Escape From Alcatraz


"Alcatraz was built to keep all the rotten eggs in one basket, and I was specially chosen to make sure that the stink from the basket does not escape. Since I've been warden, a few people have tried to escape. Most of them have been recaptured; those that haven't have been killed or drowned in the bay. No one has ever escaped from Alcatraz. And no one ever will."   - the warden


release year: 1979
genre: prison break action/drama
viewing setting: home DVD, 2/9/17 and 3/8/16 and 8/20/06 and 12/17/04

synopsis: A clever new inmate intends to be the first to ever break out of the Alcatraz prison.

impressions: Good, entertaining, tightly-written and executed. It fills in any little plot holes and moves along well. If you like thinking movies that are suspenseful, you should like this one.

things to watch for: Jailbreak time.

something this movie has that no other movie has: Makeshift metal welding using matches and a dime.

acting: This is a more thinking, less fighting role for Clint, and he does it just as well. There are some good supporting roles too.

fun links: the great "Escape from Alcatraz"

final word: Good fictionalized account of something that really happened but whose exact outcome we will probably never know.

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