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Released by: Xenon Home Entertainment
Released on: 6/20/2002
Director: Jamaa Fanaka
Cast: Leon Isaac Kennedy, Badja Djola, Gloria Delaney, Chuck Mitchell, Thommy Pollard, Hazel Spears
Year: 1979
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The Movie:
An unusual late entry into the so called 'blaxploitation' genre that started with films like Sweet Sweetback's Badasssss Song and Shaft, Penitentiary is a blend of the urban action, boxing and prison film all rolled into one package striving to find its political voice amidst it's violent plot and strange characterizations.
The story revolves around 'Too Sweet' (Leon Isaac Kennedy) who is framed for an incident involving the assault of a prostitute and ends up in the slammer. Once he's there, he finds out about a series of boxing matches that are put on by the warden (Chuck Mitchell of Porky's fame), as his brother in law is a fight promoter always on the lookout for new talent. If you're good enough, and the warden figures you can make his brother in law some money, you just might find yourself with an early parole.
Along the way he's targeted by 'Half Dead' (Badja Djola of The Serpent And The Rainbow) who wants to make 'Too Sweet' his bitch in the manner that incarcerated types tend to do sometimes. But when 'Too Sweet' foils 'Half Dead's' plans of anal conquest, the gloves are off. Well, actually, the gloves are on, and they take to the ring and settle things man to man.
A genuinely weird film, Penitentiary takes itself a lot more seriously than a lot of other black action films from this time period. Despite the insane cast of jive talkin' inmates and hoodlums, the film still manages to be pretty competent and even cynical for most of its duration.
While all of the stereotypes of most 'blaxploitation' films are there, the movie somehow manages to move past the limitations imposed on it and presents an interesting look at some semi-realistic characters in totally absurdist situations.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85.1, sadly not enhanced for anamorphic sets, Penitentiary looks decent here. The drab colors in the film are caused by the lighting conditions under which it was shot and the locations used and the transfer accurately captures this element of the movie. There is a bit of grain and some very noticeable scratches here and there, but I doubt that the film is going to look any better anytime soon, and as it is, it's very watchable.
The Dolby Digital Stereo track sounds fairly muffled and at times things are a bit difficult to make out. This is definitely a flaw in the original elements though, and not really the fault of the mastering on the DVD. A lot of the audio for this film was simply recorded on the fly and the low budget restraints do show on this track.
Underneath some funky animated menus (with abnormally loud sound effects behind them) are the films theatrical trailer and the trailer for the sequel, Penitentiary 2. There is also a commentary with Fanaka that runs the entire length of the film, and while there is a lot of good information revealed about the film and it's cast, the track suffers from the dreaded 'dead air' syndrome and there are too many times where Fanaka seems to have nothing to say. It's worth at least one listen for fans of the movie, I just don't know that it'd be worth revisiting.
The Final Word:
Xenon has done a respectable job bringing this low budget cult classic to life on DVD.