Review of Birdman Of Alcatraz, The

Introduction

Oscar winner Burt Lancaster puts in a powerful performance in this biopic about Robert Stroud, the eponymous Birdman of Alcatraz. Stroud, jailed for murder, arrives at prison an angry and hostile young man. Put into solitary confinement after the murder of a warden whilst in prison and starved for company, he discovers a sparrow in the exercise yard and takes it in. Soon he progresses to looking after canaries, and as his time in prison goes by taking care of these birds begin to soften his hard heart.

Video

The picture is presented in its original aspect ratio of 4:3, and in black-and-white. The choice of black-and-white cinematography suits this prison drama well, mirroring the drab surroundings of his prison cell and allowing us to focus on Lancaster’s superb performance. The print looks in fairly good shape, despite being 40 years old, with minimal print damage, and the picture has a good level of detail.

Audio

The English mono track produces dialogue clearly and without hiss.

Features

Only the theatrical trailer is included here. A director`s commentary would have been interesting (John Frankenheimer has recorded commentaries on a number of DVDs) but otherwise I doubt a full SE treatment would benefit this movie much.

Conclusion

Lancaster, who is on screen for practically the whole 2 ½ hours, puts in a powerhouse performance as Stroud, commanding the screen in the first half and then creating a sympathetic, reformed character in the second.

As usual in Hollywood biopics, the darker sides of a person’s character are glossed over – according to reports Stroud was a dangerous and psychotic inmate who claimed at his parole hearing that he "had a lot of people left to kill and (not) much time to do it". However, if we don’t consider this to be a documentary but instead as a film with a moral to it, then Frankenheimer (The French Connection II, The Manchurian Candidate) has created a strong prison drama about the sanctity of freedom. Worth watching.