Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
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Birdman of Alcatraz Movie Review
Birdman of Alcatraz is a 1962 biographical drama film directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Burt Lancaster in the central role. It’s a very well made, but overrated film.
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“I could use more room. For my birds“
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A surly convicted murderer held in permanent isolation redeems himself when he becomes a renowned bird expert. Based on a true story of the convict named Robert Stroud, the movie isn’t particularly accurate in the portrayal of this criminal. The birding element was accurate, but many other things were embellished here.
This is an immensely moving, superbly written and wonderfully acted chamber drama that is also expertly directed by John Frankenheimer as it is one of his best efforts as a director during his career’s finest period. But here’s the deal – the film’s messaging is not for me. When it comes to the justice system, I lean heavily right, which means that I am personally opposed to ever releasing murderers from prison.
And this movie obviously heavily promotes the opposite, especially in regards to this particular person. He killed two dudes and he was actually a very unstable, dangerous inmate, which others pinpointed when talking about him. But of course the latter fact is brushed aside in this manipulative, heavily fictionalized biopic.
Burt Lancaster is incredible in the main role. He was rightfully nominated for an Oscar for his superb turn here. This movie is a character study and the character in question is wonderfully developed, but I could never sympathize with the guy and I did find his portrayal questionable, so that’s why even Lancaster himself could not elevate it.
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Karl Malden was also terrific in a smaller, but effective role. He’s crucial in some of the more moving and dramatic sequences. Thelma Ritter is pretty good, though somewhat forgettable as are all the female characters in these male-oriented flicks. Telly Savalas was nominated for an Oscar in a supporting role that is way too minor to have a bigger impact, but he did always have a memorable presence as an actor and he had it here as well.
Birdman of Alcatraz is at its best when focusing on characterization and dialogue. The dialogue is so strong, in fact, that there are numerous conversations and discussions here that are both memorable and even thought-provoking. The script is very well written and the movie is stupendously directed.
The cinematography is also striking. The black-and-white aesthetic is perfect for this particular story while some shots and takes were mesmerizing in what they represented and so well framed. The score is fine, but forgettable. And the pacing is so-so.
This is an extremely long movie, clocking in at almost two and a half hours, which was just too much for this type of story. Yes, the epic runtime is somewhat justified by the time span in the storyline, but still the movie is very dialogue-heavy and it is a character study after all, both of these not fitting this bloated runtime treatment whatsoever.
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I do love some prison movies, but ultimately I did not care for this one all that much, though I’d expected great things from it judging by the reviews. It was too long for me and too emotionally distant at times. The scenes with the birds were my favorites and I loved the emphasis on kindness to animals and how this can help a person psychologically, but the movie needed more of that theme as the second half was saddled with much less interesting plotting.
Birdman of Alcatraz is very well written in its dialogue and superbly acted by its talented cast with Burt Lancaster being excellent in the important main role. The movie is also beautifully shot, well directed and solidly scripted. My issue here lies in the slow pace, an overly fictionalized take on this real life story and an extremely bloated runtime, especially so for what is essentially a character study.
My Rating – 3.5
