Customer Reviews

Escape from Alcatraz (Widescreen)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I like this movie with Clint Eastwood. Great movie and this is a real story.

Seldom do Amazon.com reviewers agree on ratings for films they watch, but for this one, the vote is in and it is unanimous. Escape from Alcatraz is a winner.

Director Don Siegel is pitch perfect from beginning to end. Many reviewers who have been to Alcatraz comment on the realism of this film. Siegel gives us an inside look at what it might have been like to be imprisoned on "the rock." From the black hole of solitary confinement to the painfully small individual cells of the prisoners, Alcatraz was a nasty place meant for only the nastiest criminals.

One of these prisoners is Frank Morris, expertly played by Clint Eastwood, who is transferred to Alcatraz, gets into a fight with an inmate who wants to make him his "punk," and spends time in the black hole. When he gets out of solitary, Morris begins to plan his escape. Several reviewers comment on the fact that Hollywood does not get these facts straight, but I didn't much care. I was pulled very quickly into Morris's plans and then the actual mechanics of the breakout, which were genuinely interesting and toward the end, had me sitting at the edge of my chair as I waited with suspense to see how the story would end.

The escape is obviously central to the entire plot, but the life of prisoners at Alcatraz is also dramatized expertly by Don Siegel. The warden, Patrick McGoohan, is aloof and professional, but he has a mean streak, which makes life harder than it needs to be on the rock. Frank Morris is smart enough not to get mad, but to get even, and this he does with three other inmates who assist him in the breakout. The warden and his guards are constanly on the alert for any suspicious behavior and we hold our breath from time to time as the escape plan is almost detected.

At last the time comes and we go step by step with Morris and two of his crew as they head for the icy waters surrounding Alcatraz. The fourth member of the crew hesitated and was left behind. This appears to follow the real-life events as mentioned by other reviewers.

Did Morris and his buddies successfully navigate the treacherous waters surrounding Alcatraz? I'll leave that question unanswered. Viewers can decide for themselves.

What is certain, at least to the reviewers of Amazon.com, is that Escape from Alcatraz is a well-made, highly suspenseful film from beginning to end, and it is one of Clint Eastwood's best roles -- that's saying something. Highly recommended!

Summary:
Frank Morris (Clint Eastwood) is transferred to Alcatraz after having escaped from another, in what is made out to be, a long series of prisons. He makes friends with some of the other inmates (Doc-Roberts Blossom; English-Paul Benjamin; Charley Butts-Larry Hankin; Litmus-Frank Ronzio) and has some friends from a previous prison join him (Clarence Anglin-Jack Thibeau; John Anglin-Fred Ward). He also has to deal with an inmate that is out to get him (Wolf-Bruce M. Fischer) and a warden that is pretty rough on the inmates (Patrick McGoohan). Together they plot their escape from Alcatraz and three of the four (Frank and the Anglin brothers get away, Charlie doesn't) in on the plan actually get away.

My Comments:
The movie is pretty similar to The Shawshank Redemption in a lot of ways. But I wouldn't necessarily consider one better than the other. The only problems I had with this movie is that we never really find out much about Frank other than he is a career criminal. There is one line about his childhood, but he doesn't say much other than that it was 'short'. It would have been interesting to know more about some of the other people involved. However, this really doesn't affect the movie and should have been taken care of as special features on the DVD (it doesn't really have any). Other than that and the movie being slow in a few spots, the movie was really great.

Overall, the movie is remarkably well done and very convincing. It is based on a true story and is a very enjoyable. If you liked The Shawshank Redemption, you should like this.

This is one of these great movies that keeps you cheering for the villans as they attempt to outwit the establishment; This time it's the notorious Alcatraz Federal Prison and it's cold and heartless warden, played excellently by Patrick McGoohan (he also played the equally cold and ruthless King Longshanks in Braveheart). By prison movie standards, this one is very realistic and keeps you in suspense right to the end. It's my second-favorite prison movie, just behind The Shawshank Redemption.

Clint Eastwood plays Frank Morris, a life-long con who has been sent to Alcatraz in part because of his successful past escape attempts. The warden advises Morris that Alcatraz was built to keep all the "rotten eggs in one basket." Seconds later, Morris finds his first 'tool' to assist in his escape; the wardens nail clippers! Later, Morris meets his soon-to-be accomplices, brothers he met in another institution. It's not long before Morris finds his path to freedom, with the unlikely aid of a cockroach. Together, taking risky and cunning chances to sneak items into their cells to assist in their escape, the three men and one more-reluctant con find a way to make their break. The build-up to the escape is absolutely brilliant. Every scene leaves you on the edge of your seat. You can imagine what it was really like trying to pull off this escape.

The beauty of this movie is that it is based on a true story. It is the most famous of all prison escapes and one of the few where the fate of the escapees is unknown to this day. It would be awesome, assuming they lived, that one or more of the escapees would come forward to tell their story today. I would support a pardon for all three of them just for pulling it off. As for their fate, I recently watched a documentary that attempted to replicate their escape and determine if they could have survived swimming in that frigid Bay-area water. Even an experienced swimmer could not make it. It was determined that unless a boat was waiting for them, they would have died of hypothermia and been swept out to sea by the strong currents.

There was a fourth escapee of Alcatraz that we dont know the fate of: the little mouse that belonged to the old man. Remember, Morris put him in his shirt pocket and said, "You're coming along, too." I hope they made it!

The movie is pretty slow, but is very accurate. I rented it before heading to San Francisco on a tour of Alcatraz. Just my luck, when I arrived, the youngest guard ever to work on the island was there promoting his book. He stated that "Escape from Alcatraz" is the most accurate account out of any movie out there. "Murder in the First" is more interesting and moves faster, but that is because they change almost the whole story around. If you want an accurate account of life on Alcatraz, rent this movie.

I have had a fasination about what it was like being a prisoner on the rock.Recently I went to visit Alcatraz to take a look for myself and I was so stunned that I was actually on the rock, where they kept the worst of the worst. After my trip I immediatly rented Escape of Alcatraz(because out of all of the movies made of Alcatraz this one is the most acurate!).The movie was based on a true story about the 1962 breakout. After watching it I found interesting little things that hollywood changed just to make it unique. In the movie there were three people in on it ,but in reality there were four and Clint Eastwood's charactor wasn't the one that planned it. Sure his charactor made it out ,but since this was hollywood and Clint Eastwood was star of the movie his charactor needed to plan it and escape. The one who planned it didn't make it out with the others. He did try five hours after the other three made it out.
It's still a hollywood gem. I loved the movie a lot. Clint Eastwood is great in this one (as he does with all of his other films) I enjoyed it even more that they acually filmed the movie on Alcatraz(so if you've been there you would notice many of the places they filmed at). The story is very straight forward and rock hard performances. As well as an ending that leads you to differant conclusions.

Escape from Alcatraz is one of my most favourite movies of all time and has to be one of the best true stories that ever made it to the screen as far as true crime goes. Yes, it was a true crime because they escaped from prison and that is a crime in itself. Eastwood is my favourite actor and has been since I was seven and I am now thirty one. His performance is one of the best here in this movie, he doesn't disappoint. There are some standout scenes in this movie-one is where the warden tells him no one has ever really made it on the outside after escaping from prison. They have either been caught or shot. The warden tells him no one has ever made it and no one ever will. When the warden tells Morris(Eastwood)that the look on his face looks like the warden has just issued him a challenge and Morris's face looks like as if to say, We'll see about that. Don't bet on it.
Other standout parts in this movie for me are the following scenes:
A prison guard tells Morris that he has a new job and that he will be paid fifteen cents an hour and Eastwood replies,"Well, I always knew crime would pay."
Another scene is a convict tells Eastwood he always wanted to see San Francisco but he thought it would be never like this-he had stolen a car from a prison guard and drove it across the state and wound up in AlacatraZ.
Same convict asks Eastwood did he know how old he was and he said he didn't know and the convict says,"Jeez, what kind of childhood did you have?"
Eastwood replies,"Short."
An actor I found interesting in this movie too was Fred Ward playing one of the Anglin brothers. The Anglins were caught trying to escape over a prison wall and sent to Alcatraz for Fifteen years. Ward asks himself, "I wonder how i would be after fifteen years in this place?" He never found out. He escaped with Morris.
How these three escaped, Morris and the Anglin Brothers was a stroke of genius. I wonder if they would all be alive now if they made it since they would be in their seventies now probably.
I recommend this movie a lot. I watched it three times in a row and I don't usually do that even with other great movies.

Ive you've ever listened to people interviewed about the movie that were either former wardens or correctional officers at Alcatraz, you'll hear that each and every one describes the movie's reality grasp of the notorious 1962 prison break a dead-on hit. In 1979, there were no special effects to be provided to movies and upon release the movie was mildly looked at as another Charles Bronson 'vigilante' takeoff or something like that. But a young Clint Eastwood gives us all a spectacular presentation of a Frank Morris we may think we know...but actually dont. Eastwood's sly tricks, showdown voice and optional tough-guy exterior lend themselves perfectly to the character of Frank Morris...the (alleged) brains behind the escape. The Anglin brothers featuring Fred Ward (who'd later shake us to our knees in 'Tremors') assist Morris in his ingenious and timely escape plan that proves impossible in today's prison system...where the only escape possible (except for Texas) is blending in with those who ARE allowed to be outside the walls. 'The Shawshank Redemption' in 1994 felt so familiar to all of us...and then we realize. The basic events and storyline, no matter how different the director tried to make it, are the same as those of 'Escape From Alcatraz'. With toung in cheek, 'The Shawshank Redemption' was an attempt to create a brand new story that was original in every way. However, the only reason you would watch it is for the tremendous acting, fantastic cast and excellent 'icing-like' story that covers up the basic 'Escape From Alcatraz' cake. It is in fact a terrific movie, but with no arguement that 1979's blockbuster Eastwood flick layed the ground and paved the way for modern actors to represent the story in their own way. 'Escape From Alcatraz' is an enticing movie, with very little dialogue and absolutely no down time. In other words you'll get to experience the time frame needed to make the escape and see the detailed plan itself...without any "John!, Marsha!" soap opera type nonsense. Paul Benjamin plays an incredible part as the middle-aged black man who has already devoted 10 years of his life as an Alcatraz inmate. His speech on the steps of the prison yard and his overall character are a great gift to the near end of his career..Id have to say its one of the best performances Ive ever seen in a movie and ceratinly a solid plus for 'Escape From Alcatraz'. Thanks for putting this movie on DVD!, and if you liked 'The Shawshank Redemption' you're gonna love the untaylored real life account of the three criminals who made history. If only the song 'Whos' Got the Last Laugh Now' was written today...it would have to include the escape from an 'escape-proof' prison.

Clint Eastwood made a fine thriller, and it is a very accurate portrayal of what life on Alcatraz was like. However, I was disappointed to find out the movie was not historically accurate in several respects. If you want the real story, read "Breaking The Rock" by Jolene Babyak, who is the daughter of the associate warden at the time of the break.

Eastwood delivers one of his best performances as cool-headed escapee Frank Lee Morris. There's no Hollywood hype involved here, this movie is based on the actual events of the June '62 breakout from the maximum security prison. Many people have speculated that the three actually made good on their escape, this movie does nothing to dispel that notion. A great book for fans who want to know more about this infamous escape is 'Riddle of the Rock' by Don DeNevi. He clears up a lot of the details that went into the escape based on interviews with surviving ex-cons who were there at the time. Ironically enough, it was less than a year after the break that the prison was closed for good. As late as 1990, the "tablespoon trio" were thought to have robbed a bank up in Marianna, FL in the panhandle. The FBI put out a new poster offering a 1 million dollar reward leading to their arrest. What a story it would make if at least one of the surviving members were able to impart a "death bed" confession about their 40 years on the run! Anyway, this movie is a great primer for the most interesting story in U.S. prison history.