Product Details

• Actors: LisaRaye, N'Bushe Wright, Mos Def, Monica Calhoun, Clifton Powell
• Directors: Neema Barnette
• Writers: Joyce Renee Lewis, Preston A. Whitmore II
• Producers: Neema Barnette, Carl Petragal, Darin Spillman, Frank Moshier, Jeff Clanagan
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Lions Gate
• DVD Release Date: January 27, 2004
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000TSQNO
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #41,970 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #16 in	Movies & TV > Cult Movies > Prison
  #76 in	Movies & TV > Mystery & Suspense > Crime > Prison Films

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Female prisoners attempt to organize a protest over their slave labor. Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 09/14/2004 Starring: Monica Calhoun Mos Def Run time: 91 minutes Rating: R

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, Disturbing, Thought Provoking, March 4, 2004

By	Dorrie Wheeler - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I have to give this film 4 stars because the ending was too similar to films of the past, ala "Thelma & Louis," "Set It Off,' meaning the bad guys don't really win. The women are in jail because they are hardended criminals, yet the film is set up for us to feel compassion for these women. They are mothers, they have feelings and the are horribly abused by the prison captain.

The stand out roles in this film are not the obvious. Lisa Raye is a very beautiful woman who I support, but her acting is pretty much the same in every film, she pouts, she tries to look tough, i.e., she could have been Diamond from "Players Club."

Da Brat did some pretty good acting as the films narrator Sabrina. Lark Voorhies shined as little mama and N'Bushe Wright proved that she deserves more film roles. Monica Calhoun is in this film, Tichina Arnold and several other leading African-American women including MC Lyte who acted really well in her role. Not to mention Mos Def as a college going prison guard.

This film is well written in most parts, there were a few scenes that had me wondering, like why the women were doing sit ups in the hole, but other than that it was a good film.

I thought it would be like those cheesy prison movies in the 70's, but it is very thought provoking. It makes the viewer think about prison as a business and how when abuse takes place behind prison walls it is often hard to get word to the outside.

This film made me depressed at times because the women just faced so much tragedy. This movie is definitly worth watching, it just can be a downer.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bad Meaning Good, June 1, 2004

By	Boop "caramelchocolate" (Aiken, South Carolina United States) - See all my reviews

Civil Brand was a very good movie. When my fiance' picked it out, I was just like whatever, but I watched it anyway and was presently surprised.

It had an unexpected ending and the cast was great, Da Brat, Mos Def, LisaRaye, Nubush Wright, Lark Vorhees and many more. The acting was superb and very real. I was shocked at how they portrayed a female penitentiary.

This movie is worth watching.

Later!!!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Important Movie, Necessary Theme, Mediocre Cast, October 1, 2007

By	Shamontiel L. Vaughn "Web Editor, Author, Rev... (Chicago) - See all my reviews

I'm still on a mission to see every single movie that Mos Def was in, so I picked up this one. When I first started watching the movie about women in prison, I cringed at the terrible acting. I don't know why, but Tichina Arnold plays much better comedic roles than she does serious roles. Monica Calhoun and Lisa Raye are great at playing characters with a bunch of attitude (as in "Player's Club"), but their acting comes across as stiff when they try to play vulnerable roles. I'm still scratching my head over why Lisa Raye keeps getting acting roles. Every single movie/tv sitcom she's been in, it sounds like she's reading directly from the script. I really would love for her to get an acting coach. When she plays crazy, I see potential though. MC Lyte is an okay actress, but not great. Da Brat was extremely stiff in this role, but somehow that worked for her because she played the boss/masculine role well. I don't think it was acting though; that seems to be her persona regardless. However, I really enjoyed the performances of N'Bushe Wright, Mos Def, Lark Voorhies, Reed McCants, and Clifton Powell. These five people carried the movie for me where the rest of the actors struggled. The more I got into the plot and theme of the story about female prisoners being mentally and sexually abused along with terrible working conditions, I understood why this movie was so important and stopped concentrating on the mediocre acting. This movie was relevant and on point, and I hope it left an impact in how prisons run. I doubt it, but I still think movies like this are necessary to make those in authority nervous and maybe start acting like human beings.