, Gary Oldman, Embeth Davidtz, Brad Dourif, William H. Macy, R. Lee Ermey

Director: Marc Rocco

Director: Marc Rocco
Producer: Mark Frydman, David L. Wolper

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Murder in the First

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21 - 37 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

The figures are right, the investment looks good, but the emotional pay-off is minimal.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
04/12/02
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail

More than likely you will forgive the compromises -- the story of Henri Young needed to be told.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
05/12/01
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone

Woefully over-manipulative and over-the-top.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
02/13/01
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Explores the human condition with a rare passion.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bruce Kirkland
Bruce Kirkland
Jam! Movies

As a thriller, Murder in the First has all the elements but is so flamboyant and overblown that it becomes off-putting quite quickly.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Hicks
Chris Hicks
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

A reasonably exhilarating hybrid of prison movie and courtroom drama.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post

Regardless of how this version raises the hackles of Alcatraz aficionados, Marc Rocco's movie is a solid and affecting example of film making.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

Attempts to masquerade as a historical drama, but twists the facts to have them fit the traditional Hollywood courtroom drama.

Full Review Source: Cinematter | comment Comment
01/01/00
Madeleine Williams
Madeleine Williams
Cinematter

Unsalvageable and inadvertently silly.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mark R. Leeper
Mark R. Leeper
rec.arts.movies.reviews

An example of what happens when a picture has everything going for it except good writing and good direction.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle

Though based on a true story, this grueling drama is peopled by characters that have been fictionalized into big house cliches.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Rita Kempley
Rita Kempley
Washington Post

Slater, who in certain shots looks curiously like Kevin Costner, is an actor with talent, but he is too young for this role, and not confident enough to dial down a little.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Scott Renshaw
Scott Renshaw
rec.arts.movies.reviews

It's a sorry excuse for a serious movie.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
01/01/00
Scott Rosenberg
Scott Rosenberg
San Francisco Examiner
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Scott Tobias
Scott Tobias
rec.arts.movies.reviews

It's a struggle for Bacon -- and I'm not doubting the facts of the matter -- because the part is so clearly designed to knock us out; but Bacon is honest, in touch with Young's sources or lack of them.

Full Review Source: New Republic | comment Comment
01/01/00
Stanley Kauffmann
Stanley Kauffmann
New Republic
 
 
21 - 37 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2
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