Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
Average Rating: 6.9/10
Reviews Counted: 21
Fresh: 20 | Rotten: 1
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 4
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 0
liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 62,825
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Movie Info
No one can escape from Alcatraz, right? Try telling that to lifer Frank Morris (Clint Eastwood). This Donald Siegel-directed nailbiter is a reenactment of Frank Morris' 1962 attempt to bust himself and two other cons out of The Rock. Eastwood, as Morris, tilts with nasty warden Patrick McGoohan for a while, befriends several fellow prisoners, and picks the guys with whom he'll make his escape. Among his break-out buddies are the Anglin Brothers (Fred Ward and Jack Thibeau), with whom he'd served
Jun 22, 1979 Wide
Mar 9, 1999
Paramount Home Video
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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 -
Dale Alvarez
Inmate -
Madison Arnold
Zimmerman -
Bob Balhat-Chet
Medical Assistant -
Denis Berkfeldt
Guard -
Stephen Bradley
Exam Guard -
Hank Brandt
Associate Warden -
James F. Collier
Guard -
David Cryer
Wagner -
Don Cummins
Guard -
Tony Dario
Guard -
Dana Derfus
Guard -
Sheldon Feldner
Inmate -
R.J. Ganzert
Guard -
John Garabedian
Guard -
Danny Glover
Inmate -
Ray K. Goman
Cellblock Captain -
Garry Goodrow
Weston -
Gordon Handforth
Guard -
Jim Haynie
Guard -
Robert Hirschfeld
Guard -
Eugene W. Jackson
Prisoner -
Joseph Knowland
Guard -
Dan Leegant
Guard -
Matthew Locricchio
Exam Guard -
Don Michaelian
Beck -
Lloyd Nelson
Guard -
Jason Ronard
Bobs -
John Scanlon
Guard -
Fred Stuthman
Johnson -
James Thomas Gilbert
Prisoner -
Patrick Valentino
Inmate -
Ed Vasgersian
Cranston -
Ron Vernan
Stone -
Gary F. Warren
Guard -
Don Watters
Guard -
Joe Whipp
Guard -
Terry Wills
Guard -
Fritz Manes
Guard -
George Orrison
Guard -
Don Siegel
Doctor -
Glenn Wright
Prisoner -
Al Dunlap
Visitors' Guard -
Blair Burrows
Fight Guard -
Carl Lumbly
Inmate
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All Critics (21) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (21) | Rotten (1) | DVD (4)
Escape from Alcatraz is relentless in establishing a mood and pace of unrelieved tension.
Top CriticIt's an austere depiction of the tedious routines of prison life, and of the courage and strength of spirit needed in coping with unpleasant warders, tough fellow-inmates, and a life sentence.
It's one of those very difficult exercises in which large emotions, like the compulsion to be free, are reflected in minute actions, like the chipping away at stone with a pocket nail clipper.
What Mr. Siegel has made is fiction, a first-rate action movie that is about the need and the decision to take action, as well as the action itself.
Clint Eastwood is essentially playing Clint Eastwood, but then that's what we watch him for. There's not nearly enough Patrick McGoohan, though.
One of the better prison break films.
Siegel stages it all like a collection of haikus, all grilled corners and hard camera pans, not a single wasted frame
Escape from Alcatraz was the last of five films that Don Siegel directed with Clint Eastwood, and it's the end of an impeccable track record.
Eastwood adds a lot of grit to this entertaining prison flick.
Eastwood and McGoohan make this work.
Classy and intriguing.
Escape from Alcatraz is an above average prison break flick.
Audience Reviews for Escape from Alcatraz
Super Reviewer
It's 1962, and lifer Frank Morris has had just about enough of life behind bars at Alcatraz. Along with two others, Frank begins hatching an inspired plot to be the first ones to successfully flee from the island prison.
It is definitely to the credit of Siegel and others that, even with the ending being known, that this a quite an engrossing nail-biter. The film really draws you in with great atmosphere and holds you in a strong web of suspense all the way through. The editing and cinematography really shine here.
The performances aren't too shabby either, with Patrick McGoohan doing great as the evil Warden, and Eastwood delivering a typically solid turn as Frank. Fred Ward is also quite nice as one of the guys trying to bust out with Frank.
All in all, this is quite an enjoyable and solid thriller. Go check it out.
Super Reviewer
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Foreign Titles
- Flucht von Alcatraz (DE)
- L'Evadé d'Alcatraz (FR)
"No one has ever escaped from Alcatraz... And no one ever will."
Escape From Alcatraz has always been a movie of great interest to me. I've seen it probably a dozen times by now and I still am engrossed by every minute of it. I first watched this movie when I was nine years old, shortly after visiting Alcatraz. The prison is an eerie place and the movie brings that out through the characterization of the inmates and especially of the warden. The film has obviously been worn down over the years, but I still hold it up as one of the best prison movies out there. Especially, prison escape movies.
Frank Morris arrives at Alcatraz and is told by the warden that it is inescapable. Morris had broken out of prisons before and that's why he was sent to Alcatraz. He starts nosing around trying to find a way out, when two old prison buddies show up. They too were sent to Alcatraz for breaking out of prison. Through prison jobs they get the necessary equipment they need to try to break out of there cells and hopefully the prison altogether. The ending isn't much of a secret, unless you know absolutely nothing about the history of Alcatraz, but it is a suspenseful film nonetheless.
Don Siegel and Clint Eastwood are again collaborating on this one, and it, to me, is their best collaboration. Eastwood is playing a prototypical Eastwood character, while a nice supporting cast brings presence to the characters around him. There's intrigue in the friendships, anger at the warden, and a hope that Frank can really make it out. The movie succeeds because it is able to make us care if a criminal is able to make it out.
The film isn't a masterpiece by any stretch, but what it is, is a cool and intriguing film about one of the most famous jailbreaks in history. Actually, THE most famous jailbreak in history. I wouldn't call it a must watch, but if you are a fan of Eastwood or at all interested in Alcatraz, it is a very worthwhile film. The pacing is just right and we all know Siegel knows how to create suspense from just about anything. There's not a lot of action in the movie, mostly plotting the escape and what not, but the suspense level couldn't be higher throughout the whole film.