The Great Escape (2-Disc Collectors
Set) starring Steve McQueen, James
Garner, Richard Attenborough,
Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence
Just What I Expected
A stirring example of courage and the indomitable human spirit, for many
John Sturgess The Great Escape is both the definitive World War II drama
and the nonpareil prison escape movie. Featuring an unequalled ensemble
cast in a rivetingly authentic true-life scenario set to Elmer Bernsteins
admirable music, this picture is both a template for subsequent action-
adventure movies and one of the last glories of Golden Age Hollywood.
Reunited with the director who made him a star in The Magnificent Seven,
Steve McQueen gives a career-defining performance as the laconic Hilts,
the baseball-loving, motorbike-riding Cooler King. The rest of the all-male
Anglo-American cast--Dickie Attenborough, Donald Pleasance, James
Garner, Charles Bronson, David McCallum, James Coburn, and Gordon
Jackson--make the most of their meaty roles (though you have to forgive
Coburn his Australian accent). Closely based on Paul Brickhills book, the
various escape attempts, scrounging, forging, and ferreting activities are
authentically realized thanks also to technical advisor Wally Flood, one of
the original tunnel-digging POW s. Sturges orchestrates the climax with
total conviction, giving us both high action and very poignant human
drama. Without trivializing the grim reality, The Great Escape thrillingly
celebrates the heroism of men who never gave up the fight. --Mark Walker
This movie is so good, all around, that you cant praise it enough. The
talent both before and behind the camera is phenomenal, and elevate the
film to the top rank of film classics. When you think of 60s films, certain
titles pop into your head. Things like The Magnificent Seven,Breakfast at
Tiffanys, the Bond films, The Longest Day, Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor
Zhivago, the Pink Panthers, Bullitt, Planet of the Apes, Easy Rider, etc.,
etc. Films that kind of sum up the mood of the decade. Particularly for th e
early, pre-Beatles sixties, The Great Escape holds a high position.
Everything about it is just so right, and so good, that you cant stop
watching it. Its one of those films that you can catch while channel surfing,
and you tell yourself youll just watch it for a few minutes, and suddenly, its
three hours later. My experience, anyway.
Much has been said about the film, about the actors, and about what it
did for their careers. I guess it boosted many of them to superstar status.
Particularly McQueen. With that iconic motorcycle chase, how could it do
anything but? While the film is a little fuzzy in the historical accuracy
department- it was largely a British affair, as the Americans had been
transferred elsewhere- I imagine it captures the essence of that POW
experience. Much like Bridge on the River Kwai, which also plays fast and
loose with the facts, but still retains the truth of the experience. But truth
really can be stranger than fiction, and you read real-life accounts of the
war, and there were some pretty colorful characters then. As with so many
other films made shortly after an historical event, there is a topicality about
The Great Escape. Just about everyone involved with it was really in the
war, or was old enough at the time to understand what it was all about.
Donald Pleasance, for example, had been a real POW, and I believe
shared his insights with the staff on the film. And the early sixties wasnt
that far removed from the war- much closer to it than the film itself is to us
now. I dont think a 2000s version would be quite as immediate in that way.
And anyway, what stars could do those roles now? There isnt anyone who
could come close to McQueen and company. And there would probably be
the temptation to fake a lot of it with CGI. Theres nothing like the real deal,
as far as I can see.
Anyway, five stars arent enough. But regardless of various Best films
lists and polls, this one still ranks way up there. If the sign of a good film is
that you cant stop watching it, because it is so good, than it is at the top.
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