Attica! Attica! All or Nothin'!

Attica!!! Attica!!! Most people probably only recognize that chant from the film, Dog Day Afternoon, when Al Pacino screams it to the crowd outside  the bank he's currently holding hostage. But it's origins are far more powerful than that. The chant actually originated during the 1971 Attica prison riots, in which over 1,000 prisoners took over their maximum security prison demanding better living conditions. After four days, 40 people were confirmed dead, including ten security officers and civilians.

It's a subject that has been fodder for three films already, most recently in 2001's The Killing Yard. Now Doug Liman, who directed Swingers and The Bourne Identity, has signed on to helm Attica, a film written by Geofferey Fletcher. Fletcher recently earned an Oscar nomination for his screenplay for the film, Precious.

The only movie I've seen on the subject was 1994's Against the Wall, which I believe was an HBO film that starred Samuel L. Jackson and Steve Harris from The Practice. I loved that film at the time, even if it's interpretation of the riots was sensationalized a little. Doug Liman is a director I'm a huge fan of, and obviously the subject matter is intense. Consider this one definitely worth keeping an eye on.