The Great Escape

Starring: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, Hannes Messeer, David McCallum, Gordon Jackson, John Leyton, Angus Lennie, Nigel Stock
Directed by: John Sturges
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Adventure, Drama
1963

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Allied prisoners attempt a daring escape from a prisoner of war camp during World War II.

Review:

Tim: The Great Escape is a great movie. It's interesting to consider why this is so. The movie might not be as heavyweight as some other great movies, but it's incredibly effective in its own right. The film assembles a great cast, tells a complicated story about a daring escape, mixes in some humor and some intense sequences. It all translates into an especially enjoyable, entertaining film.

One of the greatest aspects of the film is the emphasis placed on the escape attempt. This film is based on a true story and the beginning of the film tells us that all the details of the escape are accurate. That's important, because it is a bit hard to believe something like this would be attempted or even have a prayer of a chance of succeeding. The film spends a great deal of time going over the escape attempt in almost loving detail. We learn about the plan to tunnel under the camp, how they obtain wood to support the tunnel, how they move the tons of dirt out. We see the signaling process to alert prisoners when the guards were coming. We see the many different roles required to pull something like this off, the contingency plans, the unexpected obstacles. We see the needed breaks from the work, the doubts that creep in. The Great Escape is nearly three hours long, but the movie absolutely required that run time. That's one of the things that truly set this movie apart. The level of detail the film goes into is astounding. Even more impressive is that director John Sturges never lets the film get bogged down by the details. They are seamlessly integrated into the story so they feel essential. I wouldn't have wanted the film to be any shorter- we needed everything we got.

The cast was excellent. I really enjoyed Steve McQueen in his role. It was odd, because this is presented as a McQueen film, but he really is more of a supporting player in an ensemble cast. I know McQueen was unhappy about his screen time, but it was the right call for the film. It worked well to limit his screen time. When he does show up, he's incredible. But, the movie is more than just about one person. I thought Sturges handled this perfectly. I really enjoyed James Garner here. Garner is such an entertaining actor. There's something about his demeanor, even when he's not doing anything- that draws you in. I had a fun time watching him here. Richard Attenborough is likewise excellent. He's a great actor and worked so well in his stoic role. You could almost feel the weight of responsibility on his shoulders as you watched his performance. I've never been convinced that Charles Bronson was a great actor, but he gives a convincing performance here. It was fun seeing James Coburn, although his role is fairly small. As a whole, I really enjoyed the cast- there's a bunch of solid performances I haven't even mentioned.

The movie does a good job of balancing the seriousness of the escape attempt with some needed levity and humor. It all adds up to a fun experience. A movie about prisoners trying to escape a POW camp during WWII could have been a dreary affair. That's not the kind of movie The Great Escape wants to be. It certainly promotes the adventure and humor aspect, which was unexpected but enjoyable. Now, I will say that I do feel like the movie could have taken the idea of the Germans imprisoning people a bit more seriously. The Germans felt weak and ineffective in this film. Like they had no recourse when the prisoners tried to escape besides throwing up their hands and saying "What are you going to do?" Some of the early shenanigans are funny, but felt a bit hard to believe. Now, violence is displayed in the latter stages of the film, but I do wish the movie took a slightly more serious approach to portraying life in a POW camp.

I found the scenes of planning the escape to be fascinating and entertaining. The escape attempt itself was remarkably nerve-racking. I was literally inching towards the edge of my seat. That was incredibly effective and well done. The post-escape scenes felt slightly less entertaining. They were important and resulted in the surprising and memorable conclusion, but I didn't love them as much. McQueen's famous motorcycle ride was entertaining, but it felt too Hollywood. I never believed it actually happened (it didn't). Still, while not believable, it was fun to watch.

The Great Escape is a powerful, entertaining film. I never got bored despite its nearly three-hour run time. It's a great movie, surprising and unexpected at times. There's been a lot of great escape movies made over the years and this one absolutely deserves its place among the best.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 8


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