PRISONTERMINAL
THE LAST DAYS OF PRIVATE JACK HALL
- ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT -
HBO TRAILER EDITED BY: NOAH WAGNER
PRISON TERMINAL: THE LAST DAYS OF PRIVATE JACK HALL is a moving cinéma vérité documentary that breaks through the walls of one of Americas oldest maximum security prisons to tell the story of the final months in the life of a terminally ill prisoner and the hospice volunteers, they themselves prisoners, who care for him. The film draws from footage shot over a six-month period behind the walls of the Iowa State Penitentiary and provides a fascinating and often poignant account of how the hospice experience can profoundly touch even the forsaken lives of the incarcerated.
THE ONE TRULY GREAT FILM IN THIS CATEGORY.
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
TERRIBLY CAPTIVATING. GALVANIZING. GRIPPING. SHOULD WIN THE ACADEMY AWARD.
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
I CAN'T IMAGINE A MORE POWERFUL PIECE OF FILM-MAKING. A DEEPLY AFFECTING LITTLE MASTERPIECE.
John Seals, Berkeleyside
IMPRESSIVE. UNFLINCHING. THOROUGH. PLAINSPOKEN AND HUMANE.
Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader
THE BEST. AN ACHIEVEMENT.
Daniel Walber, Nonfics
A PROFOUNDLY TENDER EXPERIENCE.
Ty Burr, The Boston Globe
MOVING AND INTIMATE, AN EXTRAORDINARY FILM.
Susan James, ABC News
ASTONISHING.
Isaac Weeks, INDY Week
GUARANTEED TO HAVE YOU IN TEARS... AN EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER.
Jeff Nelson, DVD Talk
POWEWRFUL, GUT-WRENCHING STUFF. DARE YOU NOT TO SHED A TEAR.
George Butler, Butler's Cinema Scene
WILL WIN, THE MOST EFFECTIVE COMBINATION OF WEIGHTY SUBJECT MATTER AND MOVING PERSONAL HISTORY.
Ethan Alter, Television Without Pity
THE MOST FULLY REALIZED PIECE OF WORK.
Laura Clifford, Reeling Reviews
MOVING. CAPTIVATING.
Bernard Boo, WayTooIndie