Scared Straight! Directed by Arnold Shapiro, 1978

A fascinating glimpse at a generally successful life-altering juvenile diversion program." - Booklist, American Library Association

Their crimes included assault and battery, arson, auto theft, breaking and entering, and possession and distribution of narcotics. Although they were still minors, these juvenile delinquents were already on a one-way path to doing hard time.

Hosted by Peter Falk (Columbo), the Oscar and Emmy award-winning SCARED STRAIGHT! recounts the day seventeen teenage lawbreakers spent inside the Rahway maximum security prison with the most dangerous criminals New Jersey had to offer. Calling themselves “the Lifers,” these convicts gave the youths an in-your-face, no-holds-barred account about life in prison, sharing every ugly detail. Without a doubt, the teenagers’ experience that day changed the course of their lives forever.

Now, for the first time on DVD, audiences can revisit SCARED STRAIGHT!, and see the lasting effects of the teenagers and convicts’ encounter in Scared Straight! 20 Years Later, hosted by Danny Glover. The day documented in SCARED STRAIGHT! was unforgettable–the question is, did it work?