Alcatraz – Impossible Escape: Suspense And Freedom

In the most isolated and inhospitable world, in the place where the most dangerous criminals were, the myth was born, the legend that would later be taken to the cinema under the title Alcatraz – Escape Impossible  (Don Siegel, 1979).

The film has become a reference among those who deal with prisons (and with good reason). The truth is, whenever we see a similar film, comparing it to Alcatraz  is inevitable.

The cold and hostile environment, the confinement and, above all, the suffocating suspense make it a fascinating film that keeps us attentive to the screen at all times. Eastwood’s enigmatic face is another of the film’s great strengths, in addition to the exceptional location and true narrative of the story.

It seems that a film based on real events always arouses more interest, but if, in addition, it deals with one of the most widespread myths of the 20th century, this interest will be even greater.

A prison on an island ensured the confinement of the prisoners, made it impossible for them to escape, and yet they managed to escape. Whether they survived or not is another of the mysteries that led Alcatraz to be known around the world.

Cinema has contributed to mythologizing this image and for the collective imagination to make its own assumptions. Don Siegel took the anguish to the movie theaters and made us empathize with the prisoners who were there, and who only wanted their freedom.

Alcatraz, behind bars

Alcatraz Island is located near San Francisco Bay (United States). It served as a military fortification, but is best known for having received some famous prisoners, such as Al Capone.

After 29 years of operation, the prison closed its doors and was occupied by several Native American tribes. Today, Alcatraz Island is a national park and historic site.

During its years as a federal prison, the island also had housing for employees and their families. Alcatraz’s main function was to hold prisoners considered extremely dangerous, who had caused damage in other prisons and whose reinsertion was considered impossible.

The place was almost inaccessible and guaranteed its condition of maximum security; prisoners were even forbidden to speak.

Somehow a certain air of mystery and terror was created around the prison. On the one hand, it housed the most dangerous prisoners; on the other, we heard about countless atrocities coming from Alcatraz.

Suicides among prisoners were increasing, and others, such as Rufe Persful, even mutilated his fingers.

The bad reputation had been with Alcatraz for a long time.  What happened behind their bars remained completely silent, but the rumors were growing stronger.

However, it seems that some pointed out that prison conditions were not as bad as they appeared, and there were even prisoners who asked to be sent to Alcatraz claiming that the food was better than in other prisons. But the controversy has always existed. Trials, suicides… everything seemed to indicate that Alcatraz was a place where hostility reigned.

Alcatraz Escape Attempts

In recent years of operation, there are indications that some of the prison’s strict rules have been scrapped or relaxed. There were several escape attempts during his years as a prison, but only two have been recorded in history.

The first of these is known as the Battle of Alcatraz, which left a total of five dead: two guards and three prisoners, as well as several wounded. The second was the only successful attempt: the escape from Alcatraz on June 11, 1962.

The brain of the plan was Frank Morris, a thief accused of possessing narcotics and armed robbery, whose IQ was far above average. With him, the brothers John and Clarence Anglin managed to escape; Allen West collaborated with them and was willing to flee, but due to a problem with his ventilation duct, he was unable to escape.

The plan was absolutely perfect and the prisoners disappeared without a trace. The FBI called them dead, but the mystery is still alive today.

It is said that the Anglin brothers’ mother received two bouquets of flowers every day from their mothers, and it is believed that there is a photograph that shows them alive. In 2013, the FBI reopened the case after receiving a letter signed by John Anglin in which he said the escape had been successful and that he was currently ill.

Of course, we’ll never know what happened, but that’s part of the magic of this story.

Why are we so attracted to these stories? Because they feed our imagination and connect with a common feeling: the desire to be free. Cinema provided images to our imagination and allowed us to visualize what that exceptional escape was like.

The film elevated some prisoners to the level of society heroes for challenging the system and achieving what we all want: freedom.

A claustrophobic path to freedom

The film begins with an almost ghostly scene of the island in the middle of the night, while the rain and music keep us on alert. Frank Morris advances into the darkness accompanied by the guards who lead him to the prison, the lighthouse is observed from a distance and, little by little, we approach the island.

This introduction is perfect ; all the elements are in perfect harmony and introduce the viewer to the story.

Frank Morris is presented as a silent character, hardly able to express himself in words, his face is cold and distant, he remains unfazed.

The truth is, few faces could have fit the character better than Eastwood’s. Siegel takes great advantage of his protagonist’s enigmatic face, gestures and small details.

Information is given progressively; we know Morris has unusual intelligence, far above average, but we don’t know much more about him.

The atmosphere created around the character is fascinating, and the rest of the inmates and prison staff are also perfectly explored.

An ending that promotes reflection

Alcatraz immerses us in the obscurity of the prison, the difficult life of the inmates and shows us the exceptional intelligence of Morris . The great realism and the detail with which all the steps to be followed in the plan are shown make the film a masterpiece, a film from which it is impossible to disconnect.

It doesn’t matter if we already know the story, it doesn’t matter if we already know the whole plan in detail, the tension is maintained from the first minutes of the film to the last. Suspense is not generated by the unknown, but by the known.

We know the end, but we want to see how they reach it, we sense the characters’ anguish and their fears and concerns go beyond the screen. Their desire for freedom is so strong that not even the fear of being discovered or shot can stop them.

Finally, the film gives us a break, the waves of the sea suppose a relief, a small hope, and break that gloomy and suffocating atmosphere at the beginning.

Alcatraz gives us the opportunity to delve into one of the great mysteries of the 20th century, leaving an open ending, as this story really did, albeit with some hope.

It plays with subtlety, with non-verbal language, with the anguish and claustrophobia caused by confinement, but, above all, with the desire for freedom. In this way,  the film becomes a real lesson in suspense and, finally, in cinema. 

In the end, all that remains is to ask: what is freedom really? Maybe they couldn’t survive (or maybe they did), but they were undoubtedly free. Sometimes death can be more liberating than life itself.