Scum [1979] (Ray Winstone)

If you enjoy disturbing British cinema from the seventies then Scum is for you. The violence is graphic and the language is strong, but there is also humour and a genuine insight into the disturbing world of Borstal life.

Back grass..................


I'm The Daddy Now ..............   January 10, 2001
7 out of 9 found this review helpful

Let me start of by saying that Scum isn't a family film . The violence is frequent and bloody , the language is very strong and there is racial discrimination . There is even a gay rape scene . But apart from all that this disturbing film provides an insight into borstal life , where violence , rape and racial abuse is all part of the daily routine.Most of the racial abuse is by the prison gaurds and one warden stands by while a teenager gets gang raped.If you can stomach the disturbing content of this controversial film you should watch it . It's a great film which leaves you wondering if borstals were really like that or if they still are.


Bleak, Gripping and Superb   October 14, 2004
Mr JF Mather
10 out of 14 found this review helpful

Alan Clarke's provocative and controversial film must be seen by anyone interested in British cinema and its history.

Not only do we see imperious performances from some of the great British actors of this era (including the unforgettable Ray Winstone), witness a realistic portrayal of 1970s youth detention systems, and observe a film that shocked and worried contemporary British society, but we are also entertained by a gripping and classic story line.

Through Ray Minton's powerful screenplay we are transported into the private world of a 1970s borstal that is compelling in its bleakness, savagery and violence, to witness the struggle of one man (Carlin, Winstone) to assert his authority in a system that is absolutely corrupt. It is only by affirming his pre-eminence that Carlin can survive in a world that is against him. In this sense, Scum is fundamentally a study of masculinity, power and control. Minton uses the setting of borstal, in which life is lived at the most base and bleak level, to examine the very essence of masculinity and male power structures.

Intriguingly, at the same time as presenting a damning indictment of state power and its reform systems, Scum delivers a message that very much fitted its age. The notion, so graphically and harrowingly displayed in this film, that only the strong swim while the weak sink (or, in this film, are beaten, sodomised and bullied) is in some senses a chilling echo of the values of Thatcher's Britain.


Buy this firm right now....   June 8, 2003
4 out of 16 found this review helpful

Ray Winstone is, as we all know by now a complete God as far as acting goes. I met him once in Hebden Bridge. A complete gentleman and hero to boot! Anyway, this film is a work of genius, and everyone sould watch it, it hasn't aged, it is still massivly relevant and is, let be honest, top entatainment! Don't mess abaht my son, get this bought, for it is a masterpiece!!!!!!