Escape from Alcatraz is listed as a "classic" on most movie review sites, and I'll agree that it is somewhat old. However, being a "classic" doesn't automatically make it "good" or even "tolerable".
At no point in this movie did I want Clint Eastwood's character to escape. There was no indication that he was incarcerated without reason, or that he was treated that poorly while in prison. The audience is left only to assume that he is a career criminal who has escaped from several prisons in the past.
I also could not care for any of the other escapees (the brothers) as we are introduced to them merely through a brief conversation with Eastwood's character about how they arrived at Alcatraz. The artist's fate is entirely out of line with the "reasons" he gives, Litmus simply keels over dead, and English "introduces" Wolf to the black prisoners for what reason?
There are two more recent movies that show the difficulty of life in prison 100,000 times more effectively than Escape from Alcatraz -- The Green Mile and Sawshank Redemption. In the latter, everyone roots for Andy Dufresne to escape because we know his reasons for wanting freedom. In Escape, we are only to assume Eastwood's character doesn't like prison. Boo hoo.
At no point in this movie did I want Clint Eastwood's character to escape. There was no indication that he was incarcerated without reason, or that he was treated that poorly while in prison. The audience is left only to assume that he is a career criminal who has escaped from several prisons in the past.
I also could not care for any of the other escapees (the brothers) as we are introduced to them merely through a brief conversation with Eastwood's character about how they arrived at Alcatraz. The artist's fate is entirely out of line with the "reasons" he gives, Litmus simply keels over dead, and English "introduces" Wolf to the black prisoners for what reason?
There are two more recent movies that show the difficulty of life in prison 100,000 times more effectively than Escape from Alcatraz -- The Green Mile and Sawshank Redemption. In the latter, everyone roots for Andy Dufresne to escape because we know his reasons for wanting freedom. In Escape, we are only to assume Eastwood's character doesn't like prison. Boo hoo.