| Prisoners | |
| Director: | Peter Werner |
| Producer: | Antony I. Ginnane John Barnett |
| Screenplay: | Meridith Baer Hilary Henkin |
| Story: | Meridith Baer |
| Starring: | Tatum O'Neal Colin Friels Shirley Knight David Hemmings Bruno Lawrence Ralph Cotterill |
| Music: | Peter Sullivan |
| Cinematography: | James Glennon |
| Editing: | Adrian Carr |
| Studio: | FGH Keith Barish Productions Gupta Film Services |
| Distributor: | 20th Century Fox |
| Runtime: | 95 minutes |
| Budget: | $NZD 4,288,719[1] |
| Country: | New Zealand United States |
| Language: | English |
| Italic Title: | force |
Prisoners is a 1982 American-New Zealand drama film directed by Peter Werner and starring Tatum O'Neal, Colin Friels and David Hemmings.[2]
For unclear reasons, the film has never been released.[3] The New Zealand Archive of Film, Television and Sound states that a financial dispute was allegedly the reason for the shelving of the completed film.[4] According to New Zealand film historians Helen Martin and Sam Edwards, "One rumour has it that a relative of one of the actors bought the film to prevent its release."
An American moves his family to New Zealand where he takes charge of a prison in Wellington. His young daughter begins to have a love affair with one of the prisoners in his charge.
The film was shot in Auckland from 29 June to 14 August 1982.[5] [6] Its budget was approximately $4.2 million.