While I grew up idolizing the likes of Jean-Claude Van Damme, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sylvester Stallone. My old man was a die-hard Clint Eastwood fan so growing up, I saw a ton of his classic movies. One of the ones that I liked as a kid, but I have come to love even more as an adult is 1979’s Escape From Alcatraz.
How to Download Escape from Alcatraz
Escape from Alcatraz was released on June 22, 1979. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. If you want to see more movies with Clint Eastwood, we recommend Every Which Way But Loose, Any Which Way You Can, Million Dollar Baby, and Gran Torino.
The Movie Review
I have a vivid memory of watching this for the very first time, it was shown on TV on a Sunday evening and I remember my dad seeing that it was going to be on in the paper and he was so excited about it. That actually made me really excited to check it out as I was already a fan of other classic Clint Eastwood movies. He talked this movie up for a good few days and that got me even more pumped up to see it!
Escape from Alcatraz would be the fifth movie that Clint Eastwood and Don Siegel would do together. I would argue that Dirty Harry is the most famous of the collaborations between Eastwood and Siegel. However, Escape from Alcatraz is probably my favorite of all the movies that these two were a part of.
The True Story Behind Escape from Alcatraz
This is a “based on a true story” kind of movie I say “based” as while there are certainly true elements here, a great deal of it is made up and dramatized as you would expect. It is the story of a criminal called Frank Morris who is famous for being the man who put the plan together that saw inmates escape from Alcatraz. I just love the whole story behind this and I have seen a few documentaries on it over the years and going to Alcatraz is a real bucket list thing for me.
The Plot: Friendship, Foes, and Freedom
Frank has escaped from prison before and that is what puts him in Alcatraz! While in Alcatraz, Frank makes friends with some of the inmates and falls afoul of a really bad one too. Of course, you cannot have a prison movie without a jerk warden and this movie certainly has that.
I love the whole build-up to the escape as we see Frank and his friends tunnel their way out and come up with a plan of escape. The actual escape is super thrilling and even though I know what is going to happen, it is always exciting to see. When they are dodging those lights it always gets me and I know they are going to make it, but I still worry for them! This is just such a fun movie and one I have seen many times and never got bored of.
The 4K Release of Escape from Alcatraz
Whenever there is a great 4K release of a movie I love to talk about it and Escape from Alcatraz is a fantastic 4K release. It has a fantastic Dolby Vision upgrade and the sound quality is great too! However, the 4K release as well as the impressive visual and audio upgrade has some really interesting and fun special features. Plus, the 4K release of this is actually pretty damn cheap as well, making it an even more great package!
