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

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

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

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

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

An immensely moving tribute to the power of art.

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

We'd all like to believe that art is a lot more powerful than it is, but during rehearsals, two inmates who swear that Shakespeare has shown them the light are instead cast off to the Hole for breaking prison rules.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 10, 2006

The mere fact that Shakespeare can teach hardened criminals to search their souls gives hope that forgiveness and redemption are possible -- even at the bottom of the human barrel.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 10, 2006

In Shakespeare Behind Bars, the most restricted people in society find freedom in performance and release in words.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Mar 9, 2006

There's no denying the pic's overall impact as a compelling study of art as a source of transcendence.

Full Review | Mar 9, 2006

Any minute of this low-budget, digitally shot documentary packs more punch than the entirety of most triumph-of-the-human-spirit blockbusters.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Mar 9, 2006

Rogerson's structure is ingenious: He dilutes our initial skepticism by showcasing the prisoners' thoughtfulness and intelligence, and as soon as we've come to care for the men he shocks us with the details of their crimes.

Full Review | Mar 7, 2006