IMDb > The Great Escape (1963)
The Great Escape
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The Great Escape (1963) More at IMDbPro »

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The Great Escape (1963) -- MattTrailer.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 15% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Paul Brickhill (book)
James Clavell (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for The Great Escape on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
4 July 1963 (USA) more
Tagline:
put a fence in front of these men...and they'll climb it... more
Plot:
Allied POWs plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(46 articles)
User Comments:
If you're going to critique the history, then know the history. more (244 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Additional Details

Also Known As:
El gran escape (Argentina) (Mexico) (Venezuela) [es]
A Grande Evasão (Portugal) [pt]
A nagy szökés (Hungary) [hu]
Da taowang (China: Mandarin title) [zh]
Dai dassô (Japan) (alternative transliteration) [ja]
Den stora flykten (Sweden) [sv]
Den store flugt (Denmark) [da]
Fugindo do Inferno (Brazil) [pt]
Gesprengte Ketten (West Germany) [de]
Ha-Briha Ha-Gdola (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Hak kai marutayuu (Thailand: Thai title) [th]
I megali apodrasis (Greece) [el]
La gran evasió (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
La gran evasión (Spain) [es]
La grande évasion (France) [fr]
La grande fuga (Italy) [it]
Marea Evadare (Romania) [ro]
Suuri pakoretki (Finland) [fi]
Wielka ucieczka (Poland) [pl]
more
Runtime:
172 min
Country:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
During idle periods while 'The Great Escape' was in production, all cast and crew members - from stars 'Steve McQueen' and James Garner to production assistants and obscure food service workers - were asked to take thin, five-inch strings of black rubber and knot them around other thin strings of black rubber of enormous length. The finished results of all this knotting were the coils and fences of barbed wire seen throughout the film. more
Goofs:
Continuity: On their first day in camp, Hilts throws his baseball to the wire to check the Germans' lines of sight. When he is finally stopped and the commandant comes over and Hilts is explaining what he was doing, the position of his hands change in differently angled shots. more
Quotes:
[on some materials he's using for escape clothes]
Bartlett: Where in God's name did you get these?
Griffith 'Tailor': Hendley.
Bartlett: Well, where did he get them?
Griffith 'Tailor': Well, I asked him that.
Bartlett: What did he say?
Griffith 'Tailor': "Don't ask."
more
Movie Connections:

FAQ

Is this a true story?
Are any of these guys still alive?
How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
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18 out of 21 people found the following comment useful.
If you're going to critique the history, then know the history., 31 January 2003
Author: FABabe from Rochester NY

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.

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