Bare Behind Bars (1980): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1980, Bare Behind Bars is a drama and crime film directed by Oswaldo de Oliveira, running about 95 minutes. “Behind Bars No One Can Hear You Scream!” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. In a women's prison in Brazil, the inmates are young and beautiful, the warden is a sadist, all but one of the guards are cruel, and the nurse is an incompetent cuckoo. To make it difficult for the inmates to hide contraband, they wear no underwear. They are alternately murderous and orgiastic with each other, and they engage in sex play with some of the guards. The warden pimps out inmates to wealthy lesbians. With the help of the nurse and under the cover of Carnival, three inmates stage an escape. Once out, will they contrive to stay undiscovered, or will their natures guarantee an ill-fated end to their attempt?

Who’s in it. Bare Behind Bars stars Maria Stella Splendore as Sylvia, the prison warden, Marta Anderson as Barbara, the nurse, Danielle Ferrite as Cynthia, prisoner #341 and Neide Ribeiro as Sandra, the assistant warden, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 4.9/10, Bare Behind Bars has proved divisive with audiences.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Bare Behind Bars page.

If you liked it. Fans of Bare Behind Bars tend to enjoy The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, Schindler's List and The Godfather Part II.