Highly Overrated But Still Good

A different way of telling a story

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

It's well worth watching, it's only failing is it starts with the PC view of a brutal White led prison regime. These men were surrounded by very violent inmates who not only attacked the guards but murdered each other before the take over even happened. A basic truth applies you can't judge people and past events by your modern morals. The finale probably mirrors scenes that have horrified us recently that would automatically shift our perception of bad guys. As for the actual ending, it just portrays how the mightiest nation on Earth can't seem to stop prevaricating on what action to take, let alone doing it right. The real story is hostage lives matter, but political careers mean far more.

I was an extra in this movie and I was just amazed by John Frankenheimer. We just filled seats in the bar as guards' wives, but he came over and explained who we were and told us about the lives of these people. He told us that the average guard's salary was $13,000. He told me he loved my face (which believe me is not lovable), probably because the part called for us to be bored and disgusted and I was very good at that. I just could not believe that the director went into such detail with us. I was just there one day but my husband was in several scenes, working every day, and he was likewise impressed with Mr. Frankenheimer.And as for the comment about the people of Nashville deserving better--Nashville and its people suck. I was never so glad to get out of anywhere. If, as one comment put it, Mr. Frankenheimer was a bear, maybe it was because he expected people to WORK.

Frankenheimer was a bear to work with, he treated the crew terrible and all the extras worse. I guess he was struggling to save his career. I worked in the property department, and I still think about digging the old man up and setting his body on fire. The prison was a good location except all water had to be shipped in. (bad plumbing) Kyle McLaughlan, Samuel L. Jackson, Fredrick Forrest were top notch to be around...they and of course Harry Dean Stanton are true professionals.The movie in the end was missing the "ummp" that makes it a big release. But hey, a job's, a job. Nashville deserves bigger pictures to be made there, they have great production people.

Legendary filmmaker John Frankenheimer made an impact as perhaps televisions greatest director in the 1990's (after directing several big-screen classics earlier in his career). With "Against the Wall" he shatters all our illusions about America. The United States really is the land of opportunities, but the government has also branded it's reputation with some ugly events through the years. The Attica riot of 1971 (or should I say "the Attica massacre") certainly is one of it's ugliest moments.This shocking dramatization shows us everything that's wrong with America in a way that almost sent me reaching for a vomit-bag in disbelief. A great job by Frankenheimer and it's actors, particularly worth mentioning: Kyle MacLachlan, Samuel L. Jackson, Frederic Forrest, Clarence Williams III, Harry Dean Stanton, a young Steve Harris (The Practice) and Danny Trejo.This really made me yearn for some American on-screen heroism. At times like these I'm sure glad I have the Die Hard-trilogy in my DVD-collection :)