Assassin’s Creed Shadows Is Proof Historical Accuracy Is Overrated

The discussion surrounding Assassin’s Creed Shadows was heated prior to its release last month. To put it mildly. Over factual errors that were discovered in the show’s preview content and marketing materials, many fans reacted electronically and infuriated. For example, it’s debated among historians whether the historical figure of Yasuke, who is depicted as]… ]

The article Assassin’s Creed Shadows Is Record Traditional Accuracy Is Underrated appeared initially on Den of Geek.

Television viewers have long had a fascination with prison, from Porridge to Prison Break. With pubs reducing the options for actions, the consequences are often amplified. A prisoner solid is better than a captive audience, which is one thing. We love to see how figures behave when their liberty has been taken from them, how they manage, how they plot exit, how they find the strength to carry on. And we love to know how we’d live under those same circumstances, hoping never to have to turn that abstract notion or vicarious enjoyment into reality.

Ten of the best prison-themed films are listed in ascending order of merit, with our choice as the best dog being the result. Feel free to say our options in the feedback, but before you react to clearly please consider this:” We’re never in here with you. You’re below, and you’re with us.

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10. Prison Split

If Prison Break had been a one-and-done restricted set it would have secured a higher positioning on this record. As it stands, each subsequent season of the show further damaged its reputation until it was less popular in its fans ‘ minds than the last season of a particular show about creatures may one day be to its viewers.

There are few initial conditions of any present that are as powerful, habitual and simply plain enjoyment as Prison Break‘s. The main conceit is a preposterous one, with Michael Scofield ( Wentworth Miller ) infusing the schematics of the prison he helped design and then assisting his brother Lincoln ( Dominic Purcell )’s release from Death Row before being hanged, but it’s delivered with such adrenalin-spiking, fast-paced panache that you won’t care. Prison Break also gives us one of TV’s greatest villains, the vile, despicable, and slimy, yet utterly captivating, Theodore’ T-Bag ‘ Bagwell ( Robert Knepper ), a character you’ll both love to hate, and hate to love.

Things immediately fall apart after that hectic first year, though the introduction of William Fichtner as pill-popping, socially affected FBI agent Alexander Mahone in season two is a pleasant one, and season three’s Panama-based hijinks aren’t without their charm. But, Season four marks the time when the movie’s rear broke due to its extremely convoluted and absurd narrative, and Season Five, the renaissance season, represents the lowest point of both the show and, in some cases, the entire concept of entertainment itself.

Prison Break needs to take a permanent split from breaking out of any more crap prison.

9. Howard

Wentworth is a reimagining of, and quasi-prequel to, the Australian soap-opera Prisoner ( renamed Prisoner Cell Block H in the UK to differentiate it from Patrick McGoohan’s The Prisoner, which can also be found this on list ) that ran from 1979 – 1986.

The main characters are all present and accurate, with the exception of the villainous prison guard Joan” the Freak” Ferguson ( Pamela Rabe ), her compatriots Lizzie Birdsworth ( Celia Ireland ), and protagonist and top-dog-to-be Bea Smith ( Danielle Cormack ), but gone are the small budgets and low production values that caused security gates and cell walls to squat as though they were made of cardboard, which they most likely were. The Wentworth jail of the late 2010s is soft and present, and the actions is dark and violent. Although Wondworth probably has a voice that is more reminiscent of Oz than Orange is the New Black, it is most likely the UK’s Terrible Women ( which just so sadly didn’t make this list ) closest to that which is closest.

Whether you prefer Wentworth or its father certainly comes down to personal preference, and quite possibly years.

8. H1 mobile stop for prisoners

Prisoner Cell Block H is to Wentworth what Classic Doctor Who is to NuWho, and we’ve got to give the edge here to the old kid on the (cell ) block. Well, the sets were so subdued and disorganized that a battle between two prisoners might have appeared on a Richter scale. Well, the hairstyles of the first 1980s were acts in and of themselves. Well, the constant, serialised character of the music prevented the movie’s writers from exploring themes in any great degree.

The show has a raw, claustrophobic charm that the show’s successor couldn’t hope to emulate, especially given its dark, threadbare appearance, which gives the lives of the women who live in Wentworth Prison an air of grit and hollow desperation. The characters, particularly top dogs Bea Smith ( Val Lehman ), Myra Desmond ( Ann Phelan ) and Rita Connors ( Glenda Liscott ), had more time to cement themselves in viewer’s hearts, and thus more power to break those hearts once their stories came to an end.

Prisoner Cell Block H also has a stronger grip on villainy. Pamela Rabe’s interpretation of the murderously corrupt prison guard Joan ‘ The Freak ‘ Ferguson in Wentworth was deliciously monstrous, but there will only ever be one ‘ Freak’, and that’s the original and best, Maggie Kilpatrick, who carried menace around with her as easily as some people carry mints.

On a closing note: has there ever been a more hauntingly beautiful or achingly apt closing theme than” On the Inside”? &nbsp,

7. The Prisoner

There are no bars or guards in the mysterious village in which Patrick McGoohan’s intelligence agent wakes to find himself &#8211, no turrets lining the shore of the island on which the village sits &#8211, but there’s no mistaking what this place is: a penal colony.

Patrick McGoohan is the eponymous prisoner, or Number 6 as he’s more commonly – and indeed exclusively – known. We never learn his real name, nor do we ever learn who or why has taken him. We don’t even know who on the island is a prisoner, and who is a part of the conspiracy. We are only aware that the island’s inhabitants, led by those who are designated Number 2, will use every trick in the book to obtain information from Number 6.

Those brave or foolhardy enough to tr escape from the island are pursued by a giant, bouncing, see-through ball known as Rover, that swiftly engulfs and retrieves them. If this is all starting to sound a bit mental, then that’s very much because it is. The Prisoner is a mind-bending film. At turns clever, imaginative, inventive and absurd, the audience is never actually one-hundred per cent certain what the hell is going on, which only serves to amplify the mood of paranoia and unease that follows Number 6 around like a… well, like a giant, bouncing, see-through ball.

This is the only 1960s film that can be compared.

6. Escape at Dannemora

The true story of Richard Matt and David Sweat’s 2015 break-out from Clinton Correctional Facility in New York State is portrayed by Paul Dano and Benicio del Toro in the film Escape at Dannemora. To achieve their audacious aims, they co-opt the assistance of Tilly Mitchell ( played by Severance stalwart Patricia Arquette – a series that’s also directed by Ben Stiller ) &#8211, the prison worker in charge of the tailor shop &#8211, through means of sex, seduction and flattery. The cutting and tunneling are the main tasks that sweat does. Matt is the Machiavellian plan-maker, a man who can control other people with ease, but, tragically, not himself.

At first, and especially if you have no knowledge of the real-life escape, Tilly seems like a vulnerable, downtrodden, and unhappy housewife whose only crime was to seek affection and attention from the wrong people. However, as the story progresses, it becomes clear that Tilly may be a more reckless person than either of her two incarcerated co-conspirators combined.

A flashback sequence late in the series leaves us in no doubt as to the natures of the two men we have been cheering on in their bid for liberty. Although their criminality is the product of an opportunistic impulsivity, Tilly’s crimes, the majority of which aren’t crimes in the legal sense, demonstrate a persistent commitment to cruel and callous manipulation in order to advance her own selfish and destructive appetites. She makes living ciphers of her son and husbands. It’s only panic– or perhaps the faint vestiges of a conscience – that saves her from going on the run with Matt and Sweat, an outcome that doubtless would’ve seen her dead instead of in a prison cell.

A tragedy that will haunt audiences for the long after the end credits have rolled, Escape at Dannemora is a well-paced tale, skillfully directed by Stiller and flawlessly performed by the cast, especially Arquette.

5. Orange is considered to be the New Black.

Orange is the New Black is based on the best-selling autobiographical book by former drug mule Piper Kerman, in which she recounts her time in prison, and the questionable life choices that led her there – especially her exciting yet destructive relationship with charismatic cartel worker Alex Vause ( Laura Prepon ), the woman largely responsible for Piper getting caught. And, of course, when Alex ends up sharing the same cell block sparks, and passions, fly.

With a wide-eyed, wet-behind-the-ears intensity and awkward innocence that occasionally borders on arrogance, Taylor Schilling portrays Piper ( surname changed to Chapman for the show ). Piper doesn’t feel that she belongs in prison. Not with these “others,” these criminals, who blatantly deserve their fate. But as she adjusts to life in prison, makes connections and gets to know ( and be accepted by ) her fellow inmates, the fear of her fish-out-of-water scenario gradually gives way to empathy and understanding. She discovers, as we do, that most of the women in Litchfield Prison are as much victims as perpetrators: women who have been failed by familial and societal support systems in ways that most of us would struggle to fathom. &nbsp, &nbsp,

For the first season this is Piper’s story, but as the series expands, so too does its focus and scope. It gradually deviates from its ostensibly comedic premise and allows greater issues and darker tones to permeate the narrative without losing its heart or humor. Each of the large and compelling ensemble gets a proper chance to shine (especially Suzanne ‘ Crazy Eyes ‘ Warren, arguably Uzo Aduba’s breakout role ), as the writers drill ever deeper into their fates, hopes, dreams, pasts, and miseries. By the time the series ends we’ve felt the agonies and victories of most of them and experienced at least one tragic character death that’s as sad, numbing and game-changing as Lem’s exit from The Shield.

4. Black Bird

Welsh actor Taran Egerton is praised as the next Bruce Willis largely because of his role in Carry On, an action thriller based in the airport, last year. But Egerton is no one-trick pony. A strong and versatile set of acting chops sit behind the muscles and bravura, which is plain to see in his acclaimed performances in biopics such as Eddie the Eagle and Rocketman. And in Apple TV’s limited series Black Bird, which is based on a true story, those talents are undoubtedly on display in a breathtaking manner.

Egerton plays Jimmy Keene, a drug-runner with a surfeit of charm, a winsome grin, and a semi-functional moral compass. FBI agent Lauren McCauley ( Sepideh Moafi, who most recently graced our screens as Mia in the excellent sci-fi series Scavengers Reign ) approaches him with a deal: go “undercover” in a maximum security prison to get close to and successfully elicit a confession from suspected serial killer Larry Hall, and we’ll commute your sentence. It’s Jimmy’s love for his ailing father, ( retired cop” Big Jim” Keene, played by Ray Liotta, in his final TV role ), who may not last another year much less ten, that propels him into action.

What follows is an exciting, edge-of-the-seat thriller that incorporates elements of Mindhunter into the mix. There are hours of conversation between Jimmy and Larry, each one of which is filled with tension and horror. For every prison riot or potentially fatal dilemma Jimmy must face, If you’ve only ever seen Paul Walter Hauser as Stingray in Netflix’s Cobra Kai, you’ll be blown away by his unsettlingly creepy and nuanced performance as Larry Hall. You’ll soon realize why this talented actor is so much more than just an action star if you’ve only ever seen Taran Egerton in Carry On.

3. The Night Of

In The Night of, Riz Ahmed portrays Nasir” Naz” Khan, a Pakistani American student who is forced to make bad decisions, bad luck, and prejudice from the post-9/11 era.

After stealing his father’s cab to attend a college party, he meets the troubled and beautiful Andrea ( Sofia Black-D’Elia ), who climbs in his cab as it’s idling. The pair exchanged blows, and the result is a two-person party at her place with sex, drugs, and rock n roll. The next morning Naz wakes to find that Andrea has been stabbed to death. All signs point to his guilt, and even he isn’t sure if he‘s innocent.

Naz and John Stone ( John Turturro ), a scruffy yet determined attorney ( think Columbo meets Monk meets My Cousin Vinny ), who are the best chance Naz has of escaping the corrosive clutches of jailhouse top-dog Freddy Knight ( a powerful and sinister turn by the late Kenneth Michael Williams ) in a more fortuitous instance of coincidence. &nbsp,

In the wake of Gandolfini’s tragic passing, Robert de Niro was given the role of John Stone after it was originally written for James Gandolfini. But Turturro ( currently on our screens in Apple’s peerless workplace mindbender, Severance ) absolutely makes the role his own, to the point where it’s hard to imagine anyone else – aforementioned Hollywood heavyweights included – doing a better job. However, It’s Riz Ahmed who steals the show with a performance that’s infused with earnestness and humanity and deservedly won him the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series.

2. Time

Few writers can navigate the murky waters of the human soul with as much wit, aplomb, and verisimilitude as Jimmy McGovern, who in Time pits his considerable writing power against the complexity and inhumanities of the British penal system.

Series one focuses on the intersecting fates of a newly arrived inmate and a long-serving prison guard at a particularly bleak men’s prison. Mark Cobden ( Sean Bean ), a former teacher, is jailed for vehicular manslaughter &#8211, killing a man whilst drunk. He tries to keep his head down and pass his “time” quietly, but the other prisoners notice his vulnerability and take aim at him. Before long he finds himself inveigled into the prison’s drug-smuggling ring, and he’s forced to make a choice between his survival and his moral principles. Eric McNally ( Stephen Graham ), a prison guard, has a nearly identical dilemma to Mark’s, even though it’s not Eric’s survival but his recently incarcerated son’s that hangs in the balance. The conclusion to the first season is at once surprising and inevitable, depressing and hopeful, eliciting sighs of despair alongside tears of hope, like the best of McGovern’s work.

Season two &#8211, co-written with Helen Black &#8211, follows the fortunes of three new inmates as they adjust to life in a women’s prison. It’s more harrowing in the social obscurity it chronicles, but it ends with a more upbeat denouement, making it no less powerful and moving. Jodie Whittaker, Tamara Lawrance and Bella Ramsey give arguably the performances of their careers across these three episodes as their characters learn hard lessons about motherhood, poverty, addiction, acceptance, retribution, and redemption. &nbsp, &nbsp, &nbsp,

1. Oz

The best prison drama of all time is not just Oz. There’s an argument to be made that it’s one of the best dramatic series of all time. It is undoubtedly one of the most significant and significant, which helped to ignite the second golden age of television, when it would become the preferred prestige medium of the masses. HBO was at the forefront of this revolution, providing a funding model that removed creatives from the burdens of advertising and network interference, allowing them to put the story first, and to take more risks.

Oz tells the story of life in” Emerald City”, ad experimental wing in the Oswald State Penitentiary, a place where there’s a perpetual battle between the forces of rehabilitation and restorative justice on one hand, and vote-winning retribution and punishment on the other. It’s a battle between two ideologies, but ultimately it’s a battle for the souls of the prisoners. The show is bleak, brutal, and gripping. He’s almost like a cellmate, and death isn’t just a reality on the wing.

Before Oz arrived in 1997 there had never been a show quite like it. It’s a sprawling, Shakesperian tragedy painted in blood and despair over the dark underbelly of the dying American dream. It still packs a powerful and unwavering punch even today in a televised landscape full of destruction, death, and darkness. To the head. To the gut. To the heart.

Oz is a gem of the genre, albeit one that shines very darkly indeed.

The first episode of Den of Geek‘s The Best Prison-Set TV Series Ranked was a result of this post.