Escape from Alcatraz (1979)

Director:

Don Siegel

Writers:

J. Campbell Bruce (book)
Richard Tuggle (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 June 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

No one has ever escaped from Alcatraz... And no one ever will!

Plot:

A dramatization of the one possibly successful escape from the notorious prison.

Plot Keywords:

Jail | Escape | Convict | Sadistic Warden | Alcatraz

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Frank Morris
Patrick McGoohan	...	Warden
Roberts Blossom	...	Doc
Jack Thibeau	...	Clarence Anglin
Fred Ward	...	John Anglin
Paul Benjamin	...	English
Larry Hankin	...	Charley Butts
Bruce M. Fischer	...	Wolf
Frank Ronzio	...	Litmus
Fred Stuthman	...	Johnson
David Cryer	...	Wagner
Madison Arnold	...	Zimmerman
Blair Burrows	...	Fight Guard
Bob Balhatchet	...	Medical Technical Assistant
Matthew Locricchio	...	Exam Guard (as Matthew J. Locricchio)

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:AA (1979) (cut) | Argentina:Atp | Iceland:14 | New Zealand:PG | Spain:13 | West Germany:12 (f) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1980) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

During filming, tourists were still allowed onto the island, and a new boatload would arrive every half-hour. They became so much of a distraction that the majority of filming was moved to night shoots.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: On the boat ride over to the prison from San Francisco a radar unit can be seen spinning on top of the boat. That type of radar transponder wasn't developed until the mid 1970s. According to the information on screen, this took place in 1960.

Quotes:

Prison Guard: Do you like the Hole Wolf? Because you are going to rot in their for a long time.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Psych: 9 Lives (#1.5)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

D Block Blues

Great movie... but go on the tour first....

I first went on the evening tour of Alcatraz Island which I'd highly recommend, the prison was cast in a dark gloom which seemed appropriate as we walked around the jail cells and listened to many interesting facts on the audio tour, walked the grounds, and heard about the escape depicted in the move. Naturally, I had to go see this movie...

Watching the movie, I was very impressed with how accurate the movie mirrored what my sense of prison life and the escape would be like based on my impressions of the prison and the island during the tour. Having had walked around the space of the prison in the dim evening light really enhanced my sense of the movie's environment.

Small details like the painting of black shadows for sharp tools that they shared in the tour were also present in the movie, very authentic. The lack of action per se perfectly captures the actual mood of the prison, where boredom reigned, and I thought the film balanced this well with an entertaining cast of characters and well-timed action. Eastwood's silently intense attitude was a good fit for the role and the drama and atmosphere of the escape scene was done perfectly.

In short, I'd highly recommend the evening tour on Alcatraz, followed by a viewing of "Escape from Alcatraz", you will not be disappointed.