Other "taking heads" include Captain John R. Rourke (above left), Cornell University Law Professor Stephen P. Garvey (above center) and Deputy Superintendent for Security John J. Burns (above right). Like Walker and Pettigrass, each appears a few times in the film discussing various aspects of prison life and history at Auburn. Making brief single appearances in the documentary are Sgt. John Davidowsky (above left), retired Correctional Officer Robert Butera (above center) and Correctional Officer Mark Giancola (above right.)
Prisoner perspectives were provided by interviewed inmates who agreed to speak on camera (left).
Produced for THC by Greystone Communications, with narration voiced by Paul Sorvino, it covers the 186-year history of the prison that was adopted and adapted as the model for penitentiaries across the country and around the world.
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Auburn Correctional Facility.
Entrance wall displays name.
Auburn view from prison.
The outside seen from inside.
Wall of separation. Big barrier between outside & inside.
No greenery in this yard. Prison yard with piled snow.
Inmate 'recreate' in yard. Prisoners gather in yard area.
Officers pat down an inmate. A weapons check.
Graceful staircase. Functional yet attractive interior.
Cell block. Doors open, close together or separately.
Lock levers. Still going strong.
Body chains. Used in inmate transport.
Car plates. All made by Auburn inmates.
Riot vestige. A 1970 riot-scarred door.
Sunset on Owasco. River's flow once powered the chair.
Animation. 646 Kb. 21 B&W historical images. Endless loop. Close window to exit. Topics touched upon include the silence system, floggings, lockstep, striped uniforms, hard labor, industrial shops, Thomas Mott Osborne and his reforms, limited inmate government, the riots, the electric chair, various electrocutions, license plate manufacture, and current inmate routine at Auburn.
Among those THC acknowledges in the closing credits are:
Although NYCHS e-mailed and faxed advance notices of the documentary's premiere, some members may miss it for various reasons: schedule conflicts, not having cable TV, the unavailability of THC on their TV cable service. So NYCHS has asked THC: The History Channel's web site at http://www.thehistorychannel.com provides a means of access to the daily, weekly and monthly program schedules. Clicking the "On TV" button takes the visitor to the program schedule search page. Inputting Prisons as the search word will produce a list of dates and times for upcoming broadcasts of that Big House documentary, among other prison-related shows.
The URL for directly accessing the program schedule search page is http://www.historychannel.com/ THC's web site at http://www.thehistorychannel.com also provides a means of access to a page for purchasing videos of documentaries aired on The History Channel as well as the Biography and A&E (Arts and Entertainment) channels. Clicking the "Store" button takes the visitor to the video search page. Inputting The Big House as the search phrase will bring up a result page listing that The Big House documentary videos.
Currently the featured four-box set includes documentaries on Alcatraz, Sing Sing,
Eastern State Penitentiary,
Leavenworth,
Atlanta Federal,
San Quentin,
Folsom,
Alderson Federal Women's Penitentiary,
Attica,
McNeil Island,
Angola and
East Jersey State. Eventually Auburn will be available too.
The URL for directly accessing the video search page is http://store.historychannel.com/
Webmaster note: The above is provided as an informational service to New York Correction History Society members and web page visitors. As a nonprofit historical society, NYCHS has no financial interest in the sale of video tapes. Those with cable TV services that include The History Channel and with video recorders may find the monthly schedule of broadcasts useful if they wish to tape it themselves at home. |