The Great Escape (1963) – Film Review

Director: John Sturges
Cast: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough
Certificate: 12

By Sarah Morgan

Steve McQueen, a great bike stunt, stiff upper lips and the cream of British character actors…

We know all about The Great Escape, right? The 1963 staple of many a Sunday afternoon or bank holiday. Unless you’ve never seen it (where have you been and what have you been doing all these years?), there’s little I can say that will change your view of it.

But, on the off chance it’s all new to you, or you need a reminder, here goes.

Inspired by a true story, the plot takes place in 1944 and follows a group of Allied soldiers and airforce personnel as they work out a way of making a mass breakout from prisoner of war camp Stalag Luft III, as well as the escape itself and the efforts of those involved to make it across hundreds of miles of occupied Europe to neutral territory and therefore safety.

“Wonderful”

That’s the long and the short of it, but it doesn’t cover just how enthralling, gripping and downright entertaining the film is. It’s one of those projects where everything and everyone comes together, plays their A game and produces something extraordinary.

Okay, so the ‘facts’ as presented here aren’t exactly truthful, but there’s so much joy in seeing Steve McQueen becoming a major star by almost stealing the entire show via his charismatic performance as ‘The Cooler King’ Virgil Hilts, equally wonderful turns from Richard Attenborough, Gordon Jackson and Charles Bronson, and brilliant direction from John Sturges (reunited with The Magnificent Seven’s McQueen, Bronson and James Coburn), that it hardly matters.

I also want to point out one of the most touching depictions of male friendship ever seen on screen – that between the characters played by James Garner and Donald Pleasence – which is hardly ever mentioned in anything written about the film; it’s the quieter moments such as this that, for me, really make The Great Escape something special.

The film looks wonderful thanks to its 4k restoration. The set also includes the 1988 made-for-TV movie The Great Escape II: The Untold Story.

“Memorable work”

Originally shown on US TV in two parts, the first segment is basically a retelling of the story, with some of the real names of the participants re-established, but few of the facts. It’s slightly pointless, but the second follows the efforts of a team led by one of the escapees, Major Johnnie Dodge, to track down those involved with the murder of 50 of his colleagues.

It’s a great yarn, but not brilliantly told, despite decent performances from Ian McShane and Christopher Reeve. It’s something you may watch once, but probably never again, unlike the original film. The score, written by Johnny Mandel, tries to emulate Elmer Bernstein’s memorable work on the original film, but falls rather short, sadly.

Plus, there’s a bonus disc packed full of special features, including a talk with historian Guy Walters, in which he discusses the differences between the film and what really happened. It’s worth the price of the set for this alone.

There’s a wealth of other interviews and documentaries too – if you watch them all, you’ll never need to read or watch anything else about The Great Escape ever again.