The Brig1964

Play by Kenneth H. Brown. Staged by Judith Malina and Julian Beck at the Living Theatre, New York. Photographed and filmically conceived by Jonas Mekas. Editing by Adolfas Mekas. "Unrelieved by one whit of lightness or compassion, this harrowing screen exercise depicts the methodical, round-the-clock fiendishness inflicted on 10 prisoners by three guards, all of it apparently in the line of duty." – The New York Times "Part drama, part polemic, with shock-wave sound and a nightmare air that suggests Kafka with a Kodak, the movie does exactly what it sets out to do – seizes the audience by the shirtfront and slams it around from wall to wall for one grueling day in a Marine Corps lockup." – Time magazine "When leaving this film, one promises never to see it again. For it seems impossible to watch such a spectacle twice. The film is hard like a nut, and the only thing to do is crush it, without ever asking if this nut is a symbol of the universe. The Mekas brothers are no longer the gentle poets that we thought they were: they are two wild Indians drying scalps." – Cahiers du Cinema, Paris Award: Venice Documentary Festival, 1964 Exhibition: London Film Festival, 1964; NY Film Festival, 1964.