Birdman of Alcatraz is not really a prison picture ... The screenplay’s, and the film’s only real flaw is its dismissal of Stroud’s background, leaving the audience to mull over ...

He was called ‘the eighth wonder of the world’ and ‘the Birdman’, his charisma was legendary, and the conflicts of his life still hypnotise the minds of writers and directors of both stage and film.

Reviewed on October 16 As Michael Keaton’s washed up action star stupors across Broadway's electric glow, Iñárritu's Birdman pulsates ... and straight on to stage, where the same pair might ...