Escape From Alcatraz

A classic Clint Eastwood prison movie. I just watched this movie and grew very fascinated with the Alcatraz prison as a result. I thought the acting performances were top-notch (what more can you ask from Clint Eastwood?) and the story was compelling enough to really draw you in. Basically Clint Eastwood plays a character that was sent to the Alcatraz prison due to poor behavior at other prisons. Alcatraz was known for being a maximum security prison with little hope of ever escaping successfully. Clint Eastwood plays the cool and collected prison inmate who won't let other prisoners take advantage of him, yet earns the respect of many within the prison. He slowly forms a plan to escape and I'll leave the rest for you to watch. Overall I thought this was a very well done prison movie, that kept me engaged, made me curious about other Alcatraz movies (there were many made in Hollywood), and wrapped up the story in a well-done way. Another thing I liked about this movie was that it seemed to show the poor conditions and sad states of prisons without becoming overly depressing and dark. I felt the movie "The Shawshank Redemption" was a little too dark and depressing. "Escape from Alcatraz" seems to avoid that problem while still giving you a feeling of realism from a maximum security prison movie. Two thumbs up in my opinion.