A recent article recommends watching The Prisoner of Alcatraz on Arte, noting that although the film is not set at Alcatraz, it features Burt Lancaster. More recent but equally chilling, the article suggests watching Continuer on France.tv. Published on September 28, 2026, at 06:50. Escaped: The Prisoner of Alcatraz is not Burt Lancaster's most well-known role, but it is a rather passionate, rough, and rustic performance, quite remarkable for its time in Hollywood. Ah, and it does not take place at all at Alcatraz, and this is not even a translation error, for once. Discover the note and review The Prisoner of Alcatraz, directed by John Frankenheimer: a powerful prison biopic. Recovered memory: We Will Not Forget, Beaune-la-Rolande 1942 Not far from Orleans, in a small rural commune, there was this camp where Jews were held before being deported. Attempts were made to forget it (a high school was built there), but this skillful documentary around shame brings back testimonies of the horror. To revive memory. Discover the note and review Mauvignier: Continuer To continue, after Histories of the Night, the exploration of the "Mauvignier Cinematic Universe" (there is also Men, by Lucas Belvaux), why not watch or rewatch this film with Virginie Efira and Kacey Mottet-Klein? It is a mother-daughter journey to Kyrgyzstan where... Discover the note and review Also read: We have rewatched the first season of The X-Files, on M6+, a cult series with cool conspiracy themes. Also read: The Godfather trilogy, on Arte: the classic by Francis Ford Coppola in nine masterful scenes. Also read: Ten excellent TV programs to watch during the week of September 27 to October 3. And if you don't find your happiness... consult tonight's TV schedule. Or pick from our guide Platforms to find a series, movie, or documentary in less than five minutes on Arte.tv, Netflix, HBO Max, Apple TV, Canal+, France.tv, Disney+... The prison film is truly a sub-genre in its own right in cinema, especially American cinema. In this context, the most famous and mythical prison of all, Alcatraz, has of course served as a setting for works where the best has been alongside the worst. The Escape from Alcatraz with Clint Eastwood; the action film Rock by Michael Bay; The Long Goodbye by John Boorman; Mission Alcatraz with Steven Seagal... A short list to which one must add a true masterpiece, released in 1962 and directed by John Frankenheimer: The Prisoner of Alcatraz. Unfortunately little known to the general public, John Frankenheimer, who died at 72 in 2002, was a very solid craftsman. Coming from television after having directed more than a hundred episodes of TV series, he is responsible for several great, even very great films, some of which have become classics: The Manchurian Candidate with Frank Sinatra and Seven Days in May, cornerstones of a new genre that would be called "political fiction." The extraordinary The Day of the Jackal. A powerful and moving plunge into the America of the Hillbillies in another fabulous film, The Violent Years. A great war film with The Train... One of Burt Lancaster's greatest roles. Making his debut with Burt Lancaster in 1961 in The Time of the Wolf, the latter became his favorite actor. The following year, they collaborated together to adapt a book by Thomas E. Gaddis, himself based on the life of Robert Stroud, nicknamed "the man with the canaries of Alcatraz." Stroud is not exactly a soft-hearted person... After two cold-blooded murders, he was incarcerated in isolation at the Leavenworth prison in Kansas. One day, he found an injured sparrow in the yard and decided to take it in. He eventually nursed it and tamed it. He found his redemption by becoming a highly respected ornithologist, despite his transfer to the high-security section at the federal penitentiary of Alcatraz, where he could not take his birds with him. Released while Stroud was still alive (who would die a year after the film's release), this masterpiece is carried by an extraordinary Burt Lancaster, who would actually win the Volpi Cup for Best Male Performance at the Venice Film Festival in 1962. Nominated four times for Oscars, The Prisoner of Alcatraz, which was a great success in theaters, actually sparked a wave of sympathy for Robert Stroud among the American public. Petitions even circulated to obtain his release, in vain, making him one of the most famous inmates of Alcatraz alongside Al Capone. He would spend 54 years in prison, 42 of them in isolation with no contact with other inmates, and 17 years at Alcatraz. Although the film takes liberties concerning Stroud's journey (it was at the Leavenworth penitentiary that he raised and sold birds, not at Alcatraz) for fictional reasons, The Prisoner of Alcatraz is an intelligent, powerful work, far removed from manichean speeches, revealing the complexity of a fascinating character in an inhumane universe. A very great film, to watch (or rewatch!) tonight on Arte at 8:55 PM.