Friday Classic: The Great Escape (1963)
After seeing Valkyrie on Monday I began to wonder what some of my other favorite WWII movies were and the one that kept coming up in my mind was The Great Escape. Sure, I love Midway, Saving Private Ryan, The Longest Day, the Dirty Dozen and more but this movie has got to be the best.
If there is one thing that is consistent in all these movies I mentioned above it would have to be the fact that all these movies had great ensemble casts. The Great Escape surely gets the gold in that department. Filmed in 1963 this film stars Steve McQueen, James Coburn, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Donald Pleasance, Charles Bronson and James Donald.
The film revolves around a group of a POW soldiers from the British and American Military during WWII. The POWs have been placed in what is deemed a “inescapable” prisoner of war camp in Germany. However, the arrival of two soldiers begins to change that perspective. British Commander Roger Bartlett (Richard Attenborough) is very intelligent and very motivated to escape and with the help of USAAF Captain Virgil Hilts (Steve McQueen) the idea of escape becomes reality, where with the help of of all the POWs they plan the greatest escape plan ever conceived by anyone in the camp.
Both “Commanders” organize teams of men to survey, dig, hide soil, manufacture civilian clothing, forge documents, provide security and distractions, and procure contraband materials. The prisoners work on three escape tunnels (“Tom”, “Dick” and “Harry”) simultaneously. The worst of the work noise is covered from the men choir singing, and dirt from the tunnels is concealed in the men’s trousers and emptied in the gardens while walking.
Ultimately the escape attempt ensues but you must see the movie in order to see what happens. This is a story that is truly a thrilling one but also it is one that shows the bonds of men who knew nothing about one another coming together, putting differences aside, all for a chance to survive. This is truly a tragic adventure that remains one of today’s ultimate classic films.
Interestingly enough, this movie was completely ignored by the 1963 Academy Awards and it was quoted has having a “tormented story that had no human involvement”. Perhaps the most mind boggling thing is how McQueen did his own stunts, including a great motorcycle chase that rivals many chase scenes in films today.
Lastly the most memorable and classic element of this movie is the score. Written by Elmer Bernstein, this film’s theme song is one that is heard quite frequently today. Examples of this are: The theme tune is often adopted by soccer fans, particularly in England, when their team is fighting to avoid relegation against the odds, also in the TV show Red Dwarf, episode “Queeg”, Holly whistles the theme tune as the Cat and Lister are forced to scrub the floor.
Other pop culture reference of the film can be seen in an episode of The Simpsons (Maggie tries twice to escape from a Baby sitter school-the theme music from The Great Escape is used. In another scene in the same episode, Maggie is placed in “The Pen” after a failed escape and in shown bouncing a ball off the wall, similar to the cooler scenes in the movie), The Parent Trap, Reservoir Dogs, Chicken Run, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Battlestar Gallactica (Episode: Precipice). English Comedian, Eddie Izzard devotes a significant bit (8 minutes) of his “Dressed to Kill” show talking about the film humorously questioning the plots plausibility while demoralizing the death of the British soldiers, Izzard recently starred in the film Valkyrie.
Directed by: John Sturges
Produced by: John Sturges
Written by (Book): Paul Brickhill
Screenplay: James Clavell, W.R. Burnett, Walter Newman (uncredited)
Starring: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn
Music by: Elmer Bernstein
Cinematography: Daniel L. Fapp
Editing by: Ferris Webster (Only 1963 Academy Award Nod)
Distributed by: United Artists
Release date: 4 July 1963
Running time: 172 minutes
Budget: $4,000,000
Gross revenue: $5,500,000 (US)
Recommendations
If you find this movie interesting I would recommend the following films for further enjoyment:
- Midway
- The Dirty Dozen
- The Magnificent Seven
- The Longest Day
- Saving Private Ryan
- Bridge Over the River Kwai
- The Guns of Navarone
- Stalag 17
