Cheap The Great Escape (DVD) (John Sturges) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of The Great Escape

THE ULTIMATE ANGLO/AMERICAN WORLD WAR 2 BUDDY FILM
IN A NUTSHELL: #57 ON THE INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE'S BEST FILM LIST! <
> <
>The fictionalized story of a daring and costly mass escape from a select German stalag by the allies' largest mass of escape artists. Plus, Elmer Bernstein's musical score does emotionally, for "The Great Escape", exactly what his score did for "The Magnificient Seven", added a real chill down one's spine in a very good way. <
> <
>WHAT IT IS: <
> <
>The men on both sides of the war have their stories eloquently told by action more than words which, of course, is the best way to tell it. We see Brittish organization and planning augmented by American ingenuity and daring, pitted against the awesome power of Germany's Gestapo, S.S. and Luftwaffe. <
> <
>PERSONAL ANECDOTE: <
> <
>I first saw this film while away at summer camp in August 1964. I have seen it at least 50 times since, but I can clearly recall the very strong emotions and tragic-but-upbeat mood that the film powerfully delivered to me on that warm August evening 41 years ago and each and every time I have seen it since. <
> <
>YES THIS IS A BUDDY FILM OF A SORT: [** warning plot spoilers included **] <
> <
>Though the English officers had not meet the Americans and vice versa, they were to become, over the course of their incarceration, rather fond of one another. This fondness was played up and highlighted in the film via two close relationships. American Captain Hilts, "The Cooler King" [Steve McQueen], took Scottish Flying Officer Ives, "The Mole" [Angus Lennie], under his wing from the get-go. Hilts, without reservation, adopted a kind of surrogate, big brother relationship with Ives which was to be both touching and tragic. Hendley, "The Scrounger" [James Garner], adopted Blythe, "The Forger" [Donald Pleasance], in what was to become an equally touching and tragic friendship. <
> <
>OF COURSE THE PLOT THICKENS: <
> <
>The worst escape risks are all dumped into this Stalag for as the German Kommandant, Colonel von Lugar, has told the Brittish Group Captain, "we have put all of our rotten apples in one basket, and we intend to watch that basket very closely". Upon hearing this from Group Captain Ramsey, Big X [Richard Attenborough] comes back with, "there's madness in their method." From that point on we see an evolution from random pointless escape attempts, to the planning, and execution of, "The Great Escape" and the "X" organization. <
> <
>THE CAST AND PRODUCTION TEAM: <
> <
>Steve McQueen - "Cooler King" Hilts <
>James Garner - "The Scrounger" Hendley <
>Richard Attenborough - "Big X" Bartlett <
>James Donald - Senior Officer Ramsey <
>Charles Bronson - Danny Velinski <
>James Coburn - "The Manufacturer" Sedgwick <
>David McCallum Jr. - Ashley-Pitt "Dispersal" <
>Donald Pleasence - "The Forger" Blythe <
>Gordon Jackson - MacDonald "Intelligence" <
>John Leyton - Willie "Tunnel King" <
>Angus Lennie - "The Mole" Ives <
>Nigel Stock - Cavendish "The Surveyor" <
>Jud Taylor - Goff <
>William Russell - Sorren <
>Robert Desmond - "The Tailor" Griffith <
>Tom Adams - Nimmo <
>Lawrence Montaigne - Haynes <
>Hannes Messemer - Von Lugar "The Kommandant" <
>Robert Graf - Werner "The Ferret" <
> <
>----- PRODUCTION: <
> <
>John Sturges - Director / Producer <
>Paul Brickhill - Book Author <
>W.R. Burnett - Screenwriter <
>James Clavell - Screenwriter <
>Daniel L. Fapp - Cinematographer <
>Elmer Bernstein - Composer (Music Score) <
>Ferris Webster - Editor [ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATION - BEST EDITING] <
> <
>----- AWARDS <
> <
>Best Editing (nom) Ferris Webster 1963 Academy <
>Best Picture - Drama (nom) 1963 Golden Globe <
>Best Picture (nom) 1963 National Board of Review <
> <
>AN EXCELLENT COMPANION TO THIS FILM: <
> <
>See "Nova's: The Great Escape" which is a PBS production and will fill you in on the facts of the factual great escape so that you can better enjoy this fictionalized account. <
> <
>ABOUT THE DVD: <
> <
>VERY CLEAN ULTRA WIDESCREEN (LETTERBOX) TRANSFER <
> <
>DVD Features: <
> <
>Available Subtitles: English, Spanish, French <
>Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 2.0), French (Dolby Digital 2.0) <
> <
>-----DOCUMENTARY MAKES DVD AN EXTREMELY GOOD VALUE <
> <
>24-minute, in-depth documentary on the making of "The Great Escape". I wish it were longer, but it is quite good, covering the production and historical side of the film somewhat and Steve McQueen's famous Motorcycle chase. Also, James Garner and James Coburn tell us about Steve McQueen's struggle to make the part of "Hiltz" just right from his standpoint. "A hero who doesn't do anything heroic" was the way they put it. Frankly, it is hard to believe there was so wide a variety of excellent material in the 24 minute documentary.

---

A Timeless Classic, One of my personal Top 10
I have never met a person who has seen this film and does not like it. It has something for everyone: drama, light-hearted comedy, amazing characters played by one of the greatest casts ever assembled (Steve McQueen, James Garner, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn). The story follows several British and a few American POWs as they plot to escape a German prison camp. The story is based on a true story of the largest prison break of WWII. The actual strategies used to plan and carry out the escape are true, though other aspects of the movie stray into the realm of artistic license. Though the subject matter is serious, the story remains often light-hearted, yet does so without down-playing the struggle and sacrifice of the POWs. This version is presented in its original theatrical aspect and includes a documentary. Also, as a side note, for a hilarious commentary on this film check out Eddie Izzard's "Dress to Kill" (warning: very strong language). The violence of this film is minimal and the language is mild, it is family safe. This film is an absolute classic. If you like films about WWII, or just like a good movie with well developed characters, be sure to check this one out.

---

The Great Escape Collector's Edition Was Disappointing
Although this is a very good movie, I was disappointed with the Collector's Edition version. I have the original letterbox version and I measured the aspect ratio at about 2.52:1. This new version, although anamorphic, has an aspect ratio of about 2.16:1. I wondered why so I compared scenes from the two versions and it looks like the sides were cropped off of the Collector's Edition to produce the movie with the new aspect ratio. I for one would like to see the entire movie as it was seen in the theater. MGM needs to fix this and release an anamorphic version with the original aspect ratio.