Breakout (1975)

Simply A Masterpiece

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

Blistering performances.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Not as action packed as one would have hoped for. Charles Bronson is a pilot hired by Jill Ireland to break husband Robert Duvall out of a Mexican prison. It proves to be quite a bit more difficult as Duvall's own uncle (John Huston) aims to keep him in the south of the border hellhole. There's plenty of humor (Bronson laughs!) and a few thrills courtesy a very uncooperative helicopter but not much else to recommend. The oddball supporting cast includes Alan Vint, Randy Quaid, Alejandro Rey and the incomparable Sheree North as a good time girl. It's never really clear why Duvall is framed by his uncle and the film has no real ending; it just stops. Directed with little fanfare by Tom Gries and written by Marc Norman (who would later win a couple Oscars for "Shakespeare in Love").

Before I discuss "Breakout," I have to discuss my love for Charles Bronson, specifically his action films of the 70's and 80's. To me, he was an entirely original movie star...his performances, which many dismiss as "wooden," were in my opinion brilliantly under-stated, especially at a time when characters in movies were forced to be increasingly- sometimes distractingly- complex. Bronson serviced the story; no worrying about what his protagonists were "feeling," or whether they had unresolved issues with their father... no tortured moralizing of a Shakespeare tragic hero- Bronson just Was. He showed up and the movie began, and what makes his movies so engaging and enduring is that you can focus on the story at hand. His films look deceptively simple, but they never fail to suck you in and take you away.Now for "Breakout"... as many IMDb reviewers have noted, it's not a perfect film. But Bronson is so natural, so charming, that he somehow makes it work. His scenes with Jill Ireland have a wonderful chemistry, and his being hired by this willful woman reminded me a little of Bogart in "The African Queen." He's also funnier in this movie than in any other… he has a silly charisma that helps him con his friends and seduce innocent people into his poorly-planned rescue attempts.The movie also has wonderful cinematography, and a "big" visual feel… especially the over-the-shoulder helicopter shots that include the car following on the road below. And Sheree North is a great as Bronson's friend who begs him to rape her. Since I try to be fair in my reviews about the positives and negatives in any film, I have to be honest about the flaws that drove me crazy.First, we are never given a clear explanation for why Robert Duvall's character is framed and sent to jail. John Huston's scenes as Duvall's evil grandfather seem chopped-up and out-of-place. It wouldn't surprise me to discover they were filmed by a second-unit director. And if Huston wanted Duvall in jail, why was he willing to finance Jill Ireland's efforts to get him out? The opening sequence is never explained, in which an anonymous prisoner pays off guards in order to escape and then is shot and killed by a fellow inmate after changing into street clothes and walking off. At one point in the film Duvall tries to smuggle out of prison in a coffin when the sadistic guards lower the coffin into a grave and bury him alive. In the next scene, Duvall is alive, with no explanation given (!) Later on Jill Ireland tells Bronson that Duvall is sick and confined to the prison hospital, but we had no way of knowing that before... also, we get no explanation of what his illness is, although he stays sick until the end of the film.Alright so I'm nit-picking. The fact of the matter is that "Breakout" is Charles Bronson at his best, and if you want to know why the man was a star, this is the film to watch. He's great in "Death Wish" and "Mr. Majestyk" but here he gives one of his most energetic, strong, and sweet performances. He serves the story and he makes the movie fun... and that's why I love Bronson. Catch it if you can!GRADE: B-NOTE: Watch during the frisking sequence near the beginning of the movie for the woman who is "molested" by the guards. She is, quite simply, one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. She is not listed in the credits but I'm offering a thousand dollars to anyone who can tell me her name.

Once in awhile I find a comment on a movie so close to the way I saw and would assess the film, that I couldn't contribute much, if anything, to it. So, I usually don't add my own comments. The few occasions when I have done so have been where the film hasn't had a large number of votes at all and where its average rating is considerably lower than I think it should be. Since I find the IMDb comments on movies very helpful for deciding films to watch or buy, I like to help give viewers a little more of a selection of comments when there isn't much offered. Such is the case with "Breakout," and the comments of July 9, 2002, submitted by Curtis Martin of Bothell, Washington. He's right on target in his assessment of Charles Bronson films over the years, and his take on the quality of this film for having some substance, with good acting from a stellar cast. I would just add that it's refreshing at times, I think, to see a film in which not everything is perfectly pulled off the first time. It makes it a little more real. And that's especially good in a film that is based on a true story. Even if Hollywood may fictionalize some of the characters and incidents. People make mistakes, things go wrong, and plans sometimes don't work. And people often don't give up. This film has such a touch of reality, and a great mix of humor, human- ness, stunts and action. A really fun and quality gem of a film that's better than the bulk of movies put out so far in the third millennium.

This movie was directed by Tom Gries and has a great cast that includes Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid and John Huston. Despite that great cast this is a pretty lousy movie in which there is just too much humor that doesn't work. This came out the same year as the much better "Hard Times" and this one doesn't compare to that movie. The plot has Duvall as the grandson of Huston and Huston has Duvall thrown in a Mexican jail for a murder that he didn't commit. It's not clear why he was thrown in jail and why Huston wants him to stay there. Ireland plays Duvall's wife who hires Bronson to break Duvall out but it takes him several times. Huston is only in a few scenes and Bronson isn't very good at humor and this isn't one of Bronson's better movies.