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Mood:
- AtmosphericDisturbingSincereTouchingCaptivatingUplifting
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Plot:
- RehabilitationHuman SpiritRedemptionIsolationPrison LifeConfinedHopesMind and Soul more...
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Genres:
- DramaPeriod
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Time/Period:
- 1910s20s20th Century30s40s50s
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Place:
- Prison
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Praise:
- Award WinnerClassicCritically Acclaimed
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Style:
- Voice Over
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Based on:
- Based on BookBiographyBased on True Story
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Attitudes:
- SeriousRealistic
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Look:
- B&W
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Flag:
- Mild Violent Content
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Birdman of Alcatraz, 1962
English
USA
Profile of Birdman of Alcatraz
Birdman of Alcatraz can be described as uplifting, disturbing, and atmospheric. The plot revolves around rehabilitation, prison life, and isolation. The main genres are drama and period. In terms of style, Birdman of Alcatraz includes a voice over. In approach, it is serious and realistic. It is set, at least in part, in a prison. Birdman of Alcatraz takes place in the 1910s, in the 1920s, and in the 1930s. Visually, it is black and white. It is drawn from a biography, originally a true story, and based on a book. Birdman of Alcatraz has received attention for being a classic, an award winner, and critically acclaimed. Note that it involves mild violent content.
Summary of Birdman of Alcatraz
Burt Lancaster reteams with John Frankenheimer, starring as the title character, Robert E. Stroud. Sentenced to a dozen years in prison for killing a man in 1909, he loses any chance for parole by stabbing another prisoner. Incarcerated in Leavenworth, he adds to his problems by killing a prison guard for refusing to let his mother (Thelma Ritter) visit him and is sentenced to death. His mother begs Mrs. Woodrow Wilson to intercede, and the president commutes Stroud's sentence to life in isolation, under the gaze of the harsh warden Harvey Shoemaker (Karl Malden). One day in the isolation yard he comes across a wounded sparrow, nurses it back to health, and eventually teaches it to perform tricks. With the departure of Shoemaker, Stroud is allowed to have more birds in his cell and begins a study of them. As the years pass, he becomes an expert on caged birds, finally writing a book on the diseases to which they are susceptible. After he wins a prize in a magazine competition, he receives a visit from Stella Johnson (Betty Field), who suggests they start a business manufacturing avian medicine. Backed by an outstanding cast, Lancaster gives one of his finest performances in this moving account of a vicious killer's spiritual rebirth.
Details
| Language: | English |
| Country: | USA |
| Release date: | 3 July 1962 |
| Runtime: | 147 min |
Cast and Crew
as Robert Stroud
as Harvey Shoemaker
Photos
