Review of Escape from Alcatraz (1979) by Jay L — 26 Mar 2012

"Alcatraz was built to keep all of the rotten eggs in one basket. No one has ever escaped from Alcatraz, and....no one ever will.".

Before there was "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Green Mile" there was Director Don Siegel's Escape From Alcatraz. A true nailbiter that's a 10 out of 10 on the tension meter. It's based on the true account of a group of inmates who planned an escape from one of the most secure prisons in the world at the time. Another knockout collaboration between Don Siegel and Clint Eastwood, one of the downright coolest escape films out there. Escape From Alcatraz is slickly made, executed with minimal flaw, filmed on location, intensely engaging, superbly convincing and thunderously entertaining from start to finish. The story is spot on and the ending is spectacular, nobody has ever known or found out whether or not this group of prisoners made it back to the shores of San Francisco without drowning. Mindblowing really if you ponder on it, these men could be walking the streets of some city today, and no one would ever know that they were the ones that shut down The Rock. This is great filmmaking, an excellent entertainment of nonstop and breathtaking thrills.

Clint Eastwood and his hardboiled style never cease to amaze, one of my favorite actors delivers once again. Great acting and direction all of the way through.