Attica_(1974_film)

<i>Attica</i> (1974 film)

Attica (1974 film)

American film

Attica is a 1974 American documentary film directed by Cinda Firestone. The documentary focuses on the 1971 Attica uprising.

Quick Facts Attica, Directed by ...

In 2022, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Synopsis

The film covers the Attica Prison riot in 1971, using news footage and interviews from prisoners of Attica. It also features footage of the McKay Commission, which investigated the leadup to the riot.

Production

Attica was directed by Cinda Firestone, heiress to the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company.[1][2] While writing a piece about the prison uprising for the Liberation News Service, Firestone came up with the idea of making a film about it. The initial concept was doing a 5-10 minute film combining taped interviews from Attica prisoners with still photographs. She eventually obtained footage of the event from television stations and UPI. She and a film crew would later shoot inside the prison itself.[3] The Firestone family funded the film, putting up $40,000 to make it.[2]

The film premiered at the International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg on October 1973.[2]

Reception

Gloria Woman from the Lesbian Tide called Attica "a very powerful document".[4] Vincent Canby for The New York Times described the film as "an exceptionally moving, outraged recollection of that terrible event."[5]

In 2022, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[6]

References

Citations

  1. [1]
    Johnston, Claire. "Cinda Firestone". Spare Rib. No. 24. pp. 36–38.
  2. [2]
    Smith 1975, p. 164.
  3. [3]
    Smith 1975, p. 163.
  4. [4]
    Woman, Gloria. "Whores, Housewives, and Other Mothers". Lesbian Tide. Vol. 4, no. 6. pp. 10–11 – via JSTOR.
  5. [5]
    Canby, Vincent (April 12, 1974). "Attica,' Moving Documentary of Riot". The New York Times. p. 18 – via ProQuest.
  6. [6]
    Ulaby, Neda (December 14, 2022). "'Iron Man,' 'Super Fly' and 'Carrie' are inducted into the National Film Registry". NPR. Retrieved December 22, 2023.

Bibliography
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