THE ARENA - 50 Year Anniversary HD Edition - San Quentin Prison Vintage Documentary

In 1975, San Quentin Prison in Marin County, California is explored in intimate detail in this vintage photojournalism exposé. This work was done while filming "Inside San Quentin," a feature-length documentary broadcast nationally on PBS.

After meeting and working with fellow cinematographer, David Lent early in 1974, he introduced Marino Colmano to a group of producers that were planning a documentary project inside San Quentin Prison. They became convinced that Marino's particular sensitivity in capturing human conditions in photographs was just what they needed to record their journey inside one of America’s most violent institutions. The production received more than just a behind the scenes making of the movie.

THE ARENA is a 15:35 minute FotoMovie, first created as a slide show with a sound track. Now it's the 50 year anniversary edition, in full 1080p HD. This is a one of a kind collection of Kodak Ektachrome Color and Tri-X B&W still photographs shot entirely inside San Quentin Prison, expertly married with dialogue by the inmates and guards. In their own words we experience the full spectrum of emotions these men face each day. Highlights include an exclusive and intimate revelation by Ulis Powell, the subject of the book "The Onion Field," and a peak at Sirhan Sirhan along with an unusually gruesome Gas Chamber story told by a guard.

David Lent explained, we were the first film crew inside San Quentin Prison, given total access by a trusting and gutsy warden. Production began in November 1974, but after our footage of the aftermath of a multiple stabbing attack appeared on the CBS Evening News, the Department of Corrections saw what we had done, and they kicked us out. and replaced the warden. Through a random stroke of good luck, our Executive Producer had a personal friend who worked with then Governor Jerry Brown. Within a few months, Brown ordered Corrections officials to allow us back in the prison to finish shooting what we were missing.

Hundreds of prison documentaries have been made since our pioneering efforts, many of them from inside San Quentin. And San Quentin today remains much like it was then... only louder.

Also watch “Inside San Quentin”
   • LIFE WITHOUT (The Outlaw Cut)  

Marino Colmano is an accomplished photographic artist and multi-award winning filmmaker. His experience spans five and a half decades of artistic expression. His inspired work has passion, sensitivity, and a touch of the ironic. Marino’s photojournalistic approach in exploring our perception of reality brings the viewer to a closer understanding of our human condition. Art photography is as beautiful as it is disquieting, as vital as it is sublime, while allowing one to see something as if for the first time. Marino presents his work in an entertaining and thought-provoking manner by grouping imagery that resonates, disturbs and excites.

Marino Colmano - Producer-Director-Photograher-Editor-Narrator
THE ARENA
©2024 Marino Colmano/Lucid Media
Email: [email protected]
For more information and images visit:
marinocolmano.com