Escape From Alcatraz analysis

Film Analysis – Escape From Alcatraz (1979)

‘Escape From Alcatraz’ is an adventure thriller movie, based on the true story of three men escaping from Alcatraz prison.

The age rating of this movie is 15, which reflects the target audience. I think that the target audience ranges form people in their late teens, to older adults. This is because it is older people who would find this movie most interesting, and they may know information about the story that the movie was based on. The majority of the characters in this movie are middle-aged men, which also shows that the movie is aimed at this type of audience, as they can relate to the characters.

This movie covers strong themes, such as torture; however, it is shown in a way that isn’t gruesome for the audience to see, as the main focus is on the storyline, rather than disgusting the audience, which is why the age certificate isn’t higher.

The structure of ‘Escape From Alcatraz’ is a linear narrative. This was the best structure to use for this movie, as it was based on a true story, which allows the audience to see what it was like as realistically as possible. Using a linear narrative structure seems to be a code and convention of a thriller movie, although there are some exceptions. I think that this is because it doesn’t allow the audience to see too much into the future, which may weaken the effect of the important parts of the movie.

One code and convention of thriller movies that has come in many of the movies that I have looked at, is isolation; although it isn’t as obvious as it is in movies such as ‘Adrift’. The prisoners are isolated form each other in their cells, and the prison itself is isolated by water, making the idea of escaping seem even harder to imagine.

Another code and convention that I have found in several thriller movies, is the tension that is caused. This is often when the characters are on a time limit to get something done, or when they are close to getting caught or hurt. This appears regularly in this movie, as the prisoners cannot let the guards know their plans.

I am going to look at the section of this movie where the main character first proposes his idea to escape from the prison to his friends in the canteen, to the part where he sits outside looking at the city across from the prison.

Mise-en-scene was considered in this section. The colours were all pastel colours; blues, creams, greys, and blacks, but the prison still looked dull and dreary. In the canteen, it is clear that the prisoners do not enjoy the food, but they still put up with it.

This section also shows the authority that the guards have over the prisoners, and specific camera angles are used to make them seem more powerful, such as a low angle shot of the guard, showing that he has more power than the prisoners.

Another way that mise-en-scene has been considered in this section, is that the gates around the outside of the prison are extremely high, showing the city skyline through the wires. This gives the impression to the audience that escape would be impossible, as the security is too high, and safety is too far away.

The editing pace used in this section is fairly slow, drawing out all of the detail and the concentration that the main character is showing. It also creates tension, because when the audience are looking at a close-up of the main character digging at his cell wall, thy can’t see what the guards are doing, and so they don’t know how close the prisoner is to getting caught.

There are only a few close-up shots in this section, which are used to show what the characters are thinking, especially the main character. The rest of the camera angles used are medium shots or long shots, which establish the setting, and give the audience an idea of what the prison is like.

The sounds in this section are only diegetic, with no sound effects being added on top of the movie. In the canteen, these sounds are mainly of the clattering of cutlery and other canteen objects, which sets the scene for the audience. There is also the sound of dialogue throughout the whole section. When the main character is in his cell, there is the sound of wall chunks hitting the floor as he picks them off. Another significant sound when he is in his cell is of footsteps. This makes the audience anxious about whether he will get caught.

The lighting is natural in the canteen part of this section, making the scene more realistic. However, in the cell, the lighting is much more low key – almost complete darkness for some of it. Shadows also help to create a scary effect in this part, as it makes the audience wonder when the guards will come back past his cell.

This movie contains many of the codes and conventions of a thriller movie, as well as some aspects of the adventure genre. The prisoners who manage to escape do so without being caught, and the movie is based on a true story, which also gives it a unique selling point.

Jodi Ferguson.