Charming and brutal

A Brilliant Conflict

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Tough and surly young thug Carlin (Ray Winstone in his outstanding film debut) runs afoul of vicious top con Banks (well played with growly menace by John Blundell), but still manages to usurp Banks's status as the new "daddy" at a harsh borstal for juvenile offenders.Director Alan Clarke does a masterful job of crafting an uncompromisingly gritty tone and pervasively bleak atmosphere of frightening complete brutality, with the prison staff coming across as every bit as savage and predatory as the inmates and life behind bars depicted as a grim and dehumanizing ordeal for both parties. Roy Minton's hard-hitting script tackles such edgy issues as racism, corruption, homosexuality, and abuse of authority head on. The fine acting by the able cast qualifies as another significant asset, with especially praiseworthy contributions from Martin Phillips as the timid Davis, Davidson Knight as persecuted black inmate Angel, David Threlfall as insolent intellectual anarchist Archer, and Phil Daniels as loudmouth braggart Richards. John Wyatt's stark cinematography adds to the overall scrappy authenticity. Pretty strong stuff.

Scum (1977) was originally produced as part of the BBC's Play for Today series, but the result, shot in a gritty docu-drama style, was considered too harrowing for broadcast and was effectively banned. Two years later, director Alan Clarke remade his play as a film, which became one of the most talked about movies in British school playgrounds during the early 80s thanks to its unrelenting violence, racist language, and a particularly notorious rape scene.So, how do the two versions compare? Well, barring one or two minor scenes, the original TV play and the 1979 film are almost identical to each other in terms of basic content and structure, with much of the same dialogue, many of the same cast members, and Clarke using the same set-ups and angles for his shots. However, the two versions do differ from each other in terms of performances: although the cast are more than adequate in the TV version, the play feels a bit like a dress rehearsal when compared with the movie, the cast seemingly still working out how best to tackle their roles. Two years down the line, and everybody absolutely nails it, but here there are one or two performances that fall a little flat.That said, the play is still a fine piece of work, a powerful and highly controversial drama—one that, to this day, I find it hard to believe the BBC even contemplated showing in 1977.

this movie was made after the B.B.C. had problems with the original TV version,which to my mind was just as brutal.you can't help but root for Carlin as he gets his revenge,the greenhouse scene has to be up there with the likes of certain scenes from 'cannibal holocaust' and 'last house on the left'.Truly harrowing and unforgettable.Ray Winstone is one of my all time favourite actors,as is Phil Daniels.This film stands as a tribute to Alan Clarke (Made In Britain is also another classic).This movie remains as one of the grittiest movies I have ever seen.I saw it for the first time when I was about ten years of age,on a pre-certificate VHS copy round at my dad's mate's house one Saturday night.The film has stayed with me ever since,and now I own my own copy of the film,I hope to show it to my son when he is older(I hope he appreciates it!!!)

Carlin (Ray Winstone of "Nil by mouth" and "Sexy Beast") is a young criminal who after assaulting a police officer gets sent to a borstal (juvinial prison), with two other youth offenders, where they find life inside hell with the authoritarian system brutal and the criminal inmate hierarchy equally, if not more so. They must find a way to survive. Carlin is able to climb the hierarchy, the other two are not really that 'lucky' This TV movie was shelved by the BBC1 for 14 years before before being shown on Channel 4 exactly once, and then only in honor of a deceased Alan Clarke. Gritty, and depressing if a slight bit overly sensationalized. Still it's interesting to watch even if the feature film version IS better. In response to the shelving of the film Clarke and writer Minton remade it as a theatrical film in two years later in 1979. This movie can be found in Blue Undergrounds Alan Clarke Collection.My Grade: B- DVD Extras: Commetary with actors Phil Daniels & David Threlfall, and Producer Margaret Matheson; 2 Selected scenes commentary by Ray Winstone (one of which wasn't in the film)