Product Details

• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: A&E Home Video
• VHS Release Date: November 11, 1998
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305295867
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #197,900 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Angola Prison in Louisiana is the biggest maximum security prison in the country. This is where the most dangerous criminals go and where parole hearings are a mere formality. A startling 85 percent of all inmates die inside. A small video crew was given unprecedented access to the inmates, of which six were chosen from 5,000 to give a portrait of life in the facility, also known as "the Farm." Two of the men continue the fight to prove their innocence. Two veterans have found redemption in personal transformations, one man as a prison activist, the other as a preacher. Two men prepare for death--one faces execution, the other is being eaten away by cancer. It's unlikely any of them will emerge from prison alive.

What begins as a traditional documentary transforms into an investigation of the human spirit, of hope in the face of hopelessness. We see the parole board pass judgment before the applicant even makes his case and make their decision before the door has closed behind him. Yet this is not so much a work of investigative journalism as a cultural study. What the viewer comes away with is a glimpse into an almost surreal atmosphere best defined by an incongruously chipper clown who wanders the halls on Christmas Eve to cheer up the prisoners in isolation. On the surface this seems like a well-integrated, safe, supportive environment, but under the surface of normalcy is a mix of doom and hope. --Sean Axmaker

Product Description

Winner of the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury prize and the New York and Los Angeles Film Critics Award for Best Documentary of ‘98, THE FARM is a graphic, painfully real documentary, following six inmates at America’s most notorious prison.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterpiece of Non-Fiction Cinema, May 31, 2000

By 

C. Manson (Destin, FL United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Farm: Life Inside Angola Prison [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This outstanding look at the prison system was voted Best Documentary of 1998 by the three major critics groups, and it's easy to see why. You simply cannot walk away from "The Farm" without being touched by it. Originally produced for the A&E cable network, "The Farm" went on to deservedly bigger and better things. It belongs in the company of "Paradise Lost...", "Crumb", "The Thin Blue Line", Spike Lee's "4 Little Girls" and "Hoop Dreams" among other recent greats in nonfiction cinema.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A penetrating look at the realities of life in Angola, November 7, 1999

By 

Cliff Heegel (Memphis, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Farm: Life Inside Angola Prison [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is simply a great film. I was touched by the film's balanced depiction of both the prison staff and the inmates. I especially enjoyed the in-depth interviews with several men serving time in Angola. Deep social questions are raised that are difficult. I think this film can help stimulate a helpful discussion of how to handle crime in our country. There has to be a better way than Angola.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best documentaries I have ever seen!!!, September 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Farm: Life Inside Angola Prison [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The Farm is an honest, revealing look at life inside one of America's most notorious prisons. It is also a very stark look at some of the shortcomings of the American justice system (ex. Vincent Simmons). I show this documentary in my high school government classes to spark discussion on the justice system. My students are moved as am I. It should be required viewing for all law enforcement and judicial system employees. A must see!!!