Movie Review for Escape From Alcatraz (1979)

Directed by: Don Siegel
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Patrick McGoohan, Jack Thibeau
Rated: PG
Runs: 112 min

I got this on DVD from a teacher who recommended it, and I could well say that this was a thrilling edge of your seat movie, despite the fact that even before you see the film you already know what's going to happen. This is Clint Eastwood's fifth emergence on film, if I'm not mistaken, and his remarkably quiet yet powerful demeanor is clear from the very beginning. It's based on a real story, following a certain Frank Morris, an inmate whose escape from various other prison institutions finally lands him at the Rock, the famous Alcatraz maximum security prison, where no man has ever escaped. Morris apparently did escape, although alive or dead right now is a mystery only he can reveal. Here's a real picture of his cell the grating which he used to escape along with two other inmates. My favourite character was inmate English (Paul Benjamin) because of his kind mannerisms and behaviour that makes you instantly feel sympathetic towards his situation. I just kept on thinking throughout the movie that there were so many things that went well in his favour that day. I guess the movie also exaggerated some things, but then again, the fact that Morris escaped is nothing short of an extraordinary thing isn't it? A well deserved 8 out of 10 for a movie with great techniques and music that has you pulling your hairs for fear that at any moment the escape cover will break.

Written on Monday, September 20 at 10:22 PM