Confronts, with grace, the notion of anyone being beyond redemption.

| Original Score: 3.5/4.0 | Sep 22, 2020

This fascinating video documentary covers a nine-month rehearsal of Shakespeare's final play by inmates at the Luther Luckett Correctional Complex in La Grange, Kentucky.

| Aug 12, 2008

... a truly compelling examination of the extent to which art can lift the human spirit, no matter how tragic the surrounding circumstances may be.

| Jul 10, 2007

It's a tribute to the dry-eyed empathy of the filmmakers that these men, guilty of the most heinous crimes of murder and violence, somehow manage to win your sympathy.

| Mar 1, 2007

I found this documentary to be sobering, even optimistic ... it's a reminder that being human means being complex.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Aug 10, 2006

The up-close interviews with the prisoners, many of whom are in jail for murder, are the heart of the film.

| Original Score: B | May 19, 2006

Rogerson and producer Jilann Spitzmiller ably convey the humanity of the inmates while also exposing them as deeply flawed individuals. The film also reconfirms the enduring relevance and power of Shakespeare and his adaptability to almost any milieu.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | May 12, 2006

Albeit a tad repetitive, Shakespeare Behind Bars succeeds in humanizing men we might too easily label as monsters, and provides a solid argument in favor of prisons that place rehabilitation above retribution.

| May 11, 2006

Few non-fiction films about the arts hit as hard or soar to such heights of poetry and humanity.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 11, 2006

Observes as the inmates use theater to massage knots of guilt and anguish in their psyches.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 5, 2006

Perhaps it's just the inner drama geek talking, but there's something extremely compelling about seeing hardened felons preparing to put on a classic play with the enthusiasm of giddy schoolgirls.

Full Review | Apr 29, 2006

The film makes the case -- one that always needs making -- that, despite what they've done, these men retain some shred of humanity.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 14, 2006

By presenting murderers as actors and then filming those actors discussing their sins, the line between performance and soul-searching blurs in unnerving ways.

| Original Score: A | Apr 14, 2006

Rogerson lets the cameras roll, and we get real insight into daily prison life. But he doesn't stop to create context, and we feel stuck inside the razor wire.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Apr 14, 2006

For once, here's a prison movie without a riot or an impromptu cafeteria fight in which one inmate bashes the other over the head with a food tray.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 13, 2006

Rogerson has crafted an emotionally satisfying exploration of the creative process through people who, before the program started, weren't comfortable with expressing themselves at all.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Apr 8, 2006

The search for inner forgiveness is a ribbon that runs throughout the film...

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 8, 2006

An immensely moving tribute to the power of art.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Mar 31, 2006

A portrait of repentant convicts that is both heartbreaking and unnerving.

| Original Score: B | Mar 30, 2006

A truly inspiring documentary that depicts the salutary effects of prison inmates performing in an annual Shakespeare production.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Mar 13, 2006