'The Stanford Prison Experiment' Trailer

Someone should really cut a MTV Real World-style version of this trailer: “This is the story of a group of strangers picked to live in a fake prison. Find out what happens when people stop being polite, and start getting real. The Real World: Stanford Prison Experiment.” There’s your free idea for the day, internet.

Regardless of the divisive reactions The Stanford Prison Experiment received back in January at the Sundance film festival, it was definitely one of the films people were talking about a lot. The film tells the true story of, as the title suggests, the Stanford prison experiment, when one professor selected a group of male college students and assigned them the roles of either prisoners or guards. These men were contained in a facility and observed, and although the “guards” were instructed not to physically harm the “prisoners”…well, you can see for yourself.

In this tense, psychological thriller based on the notorious true story, Billy Crudup stars as Stanford University professor Dr. Philip Zimbardo, who, in 1971, cast 24 student volunteers as prisoners and guards in a simulated jail to examine the source of abusive behavior in the prison system. The results astonished the world, as participants went from middle-class undergrads to drunk-with-power sadists and submissive victims in just a few days.

The Stanford Prison Experiment was produced with the help of the real Dr. Zimbardo, played in the film by Billy Crudup. The movie also features an excellent roster of young talent, including Ezra Miller, Tye Sheridan, Thomas Mann, Michael Angarano, Olivia Thirlby and Keir Gilchrist.

The Stanford Prison Experiment hits theaters on July 17.