The Great Escape (1963)

Just what I expected

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Blistering performances.

The great escape Six-hundred American and English officers worked together for a year to plan and execute the escape of a nazi prisoners'camp in 1944, the biggest ever attempted in militar history. This great picture tells that real history with a great cast of actors as the instigators of the escape: the main British organizer is Richard Attenborough; the expert on tinnels is Charles Bronson; the role of especialist in forging documents belongs to Donald Pleasence; the one in charge of the supplies is played by James Garner and finally, the guy who comes up with the brilliant ideas is for Steve Mcqueen. Bases on a real story, The Great Escape is a masterwork by director John Sturges (The magnificient seven), the scripwriters James Clavell and W.R. Burnett, and the composer, Elmer Bernstein, whose score adjusts like a glove to the film's ever increasing tension.So much for the summary of the movie. Let's get stuck into it, shall we?. It's one of those adventures films like Master and Comander and The Treasure Island that somehow take place inside a concentration camp in Germany. Steve Mcqueen stands out above the rest of the characters because of his almost poetic determination to get out as well as his heroe-like attitude. His stunts (I'd like to believe he did them himself) with the motorcycle towards the end of the picture blew my mind away, making me to jump off my seat and shout out loud: you're gonna make it! Eventually he doesn't. That's not the point though: the point is he managed to prove, to keep up hope when there was none!

The Great Escape is Dare i say it possibly one of the greatest if not the greatest movie ever made.to properly review this film i need to go in depth on the cast and CharactersSteve McQueen plays Virgil Hilts a US Air force captain and leading man of the story, nicknamed the cooler king for spending most of the film in said building, McQueen brings the cocky nature of the Character to life and goes down as one of the most iconic.James Garner plays Robert Hendly, one of the three Americans in the camp and the only Character of the RAF eagle squadron, Garner brings the smoothness to the role that a scrounger would have and by the end of the film you love the character.Richard Attenbrough Plays Roger Bartlett the most faithful of the adapted characters from the true story, Known as the big X and based off the real life Big X Roger Bushel, Attenbroughs performance does the role justice.James Donald plays Ramsey the Senior British Officer, being the second most faithful of the Characters and based off of real life figure Herbert Massey and is wonderful as the leader of the escape party.Charles Bronson plays Danny Valinski, one of two Tunnel Kings, whilst many might say that he over acts in the tunnel scenes in which he breaks down i chalk that up to wonderful acting and a real life fear of Bronson, as his character unravels you begin to learn what he has sacrificed over the course of the war.Donald Pleasence plays Colin Blythe, i will admit he was a major factor in me deciding to watch this film having fallen in love with his portrayal of Sam Loomis in the Halloween saga, whilst in those films he was rough, this film showed another angle to his acting skills playing the soft spoken forger who whilst looking innocent is one of the cunning masterminds of the escape.James Coburn plays Sedgwick, whilst a great actor and a great character i had a hard time buying that the character was Australian the accent was off and the other numerous attempts to show him as Australian felt show horned in but the character added some nice light humour when needed.Hannes Messemer plays Von Luger, Whilst many people look at the whole German Army of WWII with disgust Messemers portrayal of Von Luger is one of the best in the films and shows another side to the German army that is rarely portrayed in today's films, showing that of an high ranking officer who doesn't always appear to agree with the views of his superiors or his underlings and his possible disagreement with the Nazi regime.David McCallum plays Ashley Pitt, not much can be said about his role as he's mainly relegated to the background but is noticeable in every scene he's in and wonderfully written as the character knowingly sacrifices himself for the needs of his superiors, like Plesence he is soft spoken and wonderful to watch.Gordon Jackson plays MacDonald, one of the leading forces of the escape Jackson portrays a man who doesn't agree with the war and is more focused on wanting to get everyone out of the camp no matter the cost, whilst not as soft spoken as the likes of Plesence or McCallum he is a joy to watch.Johny Leyton plays Willie, the second Tunnel King i will say that whoever said that singers can't act is quite mistaken, in fact i was taken a back to realize that he was a singer and this was his first film role, the character is kind and looks out for the panicked Danny towards the end of the film and is wonderfully played throughout.Nigel Stock plays Cavendish, whilst a great actor this is where i take a small disliking to the character is named the surveyor but is shown to be in adequate of doing so and is never seen doing the job and is then relegated to security for the remainder of the film and is played for comic relief, something the film didn't really need except for the bed collapsing scene which was based off of a true story, the character could have been combined with that or Sorans played by William Russell and there wouldn't be any difference although in a personal preference i would preferred Russell in the role.The story is faithful to the true escape with the post escape being added solely for the film but with an escape sequence that had me pausing almost every minute because of the sheer suspense that was killing me wondering who was going to escape, i honestly found myself enjoying this film every minute, I would recommend this movie for how wonderful it is as a timeless classic.

Film-making in the 1960s was a different exercise than it is today. It was more about "putting on a good show" and appealing to a wide audience instead of focusing on certain key groups. Back then, families went to movies together as "outings" and the movies were required to play as such. Sometimes, this leads to strange casting and watered-down plots. Other times, you get a movie like "The Great Escape", which combines perfect characters, music, and an intriguing plot to produce a masterpiece of its time.For a basic plot summary, "The Great Escape" is set at a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp where all the "break-out artists" are holed up together. Eluding the eyes and ears of the guards, the inmates start to work on getting out. Bartlett (Richard Attenborough) is the ring-leader, while other key roles are played by Steve McQueen, James Garner, Donald Pleasance, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, and James Donald. To say anything more about the plot would be to give away too many key details.This movie is such a classic because it does so many things right, including:-Some of the best acting performances ever assembled in a single picture. Not a single scene is wasted due to all the on-screen talent. -Despite the tense setting, a sense of humor shines through (mainly coming from McQueen's character). -A plot that will have you on the edge of your seat. You can instantly identify with the characters, so you find yourself rooting for them as the escape plan builds and builds. -Not being predictable. You will think you know how this movie is going to end, but it throws you enough curveballs to always keep you off-balance.For a nearly three hour movie, "The Great Escape" never seems to lag or get boring whatsoever. It also features a score that contains a tune you will be whistling for days afterward. Basically, it is the type of movie where everything (cast, music, plot, direction) comes together for a perfect storm of film-making. If you are sometimes wary of WWII capers or older movies in general, do not let that stop you from watching this one. It is one of the best.

The Great Escape is one of those films that you could watch time and time again and still love even more with each viewing. Imagine a movie where you would put all the greatest movie stars of their Era in. That's exactly what they did here! The Great Escape is, in my mind, the greatest War movie of all Time. Add to the stellar cast, a score by Legendary Hollywood composer Elmer Bernstein and there you have one of the greatest War movie themes of all Time. A theme with a tune so catchy, so memorable that you might find yourself humming and whistling it as you go through your day. The Great Escape is basically the story of POW during War time in their Nazi detention camp. And what are, not just POW but the best POW, up to in their enemy detention camp? They plan their escape. An escape so ingenious that it involves digging three tunnels at the same time underneath and through their camp to the wood outside. In the main role we have Hollywood Legend, Steve McQueen as Lieutenant Virgil Hilts, a hot shot American pilot who has only one idea in his head, escaping! One of the most interesting scene for me was at the end, when Hilts, recaptured again, is about to be put back in his cell inside the cooler. There you have a German guard ready to put our hero, who incidentally is the personification of the perfect Aryan (according to Hitler), blue eyed and blond hairs, into his cell. As the guard closes the door and walks away from Hilts'cell, he hears the noise of Hilts' baseball bouncing off the walls, back and forth into Hilts' baseball glove. He pauses for an instant as if to ponder whether what he is doing to the embodiment of the perfect German specimen is wrong. He lowers his head, then walks away with his head held down as if to convey that he realizes that what he is doing is indeed wrong and that he could never break Hilts' strong spirit. I highly recommend this all time Classic for all, a masterpiece!