The Great Escape (1963)

With no female characters and only a few women appearing as extras during the film’s nearly three hour runtime, The Great Escape would do well to avoid any diversity-in-film competitions. The good news is that this is one heck of a film. Action, danger and emotion are all running on high, creating one of the best World War II films of all time.

Not only does this film present one of the most awe-inspiring stories of heroism, determination and brotherhood that I’ve ever seen, it does so in an honest fashion. As the film opens, the titles tell you that while the events of the film are indeed true, the characters portrayed on screen are composites of several people who actually lived this tale out.

There’s not much setup and zero fluff. We get right to the point- Nazi Germany has constructed the perfect POW camp, in which they plan to house their most troublesome prisoners. Allied soldiers from several different countries are brought to the camp and they immediately begin formulating plans to escape. The first few attempts, on the first day no less, are halted very quickly. The Nazi’s know the usual tricks and aren’t fooling around here.

The men soon band together and use their individual skills to benefit the camp as a whole. After evaluating the camp’s defenses, which are many and discouragingly thorough, they decide their only option is to dig a series of tunnels several hundred yards from the middle of the camp to the edge of a nearby forest. There are setbacks and there are breakthroughs, success and failures. Nothing works out in the typical Hollywood perfect manner and many of the outcomes of the escape plan are atypical for a Hollywood feature, but remain true to the real life story.

While not an all-star cast per se, The Great Escape is filled reel to reel by top performances from a very well-rounded an eclectic cast. Richard Attenborough plays a British Squadron Leader and mastermind of the whole operation. James Garner plays an American airman who excels at stealing and bartering for little items that help the escape effort. James Coburn plays an Aussie airman with unsurpassed ingenuity, building all the necessary tools from scratch. Charles Bronson plays a Polish soldier in charge of the perilous digging operation. Donald Pleasence plays a British airman with a keen eye for forging the documents that will allow the escapees to cross the border into Allied territory.

The men are focused on keeping the operation completely under the radar, making it appear as if there was no escape plan underway. The problem is that the Nazi’s will be immediately tipped off to a major plan if it seems as if there is no major escape plan in the works. Enter Steve McQueen, the King of Cool. He plays an American POW providing the Nazis with more than a handful of by-the-numbers escape attempts. When he is caught, he spends weeks at a time in solitary confinement to break him down. He never breaks and keeps trying to escape, in the hopes of both providing the diggers ample cover for their own plan and to bring back information about what the terrain and populous is like outside of the prison camp.

A brutally honest film, The Great Escape shows the bond forged between total stranger united by one cause- getting out of Nazi Germany. The film strays slightly (but never falls) into rah-rah macho foolishness- McQueen takes off on a very impressive motorcycle chase sequence that is one of the few creative liberties taken. Otherwise, the film shows how men can be stubborn, strong and weak in the jaws of adversity. While usually lumped into the category of “guy movies,” The Great Escape is something that a large percent of moviegoers can connect to and appreciate.

The stunt work is handled very well, considering the film’s age, and there is very little in the way of special effects. The acting is top notch and the messages of brotherhood and loyalty run strong without going overboard and feeling pro-war propaganda-ish. There is actually very little about war in this so-called “war film.” It’s simply a survival tale.

What more can I say about this film? It’s riveting, it’s heartbreaking, it’s charming and, most astounding, it’s true. Watch this if you get the chance. You won’t regret it.

RATING: 4.5 out of 5