Flucht von Alcatraz

Escape from Alcatraz is a 1979 film starring Clint Eastwood, Patrick McGooghan, Roberts Blossom, and Paul Benjamin.

Eastwood is Frank Morris, who, with the two Anglin brothers (their names were changed for the film) contrived the most elaborate scheme ever to escape "The Rock."

Their bodies were never found, and a photo surfaced some years later of the brothers in Brazil. The escape, plus Alcatraz's bad reputation, helped it close less than a year later.

The movie gives a good idea of the horrors of prison life, and particularly the horrors of Alcatraz. Frankly, I don't think the escapees cared if they died. I'm sure anything was better than being in Alcatraz.

Escape from Alcatraz is old-fashioned in that it has the art of the buildup, something lost in today's scripts. Today you must get to the point of your story in the first ten minutes. A film, for instance, like San Francisco where the earthquake happens toward the end would be a no-no.

So we see the preparations, and they're impressive - papier mache heads with hair stolen from the barber shop to fool the guards into thinking they were asleep, digging out a grill at the back of the cell and putting a false grill up to fool the guards; welding a digging tool together with silver from a dime; the making of a raft; playing music while digging to hide the noise (though this really isn't shown). It was painstaking.

Patrick McGoohan plays the warden, who, like all film prison wardens, is a horror show. When he sees a portrait of himself in a cell, he takes away the painting privileges of one of the inmates, Doc. When he finds out two inmates are talking cell to cell, he demands that they be separated.

Actually, at the time of the escape, the warden was Olin Blackwell, considered the most lenient warden Alcatraz had ever had. And by then, inmates were performing music (shown in the film), and had weekend movies (also shown).

Clint Eastwood, heavier than we've seen him in years, does an excellent job as Frank Morris, low-key but lethal. There isn't a tremendous amount of dialogue, but with his great presence and Frank's quiet leadership, we really don't need it.

Recommended for a gritty look at life on Alcatraz, and the fascinating escape.

Frank Morris was a bank robber who has escape many prisons in his time, but for his troubles his transported from Atlanta and shipped off to the rock they call Alcatraz. Where supposedly no one can escape. The maximum security prison life is jarringly miserable and hopeless. The prison warden intends to keep it that way. Morris makes some friends, but also an enemy which wants to see him dead, after turning down his proposal with brute force. Through a small glimpse of hope and luck. Morris actually discovers a possible way of escape and carefully plans it out with the aid of a couple of inmates.

You can always count on the influential pairing of Clint Eastwood and Don Siegel. No matter what. On their filth and final partnership they come up with another genuine winner in the shape of the grippingly harrowing and sedated prison yarn shaped off J. Campbell Bruce's novel (and the supposed true story) of the only three men to break out of Alcatraz. It's hard not marvel at Siegel's sturdily compact craftsmanship in depicting the dour prison life with moody realism and how the story eventually folds out into a tautly drawn up break out attempt. The build up doesn't sway off course, but sticks to its simple narrative and characteristics with effective results. There's nothing explosive and downright exciting, but there's spirit lurking under the cold looking domain that eventually comes through. Like quoted in the film the rock would either break you or inspire you to fight on. The smartly layered plot works this into the characters very successfully and despite the predictability, it stays admirably honest without the need of sensationalising the facts and ambiguous conclusion. It starts of small and stays that way to the end, even with its dominantly large situation. The well-articulated script by Richard Tuggle is scanty with a lot of quiet patches. But it when comes to the forefront it manages to be cunning, but also touching. There's nothing overwrought here and gladly it doesn't succumb to that. Pacing is quite subdued, but this helps enhances the creaky mood and sophomoric nature of Alcatraz. Drama and action is kept to a minimal. Being shot on Alcatraz help chipped out such a towering and gritty presence the film held strongly and Bruce Surtees' fixedly expressive cinematography gets amongst the shadowy, dank and gloomy interior. Jerry Fielding's poignantly lingering and uncanny music score only adds more to the nauseating air whiffed up through the presentation. Clint Eastwood plays it quite steely and lean. He fit's the role smoothly as Morris. The support roles are reliably good, even if they are stuck with generic characters. Patrick McGoohan is sinisterly fine as the warden and Robert Blossom and Frank Ronzio are delightfully moving as two elder prison inmates. Paul Benjamin, Bruce M. Fischer, Fred Ward and Larry Hankin as the edgily weak-minded Charley Butts are memorably excellent in their parts.

We've been down this path before, but this efficient offering plays it cards in a very understated manner and is to the point that I found it hard not to be fascinated by it's bitter depiction. Take the chance with this fortress.

An excellent second half of this film elevates it overall as the Alcatraz inmates plan and then execute their escape, narrowly missing several disastrous occurrences. The suspense during those scenes is outstanding.

Clint Eastwood is good as the fairly low-key character "Frank Morris" and most of the inmates are likable guys (which was highly unlikely in real life).

For tourists of San Francisco (of which I was one about five years ago), I would recommend taking the Alcatraz tour. It's fascinating and makes this movie even more interesting once you've seen the place. I notice the people here at IMDb make the same recommendation on the title page of this film.

Much of the rest of the cast are not well-known actors but they do a fine job in here. This is one of director Don Siegel's final films. He worked with Eastwood on "Coogan's Bluff" and then "Dirty Harry."

Transfer-wise, the DVD was not that impressive, a bit too grainy for the usual standards. However, the story is always interesting and the movie is definitely recommended.

Alcatraz was America's toughest high-security prison, and has been much beloved by film-makers since it closed and became available as a set. Don Siegel's film is based on the true story of an attempted escape. Some aspects are clichéd (the psychopathic homosexual, for example) and by concentrating on the brutality of the regime the film gets you on the side of the escapees at the price of suggesting that prison break-outs are actually a good thing. But in general, this is a successful film that has aged well, with no sickly sentiment or overdone melodrama; by concentrating on the unadorned details of the story, the film allows each one to count. A strong, uncompromising movie, gripping even if you know the ending before it starts.

We see Shawshank copied lots of ideas from this film. Shawshank rated as one of the bests but Alcatraz is also top on its own. This underrated classic of real story must be watched.

***Worth reading Wikipedia after watching this film. It can enrich the film experience and we can feel the real story with feelings. The Anglins (They robbed banks, no killings) sending flowers to mom every year.. turning up to funerals as ladyboys... We cannot hate them...