Cheap Birdman of Alcatraz (DVD) (Burt Lancaster, Karl Malden) (John Frankenheimer) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Birdman of Alcatraz

excellent film and acting
I think this movie was extremely well directed and acted- Yes Stroud may have been a really lousy guy, a disturbed psychopative killer, but the movie is really more about how Stroud or anyone for the matter could do something with themselves in prison (i.e. become a world authority on birds) under such horrible conditions- I also think it is interesting that Stroud would not give in to anyone an aspect which I personally know was very intriging to Burt Lancaster about Strouds character. As for whether this movie was over dramatized, so what! that is what movies are about , it you want all truth go see a documetary. For movies to have and audience appeal the charater has to be likeable or appealing on some level or its hard to connect- This movie is also a great anti- death penaly movie - this film is well worth seeing and an unusual film for its time!

---

slanco
I really think that this is a great anti death penaly movie - It was also a very interesting movie for its time- Burt Lancaster was often known for playing unsympathetic charaters. Some think that Strouds character was portrayed too soft i.e. that he was much more of a psychopath with not one shred of humaness- But that is drama! If you want a totally factual film make a documentary- movie making is notorius for humaninzing bad people to make the charater have more universal appeal and make it easier to connect to the audience.I really think the film is more about how a man could do something quite extraordanary in prison( i.e.) become such an expert on birds under such horrible conditions. Stroud was also a man who would not give in to anyone, a charateristic that I know personally was very appealing to Burt Lancaster. This movie is really well acted and directed, well worth seeing!

---

Good picture, but need to really separate facts from fiction
Finally, after 4 decades, I got to see Birdman of Alcatraz. And a year ago I visited the island for the first time.

This is definitely a high-quality film, with a mixture of fact and artistic license. The rangers at Alcatraz still put emphasis on the dark side of Robert Stroud,and the role played by Burt Lancaster succeeds in offsetting this to a great extent.

Reviewer "silentscott" points out that the rangers have been promoting the idea that the movie says that Stroud had all his birds at Alcatraz, while the fact is that they were at Leavenworth. I got the same impression in my own tour. But actually the movie makes it very clear that the birds were left behind at Leavenworth (fate unstated), and that he had none at Alcatraz. Maybe it's time for the otherwise capable guides on the island to review the film again and see where it does diverge from the truth.

I was a young adult when the movie came out in 1962. Although I didn't get to see it until this past week (July 2004), I still remember the haunting Elmer Bernstein theme song that I would hear on the radio in the early 1960s. I now have that song in my own collection. But I am puzzled that while I watched that movie I did not hear any of the melody that was played on the air. Does anyone have an explanation for that?