In a revealing new documentary, the inmates who fought back against brutality and inhumane conditions are given a voice
![Attica: the story behind the bloodiest prison riot in US history](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/de60e6ec3bc60c6d338de9324d2dd38deb17a172/79_0_1800_1080/master/1800.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=3098f2fcd9ca2cb5742c4540977e05ff)
Mention Attica and an iconic moment from Dog Day Afternoon is often top of mind. In Sidney Lumet’s powder-keg film from 1975, Al Pacino’s bank robber turned hostage taker yells “Attica! Attica! Attica!” in a standoff with police. He riles up the gathered crowds and wins sympathy for his predicament by invoking the tragedy that occurred just a few years ago, when inmates took control of Attica correctional facility in a fight for their humanity, keeping trigger happy
police at bay outside the
prison walls for four days.
There is so much to say about that Dog Day Afternoon scene, where a white man invokes a prison rebellion led largely by Black and brown men to win the support of fellow white onlookers, subsequently supplanting the harrowing real life event in cultural memory.