a great burt lancaster performance!
Added 5/6/2009
let me preface this review for those who may not know about Robert Stroud who spent a lifetime in the federal prison system with less than a grade school education and who became one of the world's leading authorities on bird diseases in the first half of the 20th century. all this while serving his sentence in solitary confinement for the brutal and senseless killing of a guard..... this is another example of the type of fine American movies that use to come out of Hollywood. first thing is the audio and video are both good. not great but good. they appear to have taken some artistic liberties with the truth in regards to Robert Stroud? from everything I've ever read about him he was a very unpleasant human being to say the least, however brilliant he might have been. the thing that makes this film work is the acting. period! this is certainly one of the best performances of Mr. Lancaster's long and distinguished career. all of the performances are exceptionally good as a matter of fact. from Telly Savalas in a early role for him to Thelma Ritter as Stroud's mother to Karl Malden to Neville Brand. Mr. Lancaster plays his part mostly in a gentle understated sort of way especially as his character [ Robert Stroud ] ages. it is quite effective. so to wrap this up i have to say historically the film plays a little loose with the facts but the performances across the board more than redeem this film. if you're a movie buff or a Lancaster fan[ you pretty much have to be 50 something or so to even know who Burt Lancaster was I'm afraid to say ] i highly recommend this near great older American film.
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Slow, somber and ultimately quite touching...
Added 3/25/2009
I will say this; I don't think that `Birdman of Alcatraz' is a remarkable movie, and I have some issues with the acting, but I also feel that the film is a touching and moving experience that is well worth watching; at least once. After watching the phenomenal `The Leopard' I have to say I was expecting greatness from Lancaster, and while I think he was effective I found myself a little numb to his performance.
The film tells of convicted killer Robert Stoud. During his years in prison he fought for a chance to truly reform himself through the caretaking of birds. He studied them and became widely known for his knowledge of their diseases. Despite internal opposition, Stoud continued to develop that knowledge, which in turn led to his complete and total emotional change; going from a reserved brute of a man to a king hearted and compassionate one.
The film has a lot to say even if it doesn't appear to say much at all. This is a blessing and a malediction. I often find films that are subtle in their delivery to be all the more affective, because they really reach you in an unexpected and lasting way; much more so than a film that browbeats you with its views on a subject. `Birdman of Alcatraz' is like that in that it is very quiet and slowly paced, so as to allow the audience to sink into the message being touted. The malediction is that it at times can appear so quiet that it loses the interest of the audience. A lot of this can be chalked up to Lancaster's performance, which is a times rather dull. I understand the importance of being understated, but there are long stretches where Lancaster is virtually non-existent here. If it weren't for the commanding performances by Thelma Ritter (who is sorely underused) and Karl Malden the film could have been labeled as boring.
I think that the underlying message (or overlapping if you so please) of prisoner reform is a very important one and thus needs to be heard; and overall I think the film handles it rather well. I felt that recent films like `The Shawshank Redemption' handled it much better and thus picked up the ball that was dropped and carried it further so-to-speak.
Still, this is a fine film that will be enjoyed and should be seen. Director John Frankenheimer knows how to control his film, delivering a sharply constructed picture that captures a mood and delivers that human feeling. This is much better overall than Frankenheimer's other 1962 film `The Manchurian Candidate'; that's for sure. It is not superb, but it is very good.
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Great movie
Added 2/9/2009
Burt Lancaster did a wonderful job exhibiting his inmate role in this film. I would recommend any fan to watch this movie.
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First-rate storytelling
Added 11/20/2008
Birdman of Alcatraz is a perfect example of cinematic storytelling. I vividly remember seeing it in the theater when it came out, and being strongly affected by the story, and by Lancaster's portrayal of Stroud.
Unfortunately the real Stroud was nothing at all like the character depicted in the film. He was, from all accounts, a vicious sociopath, a man who killed when it suited his needs, manipulated people around him, and was able to game the prison system to his own ends.
Still, this is a wonderful film that manages to craft an uplifting story from the life of a man who had little about him to admire. Quite an accomplishment.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Exceptional
Added 12/11/2007
As someone noted previously, this role was unusual for Lancaster in that it required him to project a thoughtful, quiet intensity and and a more introverted personality, rather than the extroverted, flamboyant personalities he tended to portray before in such movies as Elmer Gantry or From Here to Eternity. Playing a convict rather than a handsome leading man, Lancaster never did anything like it before or since. Telly Savalas also turns in a notable performance many years before his well known TV series Kojak debuted. Playing a fictionalized warden character, Malden also turns in an excellent performance.
Robert Stroud eventually became famous for researching and writing on bird diseases. I once looked up his book in a college library, and read some of it to see what it was like, since I was a physiology major and interested in medicine. Interestingly enough, the edition I found had included with the text many of the letters Stroud received commenting on his book, along with his replies. Many of the letters were from academic veterinarians who had questions, criticisms, or comments on the book, and it was interesting to see Stroud's responses. He came across as intelligent and thoughtful, although a bit piqued at times, pointing out that he never had the advantages of a college education, compared to the professionals who were critiquing his research.
Much of the movie is devoted to the story of Stroud's famous research and his book, and the sensation it created among the public. The idea of a convicted murderer who spent most of his time in solitary becoming a published author and respected scientist was certainly sensational.
How it all got started was innocent enough. Since Stroud spent so much of his prison career in isolation, he's allowed to keep a few canaries, which eventually leads to his famous discovery, when he wins a research contest to find a cure for septic fever, a common killer of birds. He eventually goes on to invent remedies for several other avian illnesses and conditions. Considering that Stroud only had a third grade education, his research and the resulting book is certainly a remarkable achievement.
Stroud actually wrote four books while he was in prison. He wrote two books on birds, The Diseases of Canaries and Stroud's Digest on the Diseases of Birds. After being transferred to Alcatraz, he wrote an autobiography, Bobbye, and A History of the U.S. Prison System from Colonial Times to the Formation of the Bureau of Prisons.
This is an interesting passage from the Wikipedia article on Stroud:
"According to those who knew Stroud while he was in prison, the mild-mannered characterization of him, as presented in Gaddis's book and the subsequent film was largely fiction. In Full Circle with Michael Palin, one of his fellow prisoners said, "He was a jerk. He was a guy that thrived on chaos, turmoil, upheaval. He liked other people to be involved in these kind of things, but he was never a participant."
Coincidentally, my sister once lived in the apartment complex in Alaska where Stroud committed his first murder. Overall, this is one of director Frankenheimer's and Lancaster's most remarkable movies, and still worth seeing today despite much of it being a fictionalized account of Stroud's life.
0 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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a great burt lancaster performance!
Added 5/6/2009
let me preface this review for those who may not know about Robert Stroud who spent a lifetime in the federal prison system with less than a grade school education and who became one of the world's leading authorities on bird diseases in the first half of the 20th century. all this while serving his sentence in solitary confinement for the brutal and senseless killing of a guard..... this is another example of the type of fine American movies that use to come out of Hollywood. first thing is the audio and video are both good. not great but good. they appear to have taken some artistic liberties with the truth in regards to Robert Stroud? from everything I've ever read about him he was a very unpleasant human being to say the least, however brilliant he might have been. the thing that makes this film work is the acting. period! this is certainly one of the best performances of Mr. Lancaster's long and distinguished career. all of the performances are exceptionally good as a matter of fact. from Telly Savalas in a early role for him to Thelma Ritter as Stroud's mother to Karl Malden to Neville Brand. Mr. Lancaster plays his part mostly in a gentle understated sort of way especially as his character [ Robert Stroud ] ages. it is quite effective. so to wrap this up i have to say historically the film plays a little loose with the facts but the performances across the board more than redeem this film. if you're a movie buff or a Lancaster fan[ you pretty much have to be 50 something or so to even know who Burt Lancaster was I'm afraid to say ] i highly recommend this near great older American film.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Slow, somber and ultimately quite touching...
Added 3/25/2009
I will say this; I don't think that `Birdman of Alcatraz' is a remarkable movie, and I have some issues with the acting, but I also feel that the film is a touching and moving experience that is well worth watching; at least once. After watching the phenomenal `The Leopard' I have to say I was expecting greatness from Lancaster, and while I think he was effective I found myself a little numb to his performance.
The film tells of convicted killer Robert Stoud. During his years in prison he fought for a chance to truly reform himself through the caretaking of birds. He studied them and became widely known for his knowledge of their diseases. Despite internal opposition, Stoud continued to develop that knowledge, which in turn led to his complete and total emotional change; going from a reserved brute of a man to a king hearted and compassionate one.
The film has a lot to say even if it doesn't appear to say much at all. This is a blessing and a malediction. I often find films that are subtle in their delivery to be all the more affective, because they really reach you in an unexpected and lasting way; much more so than a film that browbeats you with its views on a subject. `Birdman of Alcatraz' is like that in that it is very quiet and slowly paced, so as to allow the audience to sink into the message being touted. The malediction is that it at times can appear so quiet that it loses the interest of the audience. A lot of this can be chalked up to Lancaster's performance, which is a times rather dull. I understand the importance of being understated, but there are long stretches where Lancaster is virtually non-existent here. If it weren't for the commanding performances by Thelma Ritter (who is sorely underused) and Karl Malden the film could have been labeled as boring.
I think that the underlying message (or overlapping if you so please) of prisoner reform is a very important one and thus needs to be heard; and overall I think the film handles it rather well. I felt that recent films like `The Shawshank Redemption' handled it much better and thus picked up the ball that was dropped and carried it further so-to-speak.
Still, this is a fine film that will be enjoyed and should be seen. Director John Frankenheimer knows how to control his film, delivering a sharply constructed picture that captures a mood and delivers that human feeling. This is much better overall than Frankenheimer's other 1962 film `The Manchurian Candidate'; that's for sure. It is not superb, but it is very good.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Great movie
Added 2/9/2009
Burt Lancaster did a wonderful job exhibiting his inmate role in this film. I would recommend any fan to watch this movie.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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