Rozsa's pounding score and a savage climax make Brute Force first rate all the way.
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
A socially conscious prison picture (written by Richard Brooks) that sometimes deliriously suggests a Brooklynesque mating of Jean Genet and Warner Bros. [20 Apr 2007, p.C8]
As it successfully delves into the baser instincts of men from all sides, imprisoned either by their thirst for power or their unwillingness to give up, few films can compare.
Brute Force was the first important assignment of leftwing director Jules Dassin.
80
Time Out
Time Out
Despite a loss of temperature through the flashbacks which let in some female interest, this is one of Dassin's best films
75
Chicago ReaderDave Kehr
Chicago ReaderDave Kehr
Jules Dassin wasn't a bad director before he went to Europe and caught a bad case of Art (He Who Must Die), and this 1947 prison picture, done in the gritty late-40s documentary style, is one of his best efforts.
A closeup on prison life and prison methods, Brute Force is a showmanly mixture of gangster melodramatics, sociological exposition, and sex [from a story by Robert Patterson].
70
The New YorkerPauline Kael
The New YorkerPauline Kael
The title is accurate: this is a crudely powerful prison picture.