Escape from the Bird Man of Alcatraz

Yes, I know. It's a cornball wordplay headline.

I watched these two movies over the past week and they present an interesting look at heroes and anti-heroes. You can tell even just by looking at the trailers (see below). Both are really well done films with terrific performances, both present prison as a place you should never want to go, both play a little loose with the facts. And both are products of their time: Bird Man from 1962 and Escape from 1979.

What you don't want to do is read about the real Robert Stroud, the Bird Man of Alcatraz. The movie makes him a kindly, troubled soul. The real story, as it often is, is far different. This was one bad dude in real life. Escape's Frank Morris isn't presented with complete accuracy either, but the film makers don't gloss over his life of crime. For more on the real Stroud, go HERE. For more on the real Frank Morris' escape, go HERE.