Scared Straight! is a short film that was made in the year 1978 by Arnold Shapiro. The narration in movie was done by Peter Falk. The documentary is basically a thriller and is based on the subject of a group of juvenile teenagers who choose to become criminals by profession. At the beginning of the movie, this group of boys is all interviewed, in which they show their contempt for the law and the government and express their desire to become actual criminals. They share their personal experiences of how they steal, molest and drink all the time, which is quite a sad scene to watch. The entire movie was shot at the Rahway State Prison.

The boys are being held at Rahway State detention facility and the movie is also shot there. The truth about prison life, all the fights, the parallel government that runs inside, the lack of value for lives of men and the way newcomers are treated is vividly portrayed. It is an honest representation of how you got to fall in line when in prison or face the consequences of your mistakes which are extremely harsh in relation to your faults.

The film was first aired on television in the late 70s. It was an uncensored program and it was this film that introduced the audience to the word Fuck in the world of cinema. The cast of this film included Mikie C, Jerome Watts, Jon Shipiro and Carlo Gallo, who played the roles of a drug dealer, a street gang member, a bomb maker and the son of a Mafia Informant. The cast also includes a chop shop market dealer and a car thief.

The film sends out a message of reform with its ending that concludes with the teenagers showing signs of remorse and repenting for their wasted lives and then vowing to give their nefarious activities up completely and reforming themselves.

This film won an Academy Award under the Best Documentary Feature category in the year 1978. It won the praise of many critics and although there was a large audience which opposed the crude manner in which the film was made, many appreciated the honest work of the director.

Several critics however showered accolades upon the director for his honest portrayal of the brutal realities of leading a criminal life and called it as a lesson to all those wayward youngsters who ought to learn to blend in to society.

It is unfortunate that such a great movie also ran in to bad press. After this movie was released it was recorded that crime rates had risen over previous years and that more and more people were showing criminal inclinations. It is clear that such movies can have a deep impact on the audience and have far reaching effects for society as a whole.

Inspite of all this, the movie cult following remains intact and it still is a classic thrill even 32 years after its release. The boldness of the director in choosing a whole new kind of storyline and the honest way in which he dealt with the portrayals in the movie are what makes it so special and keeps it charm alive even today.

Ever heard about the 1970’s movie Scared Straight? We’ve got the inside scoop now in our Diamond Ranch Academy guide.

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