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Breakout

  • 19751975
  • PGPG
  • 1h 36m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
4.2K
YOUR RATING
Breakout (1975)
A bush pilot is hired for fifty thousand dollars to go to Mexico to free an innocent prisoner.
Play trailer1:33
1 Video
50 Photos
ActionAdventureDrama
A bush pilot is hired for fifty thousand dollars to go to Mexico to free an innocent prisoner.A bush pilot is hired for fifty thousand dollars to go to Mexico to free an innocent prisoner.A bush pilot is hired for fifty thousand dollars to go to Mexico to free an innocent prisoner.
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
4.2K
YOUR RATING
    • Tom Gries
  • Writers
    • Howard B. Kreitsek(screenplay)
    • Marc Norman(screenplay)
    • Elliott Baker(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Charles Bronson
    • Robert Duvall
    • Jill Ireland
    • Tom Gries
  • Writers
    • Howard B. Kreitsek(screenplay)
    • Marc Norman(screenplay)
    • Elliott Baker(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Charles Bronson
    • Robert Duvall
    • Jill Ireland
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 46User reviews
    • 46Critic reviews
    • 44Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:33
    Watch Official Trailer

    Photos50

    "Breakout" Charles Bronson 1975 Columbia
    Breakout (1975)
    Charles Bronson, Robert Duvall, and Jill Ireland in Breakout (1975)
    Charles Bronson, Robert Duvall, and Jill Ireland in Breakout (1975)
    Charles Bronson in Breakout (1975)
    Charles Bronson, Robert Duvall, and Jill Ireland in Breakout (1975)
    Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, and Alejandro Rey in Breakout (1975)
    Jill Ireland in Breakout (1975)
    Charles Bronson in Breakout (1975)
    Charles Bronson and Randy Quaid in Breakout (1975)
    Charles Bronson and Jill Ireland in Breakout (1975)
    Charles Bronson in Breakout (1975)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Charles Bronson
    Charles Bronson
    • Nick Colton
    Robert Duvall
    Robert Duvall
    • Jay Wagner
    Jill Ireland
    Jill Ireland
    • Ann Wagner
    Randy Quaid
    Randy Quaid
    • Hawkins
    Sheree North
    Sheree North
    • Myrna
    Jorge Moreno
    Jorge Moreno
    • Sosa
    Emilio Fernández
    Emilio Fernández
    • J.V.
    • (as Emilio Fernandez)
    Paul Mantee
    Paul Mantee
    • Cable
    Alan Vint
    Alan Vint
    • Harve
    Alejandro Rey
    Alejandro Rey
    • Sanchez
    William B. White
    • 2nd Officer
    • (as Will B. White)
    Roy Jenson
    Roy Jenson
    • Spencer
    Sidney Clute
    Sidney Clute
    • Henderson
    • (as Sidney Klute)
    Chalo González
    Chalo González
    • Border Guard
    • (as Chalo Gonzalez)
    Antonio Tarruella
    • 1st Prison Guard
    Don Norgano Frill
    • 2nd Prison Guard
    John Huston
    John Huston
    • Harris Wagner
    José María Caffarel
    José María Caffarel
    • Prison Doctor
    • (uncredited)
      • Tom Gries
    • Writers
      • Howard B. Kreitsek(screenplay)
      • Marc Norman(screenplay)
      • Elliott Baker(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This movie was inspired by the real 1971 helicopter rescue and breakout of Joel David Kaplan from a Mexican prison which was orchestrated by lawyer Vasilios Basil Choulos. Film Critic Roger Ebert has said of this: "Kaplan was the scion of an American sugar-and-molasses empire with Latin American connections, and in the early 1960s, he was a courier for Fidel Castro. The Mexicans imprisoned him in 1962 on a highly questionable murder charge, and there were rumors that the C.I.A. was somehow involved. He was in prison nine years before his sister hired a California helicopter pilot to carry out a neat little mission spiriting Kaplan out of the prison yard. Ramparts published material about the C.I.A. connection, but Kaplan wouldn't talk, then or later. The movie's naturally more concerned with the rescue mission, than with any shadowy political implications. But there are a couple of leftovers from the original story in the sinister persons of a C.I.A. operative and the hero's rich grandfather. They seem to be in cahoots, although how or why is a little unclear."
    • Goofs
      The airport that Nick flies out of is located in Texas, but the surrounding countryside is covered with Joshua trees, which are only found in the Mohave desert of Southern Calif, the Southern tip of Nevada and Northwestern area of Arizona.
    • Quotes

      Myrna: I have to be convincing and I've never been raped.

      Nick Colton: We should all be so lucky.

    • Crazy credits
      Opening credits prologue: MEXICO 1971
    • Connections
      Featured in Kain's Quest: The Stone Killer (2015)

    User reviews46

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Easily One of Bronson's Best
    "Breakout" is easily one of Charles Bronson's best starring vehicles. For the most part his early 70's films fell into two categories: either junky (Violent City) or pretentious (The Mechanic). The first Death Wish film was thought-provoking, but marred by sickeningly graphic and misogynist violence; the sequels had the violence with none of the art. His late-70s films were quickie garbage (Death Hunt, Love and Bullets). His 80's films featured a sickly prurient violence level and a sleepwalking star.

    But Bronson did have quite a string of quality films in the mid-70s: "Breakheart Pass (1974)," "Hard Times" (1975), "Mr. Majestic" (1974), "From Noon Til Three" (1976), and "Telefon" (1977)were all quality films in which Bronson's star quality, charisma, and acting ability was able to shine through.

    The best of Bronson's mid-70s output in my opinion, however, is Tom Gries' "Breakout." The story has drama, humor, and tremendous forward momentum, the cast is superior (Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid, John Huston, and the always-underrated Jill Ireland). Most importantly, Charles Bronson breaks out of his silent-and-stony persona and creates a character that has depth, humour, and humanity as well as toughness.

    Those who complain that this film has little action have obviously not seen many of Bronson's films. Very few of them are actually what could be called "action movies". For the most part they were melodramas with some gunplay, the occasional fight, and a maybe car chase near the end. "Breakout" is actually as much or more of an action film than most of Bronson's others. I think that most folks who mistakenly lament the lack of "action" in this film compared to his others are confusing "action" with sick, perverse violence. Look at "Death Wish" for instance: Bronson shoots some guys. That's the extent of the action, if you exclude the graphic rape scene near the beginning. He points a gun and shoots. He rarely runs. There's never a car chase. It's a melodrama, not an action film. `Breakout' has a helicopter escape, a fistfight on a dark runway as a twin-prop plane approaches at breakneck speed, and an attitude that make it more of an action film.

    So "Breakout" doesn't have graphic torture, or rape, or someone getting sodomized with a nightstick. I'll settle for a great story, fine acting, cool action, and interesting characters.
    helpful•38
    17
    • curtis-8
    • Jul 9, 2002

    Details

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    • Release date
      • March 7, 1975 (West Germany)
      • United States
      • Sony Movie Channel (United States)
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Fort de Bellegarde, Le Perthus, France
    • Production companies
      • Columbia Pictures
      • Persky-Bright / Vista
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 36 minutes
      • Mono

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