alexanderdavies-99382 "Escape from Alcatraz" was the last time Clint Eastwood worked with Don Siegel after a gap of 8 years. Most of the cast aren't very well known except for Patrick McGoohan, who is outstanding as the cold and austere prison governor. He and Clint Eastwood make for an excellent combination in the scenes they share. If McGoohan was hoping to intimidate Eastwood, it wasn't working! The low key approach works best for this film. The whole thing is very good, with a suitably ambiguous ending.Don Siegel's direction is amongst his best.

slightlymad22 Escape From Alcatraz (1979)Plot In A Paragraph: The true story of Frank Morris (Eastwood) a cunning bank robber who was sent to Alcatraz Island, the most feared prison in the world. Although nobody had ever escaped from Alcatraz, Frank masterminded this elaborately detailed and, as far as anyone knows, ultimately successful, escape. In 29 years, this seemingly impenetrable federal penitentiary, which housed Al Capone and "Birdman" Robert Stroud, was only broken once by three inmates never heard of again.Rounding out the decade that saw him jump back in the saddle again, make Harry Callahan a household name, hang out with an Orangutan, steal Nazi gold and run The Gauntlet, Eastwood ended the decade back with Don Siegel in their final movie together. It's a shame a silly ego fuelled rift ruined a great working relationship. They made up of course, but they never worked together again.One of my favourite non franchise Clint Eastwood movies Escape From Alcatraz is brilliant. It's well directed, has a tight, tense script and is well acted!! It's just simply masterful storytelling. If there is one criticism of the movie, it's that it's ending is a little anti climactic. But there's so much that's so good in the film, in the performances, the characters, the minutely observed details of prison life, the timing of events leading up to the escape that it's hard to pick faults with such a well done movie.Escape From Alcatraz grossed $43 million at the domestic box office to end the year as the 15th highest grossing movie of 1979.

Woodyanders Shrewd bank robber Frank Morris (superbly played with commendable restraint by Clint Eastwood) gets sent to serve time in the legendary maximum security prison Alcatraz. Run with an iron fist by a ruthless and sadistic warden (a marvelously wicked portrayal by Patrick McGoohan), Morris plots to escape from the penitentiary that's supposed to be impossible to break out of.Director Don Siegel astutely nails the drab monotony, stark brutality, and utter hopelessness of life behind bars in a compelling, straightforward, and refreshingly unsentimental manner. Richard Tuggle's tight script wisely avoids any melodramatic subplots or heavy-handed social commentary. While Eastwood clearly dominates the film with his trademark quietly commanding authority, he nonetheless receives terrific support from Roberts Blossom as easygoing and artistic old felon Doc, Fred Ward as the cocky John Anglin, Jack Thibeau as John's hotheaded brother Clarence, Richard Benjamin as the antagonistic English, Larry Hankin as the meek Charley Butts, Frank Ronzio as the amiable Litmus, and Bruce M. Fischer as monstrous predator Wolf. The sharp, yet no-frills cinematography by Bruce Surtees further adds to the overall gritty realism. Jerry Fielding's spare moody score rates as another significant asset. The climactic escape is expertly staged with Siegel's customary clockwork precision for supreme tension and excitement. Excellent.

ericrnolan "Escape From Alcatraz" (1979) was a decent flick; I'd give it a 7 out of 10. (And, yeah, I do know I'm going to get nailed to the wall by my film buff friends who no doubt can point out reasons why it would deserve a higher rating. This is why I hide behind an internet connection with these reviews.)Clint Eastwood really is a wonderful actor, and there are nice amounts of tension here. I personally think the best actor was Roberts Blossom as "Doc." I was also pretty surprised to discover just how much "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994) borrowed from this – right down to an elderly, eccentric prisoner nurturing a pet and dying tragically.To me, the movie seemed a little thin. Of the four protagonists, the only one we really get to know is "Butts," and two others are convenient Italian American stereotypes. Little was done to exploit Patrick McGoohan's amazing acting skills as the warden. (This was the guy who played Longshanks in "Braveheart" (1995)!!)It also seems thinly plotted. Little transpires beyond four prisoners gathering small objects to effect their escape. And if you've already read about the true story of Frank Norris, there are no surprises here. Finally, we do not even fully see the aftermath of the story for the one unfortunate conspirator.This movie also might suffer from … "genre fatigue?" Yes, it's regarded as a classic, but, since 1979, we've seen fictional film prisons do more with this kind of setting. One, of course, is the obviously inspired "Shawshank." Another is HBO's "Oz." I just don't think this movie would thrill a modern audience the way it did in 1979.http://ericrobertnolan.wordpress.com/