Based on the true story of the 1962 escape from the infamous island prison of the title, Escape From Alcatraz stars the legend that is Clint Eastwood in what is arguably his best film from an incredible run of pictures he made during the '70s (that's right: Escape from Alcatraz might well be a better film than Dirty Harry and High Plains Drifter). Directed by Don Siegel, Eastwood plays real life bank robber Frank Morris, who may or may not have staged the only successful escape to have ever occurred from the notorious prison island (nobody ever found any bodies, so it's assumed that they probably did). Escape from Alcatraz is ultimately an entertainment; though it can be a sombre film at times, it isn't an overly serious one (which is part of the reason it plays so well all these years later). Watching Morris' preparing to make his escape, collecting the necessary tools and plotting the appropriate diversions makes for seriously gripping stuff. The movie is played as a yarn, and yet the ending hits you with a note of unexpected melancholy.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
