Escape from Alcatraz

Escape from Alcatraz (1979) is about the only successful escape attempt from Alcatraz, in 1962. Frank Morris is brought to the island. The warden tells him nobody escapes from Alcatraz, and anyone who tried drowned. Morris begins building a plan and works with two brothers. It takes years. The concrete around a ventilation grille is dug out with nail clippers and stolen spoons. The hole is covered with a cardboard grille. Dummy heads are made from soap, toilet paper and hair collected from the barbershop so the beds look occupied. A raft is sewn from raincoats. The best thing about it is the detail. The escape is built step by step and there is almost no music; the sound is scraping and breathing. On the night of 11 June 1962 all three disappeared. No bodies were ever found and the case has never been formally closed; the US marshals keep the file open. Whether they drowned or reached shore is unknown. Don Siegel directed, his fifth and last film with Clint Eastwood. It was shot on the actual island. The prison had closed in 1963 and there was no power; generators were brought in for filming. Eastwood barely speaks in it. The final shot explains nothing and leaves the audience undecided. It runs 112 minutes. Good for: prison films, true events, and patient tension. Less good for: the pace is very slow and the characters' histories are never told.