Lights, Camera, Alcatraz: Hollywood's View of an American Landmark

For more than seventy years, moveigoers have been transfixed by Hollywood's images of Alcatraz. Now one of the Golden Gate National Parks, Alcatraz draws more than 1.4 million visitors annually, and many come expecting to somehow experience for themselves what they've seen in the movies. Answers to their questions about the tunnels, the Birdman, the dungeons, and more demonstrate the many differences between real life and reel life. .Author Dashka Slater wisely notes, 'Hollywood's Alcatraz is a reflection of our own fears and obsessions, our ambivalent feelings about crime and punishment, and our urge to give evil a permanent address."