Escape from Alcatraz

The Most Daring "Escape" On Record

Director: Don Siegel
Release Date: 1979
Rating: 15
Running Time: 100 mins
Genre: Drama/Biopic
Actors: Clint Eastwood, Larry Hankin, Patrick Magoohan, Roberts Blossom

"No one has ever escaped from Alcatraz prison, and no one ever will."

The intriguing mystery of three men's daring escape from Alcatraz prison in San Francisco in 1962 whereby we see them plan, and attempt a possibly successful breakout. Still to this day it remains a mystery however, if they were able to survive the tide and life on the outside of Alcatraz' Walls as nothing was found of them after their escape. Though first described as an impenetrable and inescapabe prison, the three men prove that with enough determination and time, they would succeed in a breakout, but with the prison's island situated far from the shores of San Francisco Bay.

Clint Eastwood stars as the dramatised prisoner Frank Morris, a man who was sent to the inescapable Alcatraz after escaping all previous prisons he'd been put in. However, it doesn't take five minutes before Frank's planning his next break out and it's not long before others decide to try and get a taste of freedom. With the help of three other inmates, Morris leads the incredibly difficult, low chance escape that only three of them were able to achieve.

This claustrophobic film will have you gripped as you see the cunning and crafty initiatives of these men unravel and they claw at the slim chance of getting out. There's high tension as you see them against all odds, attempt their escape, right up to it's haunting climax of the three successful escapists swimming to freedom across the dark water's strong currents and tides. Although no real evidence of the prisoners surviving was recorded, it's an incredible story and creates a very ghostly feel to the ending. There are many conspiracies and alternative ideas to what went on post-escape, but not knowing adds to the mystery of the Alcatraz escape.

A fantastic prison drama that provides thrills and tension throughout. The Shawshank Redemption meets The Great Escape.

7/10