Escape from Alcatraz - videos, teasers and stills from filming

All videos, teasers and footage from the filming of the film "Escape from Alcatraz"

Escape from Alcatraz (1979)

Timing: 1:53 (113 min)

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All about film

Video 1

Photo 73

Actors and characters

Escape from Alcatraz (1979) Original Trailer [HD]

English

2:10

What's left behind the scenes

During the filming of the movie, Alcatraz still served as a tourist attraction, and new tourists arrived on the island by boat every half hour. This interfered with the filming process so much that they began filming mainly at night.
During that period, Alcatraz was one of the few penitentiaries in the US where inmates had hot water in the showers. Of course, there was no talk of mercy towards criminals. The hot water was used so that criminals wouldn't get too used to the cold water in case someone managed to escape from their cell and end up in the water outside the prison.
For the rain scene at the beginning of the film, fresh water was specially delivered from the mainland, as seawater could damage the expensive filming equipment.
Paramount Pictures had to invest heavily in the prison budget; maintaining the prison in proper order and certain repairs cost the filmmakers approximately half a million dollars. A significant amount of financial resources and effort went into recreating the image of the prison as it was in 1963. Over 24 kilometers of cables were required to reconnect the island to the city's power grids, as the originally laid wiring had largely decayed.
The escape scene was filmed without the use of stunt doubles. Clint Eastwood, Fred Ward (1942-2022), and Jack Thibeau were involved in the scene, with the latter two being cast in the film specifically because they were in good physical shape. Twice during the filming of this scene, producer and director Don Siegel (1912-1991) feared the actors had been pulled underwater by a strong current.
The escaping prisoners bear the exact names of their real-life counterparts. However, the man who failed to escape that night was actually named Alan West, not Charlie Butts, as depicted in the film.

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