Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Day 6: A Chilling Recreation of the Stanford Prison Experiment, Andrew Bujalski Returns with Results

01/02/2015

Sudance.org is dispatching its writers to daily screenings and events to capture the 10 days of festivities during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Check back each morning for roundups from the previous days events.

The Stanford Prison Experiment by Nate von Zumwalt

Kyle Patrick Alvarez may not be the second coming of Dr. Philip Zimbardo, the groundbreaking psychologist at the helm of the Stanford Prison Experiment, but that doesn't preclude his new film from playing like a microcosm of those chilling events. One could speculate that every film screening is an experiment of sorts, as a number of audience members intimated during The Stanford Prison Experiment's Q&A session, but Alvarez is loath to concede that his film manipulates with the same scheming tendencies as the experiment itself.

About that experiment (which Alvarez worked pedantically to adhere to in the film, even going so far as to enlist Zimbardo as a consultant). In the summer of 1971, Zimbardo (played by Billy Crudup in the film) conceived a project that would simulate the conditions of a prison by soliciting 24 exceedingly normal men to play the roles of guards and prisoners. Assigned at random, the participants inhabit their roles on a 24/7 basis and under the analytical surveillance of Zimbardo and his team. With only a basic and albeit ambiguous condition that the guards may not physically assault the prisoners, the experiment develops with an escalating dubiousness as a number of guards adopt a nearly fascistic attitude that is perpetuated by unruly behavior from the prisoners most notably an increasingly unstable Ezra Miller. Just as the guards begin to revel in their newly instituted authority, the prisoners find that the ostensible experiment is more closely aligned with reality than simulation. Not even two days into the project, Miller's character begins to break down after a protracted stint in the hole,' a room for solitary confinement from which he implores for a release while proclaiming that the experiment is not allowed to fuck with my head. As the project takes on a life of its own, Zimbardo and his team are forced to reconcile the potential benefits of their research with the traumatic repercussions for its subjects.

Dr. Philip Zimbardo at the premire of The Stanford Prison

Experiment. Sundance Institute | Stephen Speckman It would be facile to call The Stanford Prison Experiment a challenging' film that designation should be reserved for the emotionally gripping experiment itself. But there is a tinge of a test (despite the director's belief otherwise) in Alvarez's dedication to veracity, which does not play as a fault in this case. We really were careful to make sure the movie didn't hit too hard too fast so that hopefully it wouldn't become a test. I wanted to make sure that it always felt accessible as opposed to the movie being a constant endurance test for the audience.

Perhaps more notable than the film's stellar direction and Alvarez's deftness in working with the confines of the true story is the way the film is entirely hands-off in dealing with the moral ambiguity of the experiment. That fueled Alvarez's inclination to remind the audience that, ultimately and arguably, nothing truly horrific happened. One of the things that I found really fascinating about the experiment was that they walked away they ended it, said Alvarez. It was ultimately more an expression of humanity than it was of how bad humanity is.

Zimbardo himself, who was in attendance for the screening but did not take the stage during the Q&A, spoke with a similar sentiment. What's not in the film is that when the study was ended, we spent a full day in psychological debriefing, he said. We spent hours with all the prisoners, hours with all the guards, and then we brought the prisoners and guards together. And we literally called it moral reeducation.' I was able to say, all of us did bad things, including me. Aside from the guards that did bad things, the good guards never once interfered to prevent the bad guards from doing what they did. The prisoners who didn't break down, never gave support to the fellow prisoners that did break down.

For Alvarez, he hopes that audiences can glean the significance of the story. I think what's important is to acknowledge that it's still incredibly relevant today in terms of how we're given authority and what that authority means. And i think it's really important to note that a lot of people involved in this experiment, Dr. Zimbardo and many of the grad students, went on to participate in prison reform.

Results by Jeremy Kinser

Andrew Bujalski returns to Sundance with Results, a perceptive comedy set in the world of fitness trainers that examines the relationship between money and happiness.The movie premiered at the Eccles in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, and it's not only his most accessible project to date, it also marks his first foray into directing professional actors.

Newly-rich, recently-divorced, perpetually schlubby Danny (Kevin Corrigan) decides to change his life by visiting a local gym, but unwittingly and inextricably becomes entangled in the low-simmering romance between fitness guru Trevor (Guy Pearce) and trainer Kat (Cobie Smulders). During the Q&A that followed the screening, Bujalski, who will likely forever be known as the Godfather of Mumblecore, seemed as surprised as anyone to have made such a mainstream romantic comedy.

Cobie Smulders, Festival Director John Cooper, and

Brooklyn Decker. Sundance Institute | Stephen

Speckman He said while attending the festival two years ago he was pressured to come up with a new project to pitch. After directing four movies with non-professional actors, he decided to break out of his comfort zone and
LINK: http://www.sundance.org/blogs/news/day-6--a-chilling-recreation-of-the...
See more stories from sundance

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

29/06/2026

Op-Ed: Why the 2026 World Cup Is Redefining the Economics of Live Sports Production

By Andy Rayner, CTO, Appear The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the largest football tou...

29/06/2026

Study: Esports Plays Major Role in Gen Z Media Habits, Purchasing Behavior

A new multi-country study from ESL FACEIT Group, Hero Esports, and Niko Partners estimates that 400 million Gen Z consumers regularly engage with esports, under...

29/06/2026

ESPN Sets Multiplatform Plans for America 250 Celebration

ESPN will mark America's 250th anniversary with a series of content initiatives across its linear, digital, and streaming platforms, including a special edi...

29/06/2026

OBSBOT Named Official Camera and Webcam Partner of Esports World Cup 2026

The Esports Foundation has named OBSBOT the Official Camera and Webcam Partner for the Esports World Cup 2026, bringing the company's AI-powered imaging tec...

29/06/2026

Insight Productions Launches Insight Storm, 53-Foot Esports Broadcast Truck

Insight Productions has launched Insight Storm, a 53-foot mobile broadcast unit designed specifically for esports production, live entertainment, and digital-fi...

29/06/2026

Gravity Media Delivers Global Distribution, Streaming Services for World Economic Forum in Dalian

Gravity Media once again provided broadcast, streaming, and content-distribution...

29/06/2026

Wimbledon Introduces AI-Powered Fan Features, Modernized Digital Platforms for 2026 Championships

The All England Lawn Tennis Club and IBM have introduced new and enhanced digita...

29/06/2026

Evolve Dark Matter from Excite Audio

Four-layer instrument aimed at dark electronic music Excite Audio's latest software instrument has been designed with dark drum and bass, atmospheric te...

29/06/2026

Tracktion unleashes Waveform 14 DAW

New AI Assistant, Multi-channel Audio, ARA2 improvements & more Tracktion's DAW software has just received its latest major update, gaining a selection ...

29/06/2026

Focusrite publish 2026 Sustainability Report

Details environmental policies & results The Focusrite Group have just announced that following a long audit process, they have published their 2026 sustain...

29/06/2026

Comcast to Spin Off NBCUniversal, Sky

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/06/2026

Supreme Court Rules Trump Can Fire FTC Commissioner Without Cause

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/06/2026

CVP Launches Warranty plus to Protect Professional Equipm...

CVP, one of Europes leading suppliers of professional video and broadcast solutions, has announced the launch of CVP Warranty , a new extended warranty programm...

29/06/2026

TitanTV Hires Mark Hadley as Technology Specialist

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/06/2026

Fox Sports Delivers Another FIFA Mens World Cup Audience Record

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/06/2026

Arvato Systems Achieves AWS Cloud Operations Competency

Arvato Systems Achieves AWS Cloud Operations Competency The team behind the AWS Cloud Operations Competency (from left to right: Philipp Hellmich, Johanna Bod...

29/06/2026

Ger Gilroy to join RT to present a Daily Sports Podcast

RT today announced that Ger Gilroy will join the RT Podcasts team to present a daily sports podcast. Launching later this year, the new show will set the spor...

29/06/2026

OUTsurance announced as sponsors of Oliver Callan on RT Radio 1

RT Commercial announced OUTsurance as sponsor of the Oliver Callan show on RT Radio 1 from Wednesday 1 July. Oliver Callan doubles the fun, delivering two ...

29/06/2026

Open Models, Closed Environments: Palantir Brings Secure AI to US Agencies With NVIDIA Nemotron

Showcasing the importance of open source innovation in American AI, Palantir'...

28/06/2026

Softube unveil lower cost Console 1 Compact

Half-size model joins Console 1 line-up Shortly after the release of their new Flow Studio controller, Softube have announced the launch of another new surf...

28/06/2026

EVE Audio introduce EVE Origin

New EXO Series DSP control software announced EVE Audio's EXO Series monitor range has just gained a new software element that provides remote access to...

28/06/2026

Freedman Labs Releases PrepMyMedia and ViewMyAttic for Post Production Professionals - 50% off for COWs!

Freedman Labs Releases PrepMyMedia and ViewMyAttic for Post Production Professio...

27/06/2026

Through Their Lens: What Cinematographer Amy Vincent Saw at the 2026 Directors Lab

There's no doubt that you've seen the world through Amy Vincent's ey...

27/06/2026

UJAM release Retrocraft

Brings together saturation & lo-fi effects Following on from the release of their Voxcraft vocal-processing plug-in, UJAM have announced the launch of Retro...

27/06/2026

A record 4.84 million Australians choose SBS as the Socceroos advance at FIFA World Cup 2026

A record 4.84 million Australians choose SBS as the Socceroos advance at FIFA Wo...

27/06/2026

Apogee CRAS Symphony Mkii Education Feature Blog

Why CRAS Upgraded to Symphony I/O MK II When an audio school runs studios all day, every day, gear doesn't just need to sound good , it needs to survive rea...

27/06/2026

MultiDyne Acquires the Assets of MRMC

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/06/2026

Spectrum Intelligence Ventures Launches Latis

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/06/2026

Krotos Video to Sound Plugin Now Available for Adobe Premiere Pro

Krotos Video to Sound Plugin Now Available for Adobe Premiere Pro Brie Clayton June 26, 2026 0 Comments Editors can analyze footage, generate synchron...

27/06/2026

Mirai Media Elevates Digital and Broadcast Productions with Blackmagic Design

Mirai Media Elevates Digital and Broadcast Productions with Blackmagic Design Brie Clayton June 26, 2026 0 Comments Studio uses Ultimatte 12 HD and Po...

27/06/2026

Lutra Cafe & Bakery Opens At American Tobacco Campus

DURHAM, N.C. - JUNE 26, 2026 - Lutra Cafe & Bakery has opened its first brick-and-mortar location at American Tobacco Campus after owner Chris McLaurin operated...

26/06/2026

SVG GameDay, Ep. 21: Minnesota Vikings Allan Wertheimer - Large-Scale Shows in Minny

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...

26/06/2026

Strike Fighter League Announces Second Online Tournament, Set for July 25 in Las Vegas

Strike Fighter League (SFL), a professional air combat digital sport combining f...

26/06/2026

InfoComm 2026: Wisycom Announces MPR60 Firmware Update, MATF Antenna Matrix, and PFL RFoF Box

Wisycom has announced three new additions to its professional wireless ecosystem...

26/06/2026

Eurovision Services Inaugurates Expanded Master Control Room in Madrid

Eurovision Services inaugurated an expanded Master Control Room (MCR) in Madrid on June 1, 2026, building on a broadcast hub the company has operated in the cit...

26/06/2026

Midco Sports and University of North Dakota Renew Broadcast and Sponsorship Partnership

Midco Sports and the University of North Dakota (UND) have announced a two-year ...

26/06/2026

G&D and VuWall Appoint Vutec as Exclusive South Africa Distributor

Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall, both part of the Panoptec Technologies Group, have appointed Vutec (Pty) Ltd as exclusive distributor for their KVM and ...

26/06/2026

Visit Seattle Launches Drone Scoreboard at Space Needle for FIFA World Cup 2026

Visit Seattle, the official destination marketing organization for Seattle and King County, has launched what it describes as the world's first drone scoreb...

26/06/2026

CP Communications Provides RF and Wireless Support for 2026 NBA Draft at Barclays Center

CP Communications provided RF video, audio, and crew communications support for ...

26/06/2026

Reimagined MoonPay X Games League Kicks Off With Three-Day Event in Sacramento

Produced by longtime partner Echo Entertainment, the action-sports property is now a team-based year-round league The inaugural season of the MoonPay X Games L...

26/06/2026

MultiDyne Acquires MRMC, Expands into Camera Robotics and Motion Control

The deal establishes MultiDyne Robotics and Motion Control, maintaining the well-known MRMC brand.MultiDyne Video & Fiber Optic Systems has acquired the assets ...

26/06/2026

TNT Sports Heads Into Year 2 of NASCAR Return With New NEP Truck, Expanded In-Car Experience

PX1 will debut at Sonoma as TNT leans into super-slo-mo, drones, SMT data integr...

26/06/2026

Ratings Roundup: USMNT-Australia Draws 23M Viewers; Mexico-South Korea Is Most-Watched Spanish-Language Soccer Match Ever

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...

26/06/2026

David Kuckhermann brings calabash to Celemony Tonalic

Virtual session musician plug-in gains new percussion options Celemony's latest update for their virtual session musician platform complements the exist...

26/06/2026

Softube unveil the Console 1 Compact

Half-size model joins Console 1 line-up Shortly after the release of their new Flow Studio controller, Softube have announced the launch of another new surf...

26/06/2026

ELT Group and Rohde & Schwarz sign a cooperation agreement to explore commercial opportunities in electromagnetic warfare and defense

ELT Group and Rohde & Schwarz sign a cooperation agreement to explore commercial...