Watch Hunger

1997
2 Seasons

In the tradition of gritty, exciting, jail dramas like Alcatraz and Prison Break, Hunger features Michael Fassbender and a strong, but unknown ensemble cast who bring to life a vivid but dark period in the history of modern UK and Irish relations. Excerpted directly from the Margaret Thatcher era, Hunger chronicles the second of two hunger strikes and a no-wash protest staged by Bobby Sands, the then-Provisional IRA volunteer and MP, who in concert with his IRA comrades determined to regain previously revoked political status for their Republican constituency. Shot in a predominantly wide angle in shades of bluish gray, and with furious confrontation scenes between prisoners and guards interspersed with long scenes of melancholy, meditation, and one-on-one dialogue, Hunger dramatizes as it reveals the average day in the life of an IRA prisoner housed in Her Majesty's Maze Prison circa 1970, in northern Ireland. Fassbender plays Bobby Sands, the real-life figure who led the no-wash protest and hunger strike, himself perishing after several months of starvation and deterioration. He was subsequently elected to the United Kingdom Parliament as Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP, though his Republican party was denied political status. Steve McQueen, the much lauded and very young director of Hunger, spares no details when revealing the guts and blood of life inside HM Maze Prison. Inmates engaged in their no-wash protest are shown collecting old food which they turn into paste for creating urine funnels, and funneling urine into the prison hallways. We see them defecating in their own cells and smearing feces all over their cell walls. We see them visiting with family members with whom they exchange contraband, shoving foreign objects into their orifices. Fassbender, who fasted for the role, is shown wasting away, his body riddled with sores that ooze puss. Confrontations between prisoners and guards are filmed in a mixture of steady and shifting camera angles, heightening the viewer's tension. At one point an actual recording of Margaret Thatcher is heard in the background, her tone icy and resolute, a fitting undertone to this movie's profound and inspiring but tragic, historically accurate denouement.

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Seasons

2 1

22. The Suction Method

March 5, 2000

Max is having an affair and thinks his wife has no idea. When she leaves town for the weekend, Max is left alone with the carpet cleaner, a stunning blonde, who is too much for him to refuse.

21. The Falling Man

February 27, 2000

When Peter sees Cleo having sex with a faceless Golem, he is inspired to create a masterpiece.

20. Double

February 20, 2000

Beth begins experiencing terrible nightmares involving a dying woman who wants her body. Is this a dream or a harbinger of things to come?

19. The Seductress

February 13, 2000

Elizabeth learns that her boyfriend is involved in the occult and leaves him. After he commits suicide, Elizabeth is stalked by the satanic cult he belonged to.

18. Approaching Desdemona

February 6, 2000

While surfing the internet, Kent comes across a spirit trapped inside his computer who can be freed for a price...the blood of the girl he loves.

17. The Sacred Fire

January 30, 2000

After Luann welcomes a homeless artist into her home, she learns his awful secret - that it's his job to protect humankind from inhuman killers who feed on the sacred fire inside everyone.

16. The Perfect Couple

January 23, 2000

When a couple is offered a potion that allows them to hear each other's thoughts, things turn from bad to worse.

15. Bottle of Smoke

January 16, 2000

While perusing her late aunt's possessions, Mari finds a bottle which houses a genie that can fulfill all her sexual desires.

14. Wrath of God

January 9, 2000

A serial killer stalks the residents of a high-rise apartment building, leaving its owner to learn the true nature of evil.

13. I'm Very Dangerous Tonight

January 2, 2000

Henry stumbles upon a dress in a high-end clothing store. He buys it for his wife and discovers the dress has the power to seduce, to thrill and kill.

12. The Replacements

November 28, 1999

Dr. Stuart Lang discovers the hospital where he works has been breeding a horrid race of shrieking mutated babies.

11. Brass

November 21, 1999

Convinced that his girlfriend is the succubus that killed his father, Grant evokes a spell of his own and makes her disappear. Before she vanishes, he learns the unfortunate truth.

10. Triangle in Steel

September 14, 1999

After Mike sleeps with his boss's wife Madeline his life is put in danger.

9. Sin Seer

November 7, 1999

Mano looks into someone's eyes and sees their most intimate desires. One day he looks into his psychiatrist's eyes and learns of a murder.

8. The Diarist

October 31, 1999

A witch, wishes death upon her first love, Daniel. After she casts her spell, Daniel's fiancée Laurissa, must learn the art of witchcraft to save his soul.

7. Night Bloomer

October 24, 1999

When Steve meets Vivica, she offers him a solution to his career problems in the form of a strange seed that he must plant in front of his boss's house.

6. Week Woman

October 17, 1999

To avoid deportation, Daniel agrees to marry Madeleine. But Madeleine isn't like other girls - she can transform into a new women each week.

5. Nunc Dimittis

October 10, 1999

When a royal servant learns he is dying, he must volunteer for one last act of devotion - he must find his replacement by any means necessary.

4. And She Laughed

October 3, 1999

Jane is plagued by disturbing dreams where she is chased by a tall man. Now she believes her new neighbor to be the man from her nightmares.

3. Dream Sentinal

September 10, 1999

One night, Rosalie, a troubled stripper, is visited by the ghost of a killer who wishes to protect and possess her.

2. Skin Deep

September 10, 1999

Kat seeks action at a local bar where she is mesmerized by Roxanne, a dancer who shows her the ultimate experience in pleasure and pain

1. Sanctuary

September 9, 1999

A young drifter arrives at an abandoned prison bleeding from a shoulder wound and seeking help from the famous artist who resides within.

Description

Shot in a predominantly wide angle in shades of bluish gray, and with furious confrontation scenes between prisoners and guards interspersed with long scenes of melancholy, meditation, and one-on-one dialogue, Hunger dramatizes as it reveals the average day in the life of an IRA prisoner housed in Her Majesty's Maze Prison circa 1970, in northern Ireland.

Fassbender plays Bobby Sands, the real-life figure who led the no-wash protest and hunger strike, himself perishing after several months of starvation and deterioration. He was subsequently elected to the United Kingdom Parliament as Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP, though his Republican party was denied political status.

Steve McQueen, the much lauded and very young director of Hunger, spares no details when revealing the guts and blood of life inside HM Maze Prison. Inmates engaged in their no-wash protest are shown collecting old food which they turn into paste for creating urine funnels, and funneling urine into the prison hallways. We see them defecating in their own cells and smearing feces all over their cell walls. We see them visiting with family members with whom they exchange contraband, shoving foreign objects into their orifices.

Fassbender, who fasted for the role, is shown wasting away, his body riddled with sores that ooze puss. Confrontations between prisoners and guards are filmed in a mixture of steady and shifting camera angles, heightening the viewer's tension. At one point an actual recording of Margaret Thatcher is heard in the background, her tone icy and resolute, a fitting undertone to this movie's profound and inspiring but tragic, historically accurate denouement.