A cell in Alcatraz prison #2

The federal prison on Alcatraz Island in the chilly waters of California's San Francisco Bay housed some of America's most difficult and dangerous... more

by RicardMN Photography

Title

A cell in Alcatraz prison #2

Artist

RicardMN Photography

Medium

Photograph

Description

The federal prison on Alcatraz Island in the chilly waters of California's San Francisco Bay housed some of America's most difficult and dangerous felons during its years of operation from 1934 to 1963. Among those who served time at the maximum-security facility were the notorious gangster Al "Scarface" Capone (1899-1947) and murderer Robert "Birdman of Alcatraz" Stroud (1890-1963). No inmate ever successfully escaped The Rock, as the prison was nicknamed, although more than a dozen known attempts were made over the years. After the prison was shut down due to high operating costs, the island was occupied for almost two years, starting in 1969, by a group of Native-American activists. Today, historic Alcatraz Island, which was also the site of a U.S. military prison from the late 1850s to 1933, is a popular tourist destination.

Many films and television series have exploited Alcatraz Island's reputation as a prison from which it was almost impossible to escape.

Don Siegel's 1979 thriller Escape from Alcatraz chronicles the story of Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin, who successfully escaped from Alcatraz in 1962, although it is unknown whether they survived the trip across the bay. There is some hint at the end of the film that they did survive. The film portrayed both the conditions of life in the prison and the difficulty of escaping from it.

The 1996 action film The Rock, with Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage and Ed Harris, takes place at Alcatraz Island, featuring a rogue Brigadier general stealing dangerous missiles and threatening to eradicate large parts of San Francisco unless his demands are met, forcing a government strike team to recruit John Mason (Connery), a former SAS operative and the only man to ever escape "the Rock", in order to break in and stop them.

In "The Power of Two", season1, episode 20 of the American television series Charmed, the evil spirit of a serial killer escapes from Alcatraz Island seeking revenge on his judge and jury. Phoebe and Prue must figure out how to vanquish this evil spirit and prevent his killing again without their sister Piper, who's vacationing in Hawaii.

The 2012 television series Alcatraz involves prisoners from Alcatraz - which was not closed due to budget reasons, but because all 302 residents mysteriously disappeared on March 20, 1963 - reappearing in the present day, requiring a makeshift task force to track down the inmates and prevent them from committing further crimes while also determining the reasons for their return.

Video games:

Alcatraz: Prison Escape (released worldwide on November 23, 2001) is a computer video game based on, but not directly referencing, some famous escapes from the prison facility. It was developed by Zombie Studios and published by Activision Value.

The storyline of the Ghostlight game, Shadow Hearts: From The New World (developed in 2005), takes the player to Alcatraz in order to bust out Al Capone, who was formerly a real-life prisoner of the island.

Sim City 4 (released in January 2003) used Alcatraz as a historical building. It was developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts.

The island was also featured as a playable level on the 2002 video game, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4.

In Crysis 2, the name of the main character is Alcatraz.

In Operation 7 an online free to play first person shooter managed by Netgame, Alcatraz is a playable map popular for the demolition or survival modes. It features a realistic map based on the cell blocks, cafeteria, and basement of the prison, finished with music that provides a creepy tone.

In Call of Duty: Black Ops II DLC "Uprising", a zombies map titled "Mob of the Dead" takes place in a twisted, nightmarish version of Alcatraz Island, inhabited by zombies. However, it is not the real Alcatraz; it is more like a purgatory for the four characters.

In Half-Life 2, The Combine Prison Nova Prospekt was heavily based on Alcatraz.

In Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge,Yuri, The former leader of Soviet Psychic Crops, had built a Psychic Dominator on Alcatraz Island, The Allied Harriers launched an air strike but failed. In the campaign, the player as commander must destroy the Psychic Dominator with the time shift by The Time Machine. (Description from Wikipedia)

FEATURED PHOTO, Objects and Places in Cecay group, 06/07/2014

FEATURED PHOTO, Doors and Gates group, 06/23/2014

Uploaded

March 21st, 2013