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

"In the movie theater, the lights dim and the opening credits roll. In the distance, rising gloomily in the middle of San Francisco Bay, shrouded by fog, Alcatraz Island appears and slowly fills the screen. 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." --