The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015)

Quick thoughts before I go: Very impressive. I was afraid a film based on this would be either too pandering and surface-level or sway too much on the "informational" side. The film did a greeeeat job of really driving home its essential point while still offering an intriguing film experience. It did a great job of developing its characters. And although there are unsurprising over-dramatizations in the story, it always kept in line with the real-life tone of the whole thing. Perhaps the film makes Zimbardo a little too cruel, but Crudup did a fine job of making him feel like a human being. It could've easily failed, but it didn't.

Ezra Miller was fine until he needed to go really big. He's the only one who provides some false notes in an otherwise brilliant ensemble.

Fmovies: This movie is about arguably the most controversial psychological experiments ever done, which generated a lot of attention in the media in that time. It is a dramatized version of the experiment that has a thought provoking aspect to it. This horrifying drama/thriller is a heart breaker and is told with a slow pace which gives you enough time to absorb the events that happen in the movie.

The movie starts with three professors who interview a few student to participate on their 2 week experiment. The professors rented a few rooms and a hallway at Stanford University to simulate a prison. The selected group of student are chosen based on their mental history and their ability to endure mental setbacks. Half of the students were chosen to be guards and half were chosen to be prisoners. The professors behind the experiment have had a camera installed in the hallway so they can monitor everything that is happening. At the beginning everything seems under control. But it doesn't take long before everything begins to escalate.

The movies goes straight to the point fast. The students are getting paid so they are doing what they are told to do. The guards must present authority and the prisoners must be obedient. However, the students playing the guards want more and are creating their own bully characters during the experiment. The guards are careless and are humiliating the prisoners most of the time, which make this movie hard to watch. The first and second act are done with great subtlety. The mental torturing of the prisoners serves a purpose and isn't just for shock value. The professors who are watching the proceedings are all having different opinions about the proceedings that are happening and are starting discussions about morality, motivation, behavior and boundaries. The transition from different perspectives on this experiment is done really well by director Kyle Patrick Alvarez.

Tim Talbott does a great job with his writing. The thought provoking aspect in his writing is one of the strongest points in this film. The second act of the film builds up really slow to compensate for the small first act. It is unsettling to watch the guards in their mistreating behavior, while the professors don't interfere. There is no motivation for the guards to act the way they are behaving, except for the fact that they can.

A big reason why the film is hard to watch is because of the solid acting of the whole cast. The young actors portray their characters in such a convincing way, that it feels real. This movie has a lot of heating emotional moments where the actors can show their full potential. This film will be a great addition to their resume. Ezra Miller and Tye Sheridan get special mentions because both get a lot of screen time, and they show that they can carry a movie. They show why they are one of the Hollywood's biggest talents.

Even though the first and second act are solid in every aspect of filmmaking, the movie loses its touch in the last act. I won't go in to what specifically happens, but the subtlety of the storytelling disappears and the slow pace kills the momentum of the climax. The last act relies too much on shock value and the suspense is diminished because of the repetitive scene transitions in the last moments of the film.

Overall, this is a solid movie that creates discussion between groups with different standpoints of this subject. The acting is phenomenal by the talented cast and there is a clear direction. The slow pace is a tool well u

The plot is based on a true story, blah blah blah. It's a good one as well! Not the amazing ingenious movie and certainly not the thriller that "Das Experiment" was... If you can find it at your local video store, go and get it and watch this instead!

Don't get me wrong, the movie is a nice attempt, really interesting and raising all kinds of moral questions and dilemmas. The actors were true and professional all the way and overall, this is more than a movie for a pleasant afternoon...

The science behind the experiment was kind of crappy, but I guess back then, psychologists were a bit on the rough side and not too cautious with experimental parameters, etc.

Anyways, if you want the thrill and the tense, "Das Experiment" is what you should be looking for. This movie was unparalleled. Better yet, watch this one first and then "Das Experiment"...

The Stanford Prison Experiment fmovies. This film blew me away. I first saw it at the IFC Center in New York with an average expectation. The sound editing is the first thing you notice. It's crisp, clean, and wields its own power that is advantageous to the narrative.

The narrative centers around the experiment that takes place at the Stanford University in the 70's. It follows the students who participate and how their lives immediately change for the worst. Now the film feels and looks like the era with great costumes and set work. Everything from the computers to the coffee mugs immerses you ever so deeper into the emotional toil that intensifies with each scene.

A smart move I would like to mention from the casting directors is the fact they used actors from children's films and popular TV shows then start beating them up and messing with their characters' minds. For any millennial, they would instantly recognize the actors which gives the millennial a sense of familiarity with the characters, and at that sense feel more towards the behavior and mistreatment of those children actor's character.

Overall, I was pleased with the film as it's theme and historical significance played in my mind throughout the whole day.

I've always been fascinated by the original Stanford prison experiment. It always had the ingredients for a fascinating study of human behaviour. Its conductor Dr. Philip Zimbardo knew that, it just had to be played out. Of course, The Stanford Prison Experiment is a story that's been notably portrayed before, such as the 2001 German film Das Experiment. I remember being a fan of it when I first saw it, but I admit I can't quite recall it enough to make a comparison here. Nevertheless, this American version which doesn't make substitutions is a preferable version, one that makes resourceful use of today's technology and young talent. There's a dual study going on here. One, the part that writes itself, a document of the actual experiment. And the other, an examination of the ethics of the experimenters. Here is the ugly side of the human condition and our desires to push one another to feel the sweet taste of superiority.

While it may lend the obvious yet compelling results of what imaginary power and authority does to people, it still needs to be well executed to work. Fortunately director Kyle Patrick Alvarez and writer Tim Talbott have the right handling of the material, working with great economy in balancing its dichotomy's. At first it's disarmingly casual in the way the volunteers are selected and summoned, making a point of its randomizations and often offering an endearing and natural sense of humour. While superficially bleak, it's having fun with the 70s clothes and oversized moustaches, without peeling back their integrity. But then real tension, real anguish, and a real sensation of danger and dread creeps in and The Stanford Prison Experiment becomes deeply unsettling in its dehumanization techniques. With a careful sense from Alvarez of how far to escalate each sequence, it rings true to human sensibilities of what would happen in this unique situation. There's always a reminder that it isn't real, but it doesn't stop you from feeling unbearably trapped. This is nature at work, combined with a touch of modern cruelty.

There is a tendency in the film's inherent and forgivably episodic narrative that it gets you attached to a character they're focusing on only due to their upcoming exit. Thereby the film loses steam bit by bit. It gradually wins you back afterwards, but each time it takes a little longer. Ezra Miller in particular is a highlight of the first half of the film, formulating some of the most memorable instances of the prisoner's rebellions and reluctances. He's missed, but his absence only breeds more tension and vulnerability as we're left with weaker willed volunteers. If anything, this film is an impressive display of the best talent from the next generation of actors. Hopefully all to soon be familiar faces; Johnny Simmons, Tye Sheridan, Brett Davern, and a guard with the most inventive choice of wording, Michael Angarano, all stick out among other strong performances. While a crowded ensemble does mean no character gets to be fleshed out to their full potential, Alvarez and Talbott at least give room for everyone a time to shine without any dim spots.

On the experimenters end, Billy Crudup is perfect casting as Dr. Zimbardo. Donning a beard that gives him an uncanny resemblance to Satan, it doesn't remove that trustworthy glint of compassion in his eyes. His usual warmth is countered by his malicious intent to shove the volunteers to their limits and it creates an enthralling inner conflict where he's f

Okay - lets be honest here. Its not extremely difficult to make a film portraying a psychological experiment that was well documented and captured on film.

This film as more of a reenactment - just so you are aware.

Ezra Miller continues to shine as a prison subject in this movie. With the upcoming Justice League Films, and Miller portraying The Flash, its nice to see his work outside that to get more comfortable with his upcoming performance.

So - as the film title states, this a recalling of a social experiment gone a little too far, and had to be stopped early for reason I will not spoil.

The true nature of human empowerment is truly devastating to witness.

If you have time, see this tense thriller. It will however, raise as many questions as it answers.

A great thinking movie. Please don't forget to check out the source material on this study during, or after the movie.

Very interesting, very disturbing, and very enlightening.