Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Whitech It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

FilmCriticLalitRao I still fail to understand why "Carandiru" was ignored by inane Cannes film festival 2003 jury.Hector Babenco is a great filmmaker and I have seen "Pixote".This film provided me a great opportunity to comprehend his style.To my mind it is simply brilliant.When I saw this masterpiece at a cinema housing 1500 people,trust me when I say that I was not alone appreciating its greatness.There was absolute silence and the remaining 1499 people were glued to the movie screen. The best utility of this film is that it tells us that every human life is useful.It is the circumstance which forces people to lead a life of crime. From a sociological point,Carandiru is a film with purpose as it has shown how both White and Black people live in Brazil.Some of the scenes are incredible and the depiction of the prison is truly masterful.I was lucky enough to have met Gero Camilo who had a good role in this film.Even the performance by pop star Rita Cadillac is astounding.This film is a must see treat for every sensible film- goer. For those who think that Frank Darabont with "Shawshank Redemption" has mastered the art of filming prisons,watch out "Carandiru" will teach you a thing or two about the portrayal of prisons in films.

Æthelred Héctor Babenco is a great director, but I grew bored with Carandiru. It's overlong (2 hours 20 minutes; should have been 50 minutes shorter). And it's largely a parade of prison-movie clichés. You have the tough but fair prison director, Senhor Pires; prisoners divided into saints and scoundrels (the latter, naturally, meet all sorts of gory fates); the inevitable riot; the murderous response of the riot squad, etc. And it's told through the eyes of a doctor whose character lacks depth, and whose connection to the plot is tangential. Save it for free viewing on the Independent Film Channel. If you want to see better gritty, downbeat Brazilian films, I recommend Ônibus 174 (Bus 174) or Central do Brasil (Central Station) instead.

Splattii I got this off Ebay for $9 including shipping for the 2-disc version. For that price this movie was a steal, I can't complain at all. I am a fan of the HBO series OZ, and seeing some comments on here comparing the two really had me excited to see this. It didn't disapoint, but it didn't leave me begging for more. It was a good movie, but not something I was jumping for joy over.I think a good attempt was made at giving as much background on the characters as possible, to try to make the audience realize where each person was coming from. You see this in OZ also, as they have flashbacks to life outside of prison leading up to their time in lockdown. The problem is OZ had 6 seasons, each having 8 hours of footage. What I realized over time (and they express this in Carandiru) is prison changes a person, so a lot of the real "character build up" per say actually comes from their life in prison more than their life outside. There wasn't enough time in this film to learn about everyone to really appreciate what some of them were going through. The character oldman for example didn't have enough history behind him to effect me. There were good characters and if given the same amount of time as OZ to build, would be just as powerful. I sit here as I type this and wish there was a series to be honest.The film was well done, and in some ways I enjoyed it more than one of Hector's other films Pixote. I have suggest some friends watch this, but I can't put it in the same category as an Oldboy, Bus 174 or City of God for example. It's just a bit short.

Henry Fields Carandiru was the biggest prison ever in Brazil, with a capacity of 4000, but most of the time it accommodated more than 7000 prisoners. It was demolished a few years ago. This film shows us the life conditions in Carandiru on the months previous to a riot that ended up with a hundred dead, and tons of wounded prisoners... We see prisoner's subhuman life conditions, we're told about what some of them did to be convicted, their relationships in and outside prison. The main character is the prison doctor, the best witness for all of the prisoners' diseases, their problems with drugs, AIDS, sex, and everything. In many ways he's kind of a confessor. In some sequences it seems like you're watching a comedy... other times the film turns into a brutal drama. I think the director didn't really focus the story in a definite line. He wanted to cover so many issues, but ended up not properly covering any of them. There're too many characters, too many crossed stories, and because of that the film is way too long (148 minutes!). You'll found some brilliant sequences, and it's brilliantly filmed (reminds me of another recent Brazilian movie: City Of God), but that's not enough. It could've been a great film if Hector Babenco had just focused the story in no more than 2 characters, and talked deeply about them. He only dedicates 10 minutes to recreate the riot and its serious consequences. My verdict is that the director was too ambitious, and that he threw away a good chance to make an excellent movie (he sure knows how to move the camera -no doubt about it-). As for the actors, I didn't know any of them but they certainly do a good job, all of'em. My rate: 6/10