The Great Escape Reviews

this if it was wrong to have too much hype But Is a great film
with one of the best performances of all time
one thing in case is that they extended it more being a problem being elongated by doing it with the possibility of being less memorable


the scenes of this movie are good and it even feels good to be of his time and color

one of the scenes that I liked most about the movie was all of the construction of the tunnel


in conclusion it is a great movie worthy of a view
but wait a good time to see it again

It has aged. Heroism is above all other feelings of the POWs, and I mena homesickness, despite of war,fear of pain. I can´t stand McQueen going on and on to the 'cooler'. But Sturges is vibrant in all kinf of pieces of action, and managing a lot of stories. At least, It has not a happy ending.

Cast & Crew

Director : John Sturges

Producer : John Sturges

Screenwriter : James Clavell, W.R. Burnett

Starring : Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn

Coming on the heels of John Sturges’ The Magnificent Seven three years earlier, 1963’s The Great Escape shows how quickly the ambitious epic can turn into a rote, readymade piece of filmmaking – a Hollywood masterpiece by design. There’ s a formal, somewhat stilted feel to its three-hour story about a group of imprisoned World War II officers and their struggle to break out of a Nazi P.O.W. camp, and anybody who thinks that Michael Bay is a bullying thug of a filmmaker who likes pushing people’s emotions around can come here to see where he got it from. But for all its flaws, Escape has some of the most memorable moments in any war film, and some excellent performances from its ensemble cast.

Based on a true story, The Great Escape is set during the tail end of World War II, when a variety of officers from different countries were sent to Stalag Luft III, a prison camp designed to handle the most diligent escape attempts. Both fearless and duty-bound, the men spend no time with long prologues or chit-chat about what to do; they, along with the movie, immediately set to work, using the skills they know best. There’s Anthony Hendley, the “scrounger” skilled at digging up needed provisions; James Garner, at his best when he’s being charmingly unctuous to his Nazi captors; Charles Bronson, as the “tunnel king” Danny Velinski, offering a nice combination of two-fisted bravado and sensitive-guy neurosis; and Donald Pleasance, the British document forger, who brings a steely, proud stoicism to his role that sets the movie’s emotional feel. His is the most convincing performance, which makes sense given that really did time in a German P.O.W. camp.

But this is Steve McQueen’s movie. From the quiet bravado he shows when he helps his fellow inmates escape, to the smirking I’ll-be-back way he tosses a baseball in his jail cell, to the simply kick-ass way he roars across the German countryside on a motorcycle, this is the moment where McQueen defined himself not just as a great American actor, but as a living representative of what America’s all about. The movie’s official tragedy is that 50 of the men who escaped were caught and killed by Nazis. But the real one is the moment when McQueen himself is finally caught on the lush German countryside. Bleeding and swaddled in barbed wire, he looks sadly emasculated.

There are other parts of Escape worth cheering – James Coburn’s humor, Elmer Bernstein’s wonderful score – but John Sturges isn’t a very clever director, and his approach to the war story itself often feels pat and insubstantial. The script suffers from its share of improbabilities and clichés – none worse than the way Bronson gets a sudden case of claustrophobia at just the wrong time after spending his life making tunnels. So Escape sits somewhere between Stalag 17 and the average episode of Hogan’s Heroes – a professionally made World War II tale, but not an emotionally resonant on.

On the new DVD, director Sturges (with various others) offers a commentary track, plus a nifty pop-up trivia track. A second disc offers numerous featurettes and archival documentaries. Highly recommended disc set.

He's going back! He's going back!

The Great Escape is based on the true story of a group of Allied prisoners of war who managed to escape from an allegedly impenetrable Nazi prison camp during World War II. At the beginning of the film, the Nazis gather all their most devious and troublesome POWs and place them at a new prison camp, which was designed to be impervious to escapes. Immediately, the prisoners develop a scheme where they will leave the camp by building three separate escape tunnels. Richard Attenborough is the British soldier who masterminds the whole plan, and who commands his motley squad--featuring Charles Bronson as a Polish trench-digging expert, James Garner as an American with a talent for theft, Donald Pleasence as a masterful forger, and Steve McQueen as an American rebel--through the construction of the tunnels and, eventually, their escape. An epic adventure film, The Great Escape runs nearly three hours, featuring a rousing Elmer Bernstein score and exciting action sequences -- including a notorious motorcycle chase between McQueen and the Nazis -- the likes of which had never been seen before in Hollywood productions.

Excellent movie, based on WWII, in nazi prison camp. How the soldiers plan out there escape. the tunnel digging the scrounging, the forging. Entire cast and crew was fabulous. The whole movie is lovely can be watched again and again.

You'll laugh, you'll cry, this movie will stick with you. What more can be said about a classic movie?
The Great Escape is funny and serious in good proportion. It has definitely aged well, being just as interesting, entertaining and relevant to modern audiences as it was the year it was released. I firmly believe that everyone should see this movie. Everyone.

When I first saw this film which was a couple of years ago, I absolutely loved it but after revisiting it, I still really liked it a lot! It is a very entertaining film that is adventurous, quite funny and very intense especially during the escape attempts and when some of the prisoners become fugitives. There is one minor fault I have with this film was that I think it could have been about 20 minutes shorter.


The plot of The Great Escape isn't that complex at all. It is a very basic plot set in a German Prisoner Of War camp during World War II and tells the story of a mess escape from Stalag Luft III. Steve McQueen has delivered a great performance that was perhaps his most famous role. After the success of The Magnificent Seven, Steve McQueen has showed once again that he works amazingly with John Sturges but even more so this time! James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Donald Pleasance deliver grand performances too.


Once again, John Sturges goes to create a masterpiece but surpasses his last success. I have to say that the music is the best thing about this film! It gives me chills and you can just hum to it. This has been referred by many as an action film but, to be honest, I wouldn't really call it an action film at all. It could be classed as a family film but perhaps its long duration didn't make the film fit into that genre. Despite that, I think it is suitable.


Overall, The Great Escape is an amazing film that I was gripped to almost all the way through it. Could've perhaps been shorter by about 20 minutes but apart from that, a masterpiece of the 60s!

"I haven't seen Berlin yet, from the ground or from the air, and I plan on doing both before the war is over."

John Sturges' The Great Escape is debatably the greatest World War II adventure film in cinematic history. Multitudes of film buffs will collectively agree that Sturges' classic action/adventure masterpiece is highly deserving of its reputation, everlasting acclaim and endless accolades. Through my eyes, The Great Escape is a rare film that undoubtedly justifies a score exceeding 5/5, 10/10 or 100%.

In the 21st century, blockbuster action films are characterised as cinematic creations flaunting masses of CGI and an abundance of action. Back in the 1960s, films such as this were the paradigmatic definition of an epic blockbuster. It's also a definitive blueprint of an action/adventure movie. Although many may not realise it, this production certainly is an action film. It's just gruelling to categorise it as such in light of recent action films like Rambo and Face/Off where things are blown to pieces and bullets are frequently dispatched. With The Great Escape it isn't the quantity or regularity of the action, it's the quality. Motorcycle chases, tense escapes and nail-biting foot pursuits are among the film's highlights.

How does one ascertain that they're watching a great film? Personally, there are two factors that typify a great movie. Firstly, you never get sick of it regardless of how many times you watch it. Secondly, the running time never feels as long as it actually is. The Great Escape clocks as a whopping 170 minutes yet it never feels that long. It's a lengthy saga for sure, but the excellence of the filmmaking and the brisk pacing never permits the audience to feel bored. Although made in 1963 (45 years ago at the time of writing this review), John Sturges' war epic has stood the test of time. While watching the movie, the transfer indicates that it's an old movie. However, the filmmaking is top-notch and every frame is lovingly crafted. Not to mention the high level of authenticity in the period depiction. These factors are rare occurrences in contemporary filmmaking. To be sure, some things have dated and there are a few anachronisms. These insignificant imperfections simply do not matter and can be easily ignored. Why? The filmmaking is masterful, to the point that everything else stands up during close scrutiny. This cinema master class is virtually impossible to match these days, not to mention effectively impossible to top.

The Great Escape is based on a true story of a truly remarkable and inspiring war tale. It's based on an escape that occurred in March 1944 during which 76 POWs escaped from a German POW camp, Stalag Luft III in Poland. The elaborate preparation and extraordinary implementation of this escape is truly mind-boggling and unbelievable...it must be seen to be believed. The film is primarily based on a novel by a former Australian prison of war, Paul Brickhill. Brickhill helped plan the escape, but due to claustrophobia he did not go through the tunnel. Instead Brickhill recorded detailed accounts of the event, later penning his novel that was then transferred into this engrossing movie.

The film is introduced with this prerequisite:

"This is a true story. Although the characters are composites of real men, and time and place have been compressed, every detail of the escape is the way it really happened."

The film's central characters are an assortment of nationalities. Australian, American, British, etc. The true story didn't include Americans as they were moved to another prison camp. However the filmmakers felt obliged to provide American characters as it would boost the film's popularity with an American audience.
Basically the Nazis opt to move all their worst prisoners to a single POW camp. In essence, the POWs that have a notorious history of escape attempts are bunched together.

"We have in effect put all our rotten eggs in one basket. And we intend to watch this basket carefully."

To the Germans it's the perfect plan, but they don't realise that they've effectively assembled the most efficient and talented escape crew in history. Hence all the POWs spend over a year planning an escape that results in 76 prisoners disappearing into the night. All the prisoners are allocated a job to complete, such as people to build the tunnel, people to forge documents, and even people to assemble outfits for the prisoners to don after their escape.
The film chronicles the POW camp's inauguration until the eventual execution of the escape, then the following manhunt and subsequent recapture of a majority of the POWs (during the real event, only 3 out of 76 remained at large).

The events depicted in The Great Escape are significant as it portrays the biggest and most famous escape from a POW camp in history. It also must be noted that the POWs weren't conducting the escape just to get back to their families, as they also aimed to create a diversion for the German army who would utilise their resources during the manhunt while invasions took place.

The Great Escape is a masterpiece for several reasons. I stated before of its entertainment value, but there are additional features that elevate this into the competition for a perfect movie, primarily the film's authenticity. All costumes and props mirror the period in staggering realism. The film was also lensed in German locations. The extensive POW camp recreation is another thing. It's intricately designed, with credible characters inhabiting it. More importantly, the Nazis are actually humanised. To be sure, no-one ever took Hogan's Heroes seriously with the humour and down-to-earth soldiers. Remove the bumbling antics as well as the humour, and what remains is what we see on the big screen here. Surprisingly, there's a faint camaraderie shared by the Germans and specific POWs. The proceedings are therefore more engrossing and charming.

Director John Sturges apparently tried to get this film off the ground for 13 years. It was only after he directed The Magnificent Seven that the film finally received the green light. Sturges' determination is obvious as each scene is crafted amazingly. His lens delicately tracks his actors through the convincing sets. There are only very minor technical glitches to be found amongst the otherwise faultless filmmaking. Sturges has the drama balanced with a great blend of subtle humour. Character interactions are filled with witty and fascinating dialogue. The final act of The Great Escape is a masterfully sustained quantity of action and tension as the assorted escapees strive for freedom via train, bicycle, motorbike, row boat and hitchhiking. Sturges brilliantly edits between all their activities and leads us to an inevitable tragedy. This tragic happening sets a new, more foreboding tone before returning to light-hearted humour for the concluding shot.

"Colonel Von Luger, it is the sworn duty of all officers to try to escape. If they cannot escape, then it is their sworn duty to cause the enemy to use an inordinate number of troops to guard them, and their sworn duty to harass the enemy to the best of their ability."

Sturges' World War II extravaganza is also blessed with an ideal cast. These actors are of such high calibre that they could never be replaced in a modern age of filmmaking. Steve McQueen is both cool and tough as the suitably cocky and brash American prisoner.
Richard Attenborough is in an early performance as the co-ordinator of the escape. If one is familiar with Attenborough's subsequent performances, such as Jurassic Park, it's almost impossible to recognise him. Here his acting is absolutely top-notch.
Charles Bronson is also worth noting for his portrayal of a rugged Polish tunnel king.
Donald Pleasence is most likely recognised for his performance as Blofeld in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice. Here, Pleasence puts forth a magnificent performance as a forgery expert.
Beyond these names, the entire supporting cast is sensational. Director Sturges scarcely lets a faulty performance slip through the cracks in spite of a few embarrassingly phoney accents (James Coburn's Aussie number takes a bow).

Eventually the definitive final element was added during post-production: the music. Composer Elmer Bernstein's famous theme music is instantly recognisable. The Great Escape is perhaps most commonly known for its wonderful theme. It always sets the proper atmosphere. Even during the opening sequence depicting the arrival of POWs, Bernstein's theme hits a defiant note. Bernstein is even dexterous with every other note of music. There are endless segments of music that you'll be humming for days due to how memorable and cheery it is.

Overall, The Great Escape is a sublime masterpiece of almost unrivalled quality. It's unbelievable that it took me so long to finally watch this movie. Its influence on cinema is profound and obvious. Films such as the animated Chicken Run shamelessly borrow the formula. This is yet another testament to the superiority of this masterpiece. It's a textbook example of a great film: even after numerous decades, almost everything holds up. Additionally, repeated screenings will only further increase your respect for this classic. The great cast, sharp storyline, astute directing, and humour manage to pervade an ultimately tragic tale, simply making this an unmissable film. It's not solely for war movie buffs, but for anyone that appreciates a story depicting the strength and triumph of the human spirit.