"Riot" is a decent prison film, produced by William Castle (known as a director of things like "House on Haunted Hill") and directed by Buzz Kulik ('Brian's Song'). It stars Jim Brown, as cool as ever, as inmate Cully Briston, who realizes that the men of the isolation block have taken over that portion of the prison. Led by Red Fraker (Gene Hackman), they intend to pull off an escape, while pretending to the outside world to be petitioning for better conditions.
Ad copy may try to sell this as some kind of action film, but in truth it's more of a drama with some thriller elements. And it's NOT as violent as some people may fear, with some little bits of gore here and there. It doesn't attempt to show the lives of most of these inmates before their "riot". Cully has his misgivings about the whole thing, but gets caught up in it just the same, trying to talk some sense into Red.
The main asset of "Riot" is a degree of realism. It was based on a novel by Frank Elli, which was itself inspired by a real-life riot in a Minnesota prison. It features a number of inmates in supporting roles and bits, and even casts tough-as-nails real-life warden Frank Eyman to basically play himself. While it may not be truly action-packed, it has some great moments, especially the escape scenes near the end which are fraught with tension. The whole thing is professionally packaged, and nicely scored by Christopher Komeda.
Hackman is fun as the confident ringleader, while Brown remains highly watchable in his more even-keeled portrayal as a convict with some principles. Mike Kellin (who would return to the prison genre a decade later with "On the Yard"), Ben Carruthers (as the volatile, violent "Joe Surefoot"), and Clifford David (Beethoven in "Bill & Teds' Excellent Adventure") co-star as various inmates. Gerald S. O'Loughlin is good as a guard who's tried to dominate Cully for years, then turns weak after being used as a hostage.
"Riot" won't take a place as one of the great prison films, but it does entertain solidly for 97 minutes, which is all you can really ask for sometimes.
Seven out of 10.
