Guest Blogger: Gil T.

Escape from Alcatraz
There are a lot of prison movies out there, many of which are based on the infamous but now officially shutdown prison known as Alcatraz. Of them all, “Escape from Alcatraz”, starring the legendary Clint Eastwood and directed by Don Siegel, far surpasses any other film of similar plotline. This I state not as an opinion, but more as a personal fact. I believe this film differentiates itself from other ‘escape the prison’ style movies because it does not bother to explain very much of the main characters background, or the life that which he/she is attempting to return to. Instead the idea is that the purpose of escape is not simply to be set free, but to overcome the challenge of breaking out of the world’s most inescapable penitentiary. The protagonist of this film, Clint Eastwood’s character, is entitled Frank Lee Morris. Frank is a man that one can quickly presume has seen it all and done it all. The only important information we truly learn about him as that he has escaped every holding cell he’s ever been thrown into using his far above average intelligence. Frank quickly builds himself an impressive resume of escapes, and his reputation has him locked away in the last place the United States has to offer, Alcatraz. Alcatraz, by the way, is appropriately nicknamed “The Rock”, due to it being an entirely lifeless manmade island positioned a mile off the coast of San Francisco. I do not wish to give away primary scenes in the film, as it is one that has to be seen for oneself to truly be appreciated; frank meets up with several memorable faces, including Paul Benjamin, who plays an African American book cart pusher named English, and Larry Hankin, who plays a less then wise fellow inmate named Charlie Butts. The movie spends a great deal of time going through the process and the planning of the escape, while the escape scene at the end is relatively short and suspenseful. If you have any respect for a classically epic movie, then you will assign this film to the top of your priority list.