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Great!!

GREAT!!! Wonderful!! The Best!!! One of the best War Movies of all times!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay to watch

This film is shown all the time on the history station in Canada. It is not a bad movie. It is long, but interesting to watch. The cast was strong. It is a bit dated. It is a true story. I wonder how accurate the movie was to the book. 6/10

"How many are you planning to take out?"

The only war movie that makes you want to sign up for the British army the minute the credit's roll. All-out action, an unbashed, translantic ensemble cast ( Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, James Coburn, Donald Pleasance,) and a thrilling final reel make it the most entertaining escape movie ever made.

A great DVD of a great movie

I own this one since months ago. It's the same as the european Special Edition. I wonder what took MGM so long as to release this in the USA as well. Well, not it has happened. The movie itself is a great piece of Cinema. The all great cast is magnificent. Every actor a unique personality.
The DVD offers a great deal on background info, along with documentaries that deal with the historical background and the production at Germany's Bavaria Film Studios.

If you don't own this, then go and get it, because this is something that will increase the Value of your DVD collection a lot. I love this movie and can recommend this DVD not enough.

Best Regards

Really, this is just a great caper flick

It's interesting to read all of the rave reviews this movie gets. "Best war movie ever" and so forth. I admit its good, and an excellent example of the Hollywood movie making machine in full epic mode, but it's hardly the best war movie ever made. In fact, its not really a war movie at all. Its a jail breakout movie. It is more similar to movies like "escape from Alcatraz", "the hot rock" and "heat" and "the Italian job" than it is to Saving Private Ryan or full metal jacket.It's also interesting how the focus of the hype for the movie focuses on Steve McQueen, when in fact, if anyone owns this movie, its James Garner. He displays the best range, is on the screen longer than anyone else and his role displays all of the ambiguities that were involved in the POW situation. Plus, cool for cool, he gives Steve a run for his money. McQueen on the other hand spends most of his time throwing a baseball and giving his trademark ambiguous smile and waiting to ride his motorcycle.The rest of cast is a perfect bit of type casting, starting with Bronson, through Coburn and the rest. A pity Mr. Coburn wasn't given more to work with, but then, I've always liked him. Donald Pleasance makes the movie real.As for Richard Attenborough, am I the only one cheering for the Germans against him by the end of the film? Maybe its just because he inflicted the world with the movie "Gandhi" but I find the man to be a supercilious twit. But again, that's kind of what his role called for.As for the rest of the film, all very competently done, sets are good (although interiors look a little like cardboard at times) and someone could have dressed the Germans better. They all look like they bought off the rack uniforms without getting them altered. The theme music was as unmistakable as the pink panther or a spaghetti western, you can whistle it after the movie ends.Lastly, and this was sort of inadvertent, watching this movie with so many great stars in their youthful prime, one is left with a sense of wistfulness now that most are dead and the remainder are a bunch of old men. Just like the real POWS.

Hogan Never Had It So Good

This film had a stellar cast, and most of them delivered. The score was unusually cheerful and eerie, too. A strange combination. In reality, allied POW's in German detention camps were treated with contempt and without mercy. What we have in this film, however, are a bunch of guys who act like they belong in a country club. The country club/summer camp they reside in is a fun place, except you'll get shot if they catch you climbing the fence. That's it - no mention of the terrible brutality these guys actually endured or the fact that they were given barely enough food to live on. No mention of the atrocities regularly visited upon them by their Nazi captors, including beatings, executions, and forced marches. Instead, we get gentlemanly or comical Germans who seem to actually care what the POW's think of them.James Garner's character seems to epitomize the relaxed country club type who seems to be on vacation. He never takes off his turtleneck, which, no doubt, would cause the average person to perspire and stink after awhile. Steve McQueen, as usual, was the coolest guy in the room, but why would the Nazis allow him to have a baseball and glove to keep himself amused while in solitary confinement? Why didn't they just shoot him or beat the hell out of him after he was captured? Instead, they treated him like a naughty school boy. Richard Attenborough turned in a fine performance, but in reality, the Nazis would have never allowed him to take such a leadership role among the other prisoners. They would have singled him out and broken him instead of giving him respect.The film had many powerful moments: the motorcycle chase, the fatal error on the bus, the massacre, the shooting of the fence climber....these were all extremely well done. The film ultimately failed, though, because it did a disservice to the men who actually lived through this by failing to convey the wretched conditions of a German POW camp.The film had many moments where you had to suspend reality for such banal situations. Why in the world would the Nazis have ever allowed the Americans to hold a 4th of July celebration that include a parade, a picnic, and free-flowing vodka? Why would they allow a still on the premises to make homemade vodka from potatoes? Where did the Americans find a large American flag and why were they allowed to run it up a flagpole? Where did they find the smaller 13-star flag to wave around? Wasn't it out of character for Hilts to suddenly become a master flutist, blowing out a flawless rendition of "Yankee Doodle"? Colonel Klink would never have allowed Hogan and the boys such privileges! I'm surprised the Nazi guards didn't bake them cookies! What about when Hilts took out the planks from the bunkbeds (all of them) to use to reinforce the tunnel? The beds were now unusable, but the Germans didn't seem to notice all the guys sleeping on the floor, I guess. I could go on and on about these lapses in reality and this is why I wouldn't recommend this film for anyone over the age of 11. Add to this the 1960's film making habit of over illuminating all indoor scenes to the point where it seems like the actors need to wear sunglasses, and you have a very poor rendering of a POW camp. Was I the only one who noticed that the interactions and dialogue of these impeccably dressed and well-groomed men seemed like the goings-on in an upscale gay social club?

"Cooler!" "Right."

What can I say about a movie that has had everything said about it?! Everything good, that is. I can only rehash and re-glorify the greatest war movie I've ever seen!! Great characters, gripping story, and memorable music. What more could you want?
It's been told an re-told on here so many times, I can't say anymore than anyone else on here.
POW's, desperate for any way to escape (which includes trying to mingle in a crowd of Russian prisoners in the beginning. SO GOOD!!!), are restationed at U-know-where. Little do their German capturers know what a mistake they have made, bringing together the finest escape team ever! (in uh, my predijuiced opinion!!). Filled with action, drama and a fine dose of soldier guy humor, this movie can never be over-watched!
'Cooler King' Hilts, Big X Bartlett (the major mind behind this big dig...), Danny 'Tunnel King' Volinski and so many more characters you just have to care about!!
I just can't, and really shouldn't bother trying to exalt this movie to it's fullest, because it's already been done! This is back when REAL men were actors, (ugh, 'Hilts', 'Danny' and 'Hendley'? All portrayed by hunky men? Can you find guys who even look a millimeter as handsome as those guys did these days?!). Can any fan of GE picture Tom Cruise playing the part of 'Danny'? Oh the picture bring riotous laughs. Brad Pitt as 'Hilts'? Heaven forbid. Those guys are all wimps. Take a look at this movie, besides the fact that this story and the whole entire thing is better than anything you find today, the men depicted are real manly men, not these fairies parading around. But besides my dislike of those afore mentioned stars, just read the other reviews, you'll understand by the time your done, you shouldn't be sitting here reading this!! BUY THE VIDEO!!!! Nearly zilch for bad language, and nothin' towards violence, this is just a fantastic film.

Great is right

The Great Escape is one of the best movies that has ever been made. The acting and character development is outstanding and is something that is hardly seen today. Modern movies are more about the action and special effects, something that The Great Escape has but not in aubundance. There is hardly, if any special effects, but there is a great action sequence with Steve Mcqueen. This is the famous motorcycle chase that is still considered one of the best in movie history. Over all this movie has some of everything but most of all it has great acting and a great story.p.s. I also read from someone that commented on this movie that it was not realistic. Well i read up on it and it is almost exactly how it really was, minus the motorcycle chase.

A classic

I'm not a fan of watching old movies but the first time I saw this, I only caught the last 20 mins. It looked interesting enough and the next time it was on, I made a point of watching the entire thing and what a great movie this was. They don't make them like this anymore. This is a great story of survival. A group of POW's try to escape from a camp in Germany by building an underground tunnel opening just outside of the wooded area on the other side of the fence.As if the story wasn't good enough, this is one of the best ensemble casts I've ever seen. James Coburn, Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen, James Garner...and the list goes on. Not just a great ensemble cast but one full of actors that can really act. Interesting in the story is the respect shared by the German general and guards and the POW's.This is a great classic and a must watch for movie fans, even for those of us who weren't conceived when this was made.8/10

A GREAT, SUPERB, AND CAPTIVATING STORY

In 1943, the Germans opened Stalag Luft North, a maximum security prisoner of war camp designed to hold even the craftiest escape artists. In doing so, however, the Nazis unwittingly assembled the finest escape team in military service-brilliantly portrayed by Steve McQueen, James Garner, Charles Bronson and James Coburn-who worked on what became the largest escape ever attempted.

Actually, that was from the back of the video case. I LOVED this movie. It is certainly one of my favorites. I watch it every time I can. Mostly on weekends because I own it. It is certainly a classic! Bye Bye

A POW camp more comfortable than many 3 star motels.

Even conceding the fact that this POW camp was run by the Luftwaffe and not the SS this has got to be the silliest representation of a POW camp ever put to film and I include "Hogan's Heroes" in this statement. At least "Hogan's Heroes" admitted it was a comedy. After viewing the Germans represented in this piece of malarkey I am surprised World War II lasted 6 months. I remember wondering when I first saw this as a teenager why the Germans would allow a person in solitary confinement to have games to play. Now I know 39 years later; they wouldn't. Considering how heroic the actual events really were it is shame to see them made to look so cartoonish in this vehicle for Steve McQueen. Good thing for him the German's didn't know what was being planned in all those private POW rooms available to those crazy flyboy prisoners. I noticed on the DVD box someone called it the greatest World War II movie ever made. If it is then I guess the WW II veterans I talked to were really embellishing how tough it was. I am not completely panning this movie because it is fun to see some very good performers in their younger years (I gave it 5 out of 10). However, having seen this movie in 1964 and in 2002 I can't say it has aged well at all. I suspected it was a sanitized piece of propaganda in 1964 and am quite sure of it now.

A truly great movie

The Great Escape begins with the opening of a new German concentration camp designed to house all of the POWs who have been incorrigible at participating in numerous escape attempts. This new prison is "escape proof" and manned with elite guards. The allied officers in the camp do not choose to accept their fate as prisoners. Instead, they plan the most audacious escape attempt ever as they try to spring 250 men in a single night. The planning is highly elaborate and extremely well executed for the most part. I won't reveal more of the plot for the benefit of those who haven't yet seen this classic movie but it should be noted that it is based on a true story.


The cast of this movie is one of the best ever assembled. There are some "name" actors such as Steve McQueen, James Garner, Charles Bronson, and James Coburn. All of them are beyond excellent in their performances. McQueen and Garner get the plum roles but all of them shine. Beyond these few, the film is absolutely loaded with strong actors some of whom look familiar but all are believable in their roles. Elmer Bernstein created the score which features one of the most memorable movie themes I've ever heard. The director is John Sturges who also created the great western The Magnificent Seven (Special Edition), and the classic Spencer Tracy film Bad Day at Black Rock among other gems. He is to be commended for crafting a three-hour movie that never drags, never feels like its losing focus at all. Sturges had a big story to tell and he took the time to tell it very well. Needless to say, he got the most from the impressive assemblage of acting talent.

As a nice bonus there is a documentary on the making of the film. It's certainly not going to rival the best you'll ever see but it was interesting and enjoyable to watch.

The Great Escape is not just a good movie, it is truly one of the finest ever produced. The script is exceptional and the actors and director did it full justice. At various times, it's funny, interesting, dramatic, and suspenseful. Each note is hit perfectly at just the right time. The fact that it's based on a true story from WWII only adds to the impact. I recommend The Great Escape to one and all. I'd say they don't make them like this any more, but the truth is that they never did. Not more than once every blue moon anyway.

If you're going to critique the history, then know the history.

I find it difficult to believe that some reviewers' negative reactions to this film are based on their (misguided) beliefs that none of this could possibly have happened. Comments like these make it crystal clear that what some people don't know about history is appalling. If you are going to judge a film based on historical fact, it helps if you know what it is.It is well-documented what amazing technical feats the POW's were able to accomplish in the stalags. There was even an entire section of the British Secret Service dedicated to coming up with all sorts of clever ways to send these captured men the tools they needed to facilitate their escape attempts, i.e., sandwiching maps between the split sides of a record album (yes, the Germans allowed the prisoners to have records in the camps) or compasses in pens. At Colditz Castle, one of the more forbidding stalags, (actually an offlag since is was for officers only), many, many tunnels were dug and disguises created. One man actually created a German sergeant's uniform totally from scratch, donned a moustache and created an overall impersonation so realistic, it fooled two out of three sets of sentries. Some of the POW's built and concealed an entire glider that would have carried two men off the roof and over the wall! The only reason it didn't fly was because the prison was liberated before they got the chance! The Colditz experience is well documented. There are many books written about that particular prison complete with photographs, including one by a German officer confirming these amazing escapes and attempts. The reviewers who doubt what can be done when necessity is truly the mother of invention should look for them and learn something. As for the prisoners not being in jumpsuits, as suggested by one reviewer as one reason to question the authenticity of the film? Ludicrous, POW's wore what they were captured in. The German military (different from the Gestapo and the SS) considered them soldiers and allowed them to keep their badges of rank.As for the film itself, it is long, but absorbing. There are historical flaws (as there are in all movies), but several of the former POW's participated in the filming process, keeping it, for the most part, very authentic. As for the emphasis on Americans, it's true they were not among the escapees per se, but several did assist in the effort before they were transferred out, as mentioned by a previous reviewer. However, you must remember that the movie was made for an American audience in 1963, long before international distribution revenue became so important to a studio's bottom line. They needed American stars who would appeal to an American audience. Who knows, perhaps if they were to remake it today, the cast would be all British and German, but I doubt it (see "Hart's War" where not only the plot, but all the British and Canadian characters that were in the book, disappeared).All in all, "The Great Escape" is an entertaining movie telling a fascinating story of what ordinary men can achieve in adverse circumstances. It's well worth the time.

An almost great film

The Great Escape has all the elements needed for a great Hollywood film, but it falls short of perfection. The acting, direction, photography, and especially the music are all compelling, but the script comes up short. It is very difficult to believe that prisoners of war would constantly be so cavalier about everything. The film creates a bunch of fun but ultimately trivial characters that inhabit an all-too-unreal prison camp. While they cover slightly different ground, Grand Illusion and Stalag 17 both are superior films for presenting a more balanced view of prison life. In spite of the poor script and silly characterizations, the film does have many merits. The European locations are wonderful and look fantastic. The score is riveting. And the cast provides an informative glimpse into Hollywood, 1963. This is one of the last great studio action films. Soon, films that some of the stars of this film are in, like Bullit and Death Wish, would replace the WWII film as the action/adventure standard. The world was moving forward, away from the patriotism and myth that surrounded the second war. The great legacy of this film is that it provides one last look back into that lost world and shows why it was so compelling to Americans. Soon after the film's release, JFK would be dead and Vietnam would be reality. The Great Escape could not have been made in 1969.

what a great movie!

This is my most favorite movie I have ever seen!! The acting was great, and it made me feel like I was really there. I watch it with my dad a lot, and each time, I get the same feeling as if I'm watching it for the first time. It's hard to express how much I LOVE this movie.
I especially like when they are trying the potato drink and they're all like "wow!". Steve McQueen and James Garner are amazing actors, and I've heard from people on this message board that they may be making a remake of this movie. PLEASE NO! A modern update would just ruin this movie. I like the fact that it DOESN'T have a whole lot of special effects, Steve did his own stunts (except one), and it would just ruin it because people would watch the movie, like young kids, and then they wouldn't watch the original, and think it was a modern movie. I'm such a sucker for old movies!

The truth about Stalag Luft III and what happened after the escape

In point of fact, the film used one of the camp's most heroic prisoners (the Tunnel King played by Charles Bronson) as an adviser. However, the truth is there was no such character/person as Capt. Hilts. Steve McQueen's character never existed. The famed motorcycle chase in the film never happened. It is true that thousands of Germans (not "millions", as actor Charles Coburn later told during the film's Special Features interview) were used to track down the 76 (not 79) who escaped. Also, Hitler had initially ordered the execution of 100 prisoners, including the 76 who escaped, but was talked into executing 50, instead.One of the best sites for the truth on the various Allied POW camps and what happened to the men in these camps as the Russians and American armies advanced is found at http://www.b24.net/pow/march.htm. There is video and audio mp3 files from Col. Von Lindeiner and many others from Luft III. The most gripping of all the accounts from these camps however is The Death March from Luft IV in Eastern Prussia. That can be seen at http://www.b24.net/pow/march.htm. It is one of the untold secrets of WWII.

Allied prisoners triumph over their Nazi captors.

An army of Allied POW's captured during WWII attempts to stage a grand breakout from a German POW camp. But these prisoners aren't your typical POW's - rather they've been culled from many other camps across the wartime Reich based on their notoriety as escape artists. In the depths of WWII, with no assurances of an allied triumph that will set them free and led by the greatest breakout of them all (Richard Attenborough), the prisoners join a massive conspiracy aimed at taking as many as 2 - 300 POW's over the fence. The details of the plan are elaborate, involving not only the digging of tunnels, but the forging of documents, map making, altering allied uniforms into civilian looking clothes, the surreptitious elimination of the tunnel soil and the underground economy formed to pay for the effort. (You'll never look at that candy bar the same way again; if you smoke, you might want to hold onto those cigarettes). The underground army is largely Anglo with a few Americans (especially Steve McQueen, but also James Garner).

"Escape", much like the plan involved, couldn't possibly work, but by sheer grit and determination, both triumph. Nuanced performances give the camp population an incredibly diverse sound. The script adds further depth in its numerous subplots - the claustrophobia of the chief tunneler (Charles Bronson), the plight of Steve McQueen's "Cooler King" (named for the special cell he's sent to after countless botched escape attempts), the chief forger (Donald Pleasance) who realizes that he's going blind - adds further depth. Though it's a big film (nearly 3 hours!), the humanity of the characters and the deft script will keep you from getting bored. The film's greatest triumph is in its humor - not a funny film, the script manages to achieve a sort of gallows humor mirroring what you expect from heroes in search of a stiff upper lip, and a shortcut out of enemy territory. Wrapping it up is a winning score by Elmer Bernstein, one that ranges between lighthearted and epic. Get this film.

Who's minding the fort?!

I was careful to read as many reviews here before posting my own opinions,having just watched this film for the first time this weekend.Let's get something straight: I know my history and I know fully well that German
treatment of POWs was not to the shocking level of genocide that wascommonly associated with treatment in the concentration camps. So shut upabout how much you think you know (or don't know) about the historicalaccuracies of this film. We're talking about a movie, and thus it's purpose is
primarily to entertain. So historical accuracy aside, does the truth necessarily
make for a better film?Where was the sense of threat in this movie? Prisoners are allowed to moveabout anywhere they want, throw parties, wear what they want, whip upmoonshine, etc. It's no wonder they had no problem constructing secret tunnels.
Nobody was keeping an eye on them to begin with. How hard is it to outsmartthe enemy when they're portrayed as a bunch of knuckleheads anyway? TheGermans are so lax at this camp that the prisoners are seemingly in control of
their own surroundings and one wonders why they felt the need to escape at all.
McQueen tries to escape and gets caught a number of times, ending up insolitary confinement. He even strikes a few officers from time to time. Others pay
for their disrespect and attempts at escape with death, but not good ole' Steve.
He gets to throw drinking parties and dropkick a few more soldiers.Bottom line: As inane as Hogan's Heroes, except you knew that the show wassupposed to be a comedy.

The Greatest Escape!

I am 14 years old and I saw the movie when I was 12. I think that the movie must be one of the best movies of all time. It was entertaining and the courage and persistence of the prisoners really made me think. This should be one of the best movies ever.

Cooler than the Cooler King

What can I say? I have spent many an hour torturing myself over that inimitable question "What are my ten favourite films?". Yet without fail, the film at the top of my list never deviates... The Great Escape. This film encapsulates every element of a repeat-watcher and enhances them with faultless style. Of how many films can you say that you genuinely appreciated the personalities of over 15 individual characters? Not many I imagine.I can't say that this is the greatest film ever made, but I can say that it is the greatest I have ever seen.If you have never watched it, watch it. Have your friends watch it, your children watch it, your brothers, sisters, uncles and aunts watch it. You'll not be disappointed.