Escape from Alcatraz
![Watch film Escape from Alcatraz — Escape from Alcatraz (1979) Original Trailer [HD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5bLmGl_USn8/sddefault.jpg)
All actors and roles (10)
Short description
Based on real events, Escape from Alcatraz follows bank robber Frank Morris as he arrives at the federal penitentiary on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay in January 1960. The prison has a reputation for being escape-proof, but Morris, who has broken out of other institutions before, begins studying the routines and weaknesses of the facility. He forms uneasy alliances with fellow inmates, including the Anglin brothers, and together they work out an elaborate plan to get off the island. The warden and the harsh conditions of the prison stand in their way.
Don Siegel directed and produced the film, working from a screenplay by Richard Tuggle. It was the seventeenth of the eighteen features Siegel directed, coming between Telefon and Rough Cut. Clint Eastwood, a frequent collaborator of Siegel's, plays Morris, with Patrick McGoohan as the warden, Roberts Blossom as Doc, Jack Thibeau and Fred Ward as Clarence and John Anglin, and Paul Benjamin as English.
Released in 1979, the film had a budget of 8 million dollars and took in 43 million worldwide, a strong return. On IMDb it holds a 7.5 rating from 163,000 votes, and on TMDB it also stands at 7.5 from 3,286 votes. A critics' rating of 7 out of 10 from 31 reviews places it broadly in line with those audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- During the filming of the movie, Alcatraz still served as a tourist attraction, and new tourists arrived on the island by boat every half hour. This interfered with the filming process so much that they began filming mainly at night.
- During that period, Alcatraz was one of the few penitentiaries in the US where inmates had hot water in the showers. Of course, there was no talk of mercy towards criminals. The hot water was used so that criminals wouldn't get too used to the cold water in case someone managed to escape from their cell and end up in the water outside the prison.
- For the rain scene at the beginning of the film, fresh water was specially delivered from the mainland, as seawater could damage the expensive filming equipment.
- Paramount Pictures had to invest heavily in the prison budget; maintaining the prison in proper order and certain repairs cost the filmmakers approximately half a million dollars. A significant amount of financial resources and effort went into recreating the image of the prison as it was in 1963. Over 24 kilometers of cables were required to reconnect the island to the city's power grids, as the originally laid wiring had largely decayed.
- The escape scene was filmed without the use of stunt doubles. Clint Eastwood, Fred Ward (1942-2022), and Jack Thibeau were involved in the scene, with the latter two being cast in the film specifically because they were in good physical shape. Twice during the filming of this scene, producer and director Don Siegel (1912-1991) feared the actors had been pulled underwater by a strong current.
- The escaping prisoners bear the exact names of their real-life counterparts. However, the man who failed to escape that night was actually named Alan West, not Charlie Butts, as depicted in the film.
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