The Great Escape (1963)

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Director:

John Sturges

Writers:

Paul Brickhill (book)
James Clavell (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

4 July 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | Thriller | War

Tagline:

put a fence in front of these men...and they'll climb it...

Plot:

Allied POWs plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II.

Plot Keywords:

Escape | Prisoner | Tunnel | Plan | Escape Attempt

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Steve McQueen	...	Capt. Hilts "The Cooler King"
James Garner	...	Flight Lt. Hendley "The Scrounger"
Richard Attenborough	...	Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett "Big X"
James Donald	...	Group Capt. Ramsey "The SBO"
Charles Bronson	...	Flight Lt. Danny Velinski "The Tunnel King"
Donald Pleasence	...	Flight Lt. Colin Blythe "The Forger"
James Coburn	...	Flying Officer Louis Sedgwick "The Manufacturer"
Hannes Messemer	...	Kommandant von Luger
David McCallum	...	Lt. Cmdr. Eric Ashley-Pitt "Dispersal"
Gordon Jackson	...	Flight Lt. Sandy MacDonald "Intelligence"
John Leyton	...	Flight Lt. William Dickes "The Tunneler"
Angus Lennie	...	Flying Officer Archibald Ives "The Mole"
Nigel Stock	...	Flight Lt. Denys Cavendish "The Surveyor"
Robert Graf	...	Werner 'The Ferret'
Jud Taylor	...	Goff

Runtime:

172 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | French | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #20399) | USA:Unrated (video release) | West Germany:12 (f) | South Korea:12 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:PG | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Filmstudios, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Mirisch Corporation, The

Trivia:

Paul Brickhill, who wrote the book from which the film is based, was piloting a Spitfire aircraft that was shot down over Tunisia in March 1943. He was taken to Stalag Luft III in Germany, where he assisted in the escape preparations.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Hendley's stolen plane crashes the wings are clearly ripped completely off the fuselage. When the plane is next seen on fire the wings are still attached.

Quotes:

[gathering wood to shore up the tunnels, Hilts removes the wooden slats from bunk beds in the sleeping area of the prisoner barracks, holding a stack of them, and walks carefully out into the hallway]
Flight Lt. Denys Cavendish "The Surveyor": [passes Hilts in the hallway on his way to his bunk bed] Five gold rings. Four calling birds - bloody singing, I've never worked so hard in all my life. Hi, Hilts!
Hilts: [turns and tries to warn him] Say, Cavendish...
Flight Lt. Denys Cavendish "The Surveyor": Four calling birds, three French hens, two turtledoves, and a partridge in a pear - Alley-oop!
[Cavendish climbs to the top bunk, and vaults onto the unsupported mattress, which collapses under his weight through the bed frame, as well as the two beneath it. Hilts approaches the doorway and sees Cavendish on the floor]
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Chicken Run (2000)

What a movie! 10/10

The Great Escape should be a movie every one has seen. It's the definitive P.O.W. movie -- and all other films in the genre fail to compare. It should be noted that this isn't just a Steve McQueen movie (although he is bound to be everyone's favorite character), but this is an ensemble piece with great performances by Richard Attenborough, James Garner, James Coburn, Donald Pleasence, and Charles Bronson. Wonderful build-up, great middle, and a terrific ending. This film is classic.

One of the best scores of all time.