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The Great Escape Details

1963 Certificate PG Certificate PG
  • 80
  • from 25,388 members

Arguably the best World War II adventure film ever made, John Sturges's dramatisation of the true story of a group of British, American, and Canadian POWs who executed a massive escape from Stalag Luft III in Upper Silesia in March 1944, stars Steve McQueen as the rebellious Virgil Hilts. The German high command has filtered .. Read more

Starring Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Garner, Richard Attenborough
Director John Sturges
Genres Action/Adventure, Drama

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The Great Escape

Arguably the best World War II adventure film ever made, John Sturges's dramatisation of the true story of a group of British, American, and Canadian POWs who executed a massive escape from Stalag Luft III in Upper Silesia in March 1944, stars Steve McQueen as the rebellious Virgil Hilts. The German high command has filtered out all the most talented escape artists of the Allies' and placed them in a POW camp specifically designed to foil any unwanted departures. Of course, as soon as they arrive, the prisoners begin work on a series of tunnels under the direction of Roger "Big X" Bartlett (Richard Attenborough). He assigns the POWs to jobs according to their specialties: Bob "Scrounger" Hendley (James Garner) steals necessary items, Eric "Dispersal" Ashley-Pitt (David McCallum) hides the soil being dug from the tunnels, and Danny "the Tunnel King" Willinski (Charles Bronson) and Colin "the Forger" Blythe (Donald Pleasence) have self-explanatory handles. For more than a year, 600 prisoners, most of whom won't be leaving, work toward an escape that will temporarily disrupt the operations of the German army. The host of big-name stars meshes beautifully in this meticulous re-creation of the legendary escape. Although this is a film about courage, Sturges wisely takes a low-key approach, leavened with humour, rather than allowing the cast to indulge in macho antics. However, McQueen's memorable motorcycle stunts could be said to fit in that category. THE GREAT ESCAPE, based on the book by Paul Brickhill, is quite simply one of the grandest war films ever made, featuring many key scenes (McQueen's motorcycle chase, McQueen tossing the baseball against the cell wall, Bronson sliding on his chest in the tunnel) that are unforgettable.

Starring Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Coburn, Donald Pleasence, James Donald, John Leyton, Nigel Stock, David McCallum, Gordon Jackson, Angus Lennie, Jud Taylor
Director John Sturges
Studio MGM ENTERTAINMENT
Run time DVD: 2 hrs 52 mins
LOVEFiLM Instant: 2 hrs 45 mins
Certificate Certificate PG DVD
Certificate PG LOVEFiLM Instant
Collections 100 must-see movies, 100 Top Thrillers, Full English
Genres Action/Adventure, Drama
Language DVD: English
LOVEFiLM Instant: English
Hearing-impaired English
Subtitles DVD: Croatian, Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovenian, Swedish, Turkish
Released Production year: 1963

To Watch Online:
LOVEFiLM Instant: 07 Dec 2010

To Rent:
DVD: 20 May 2002
Watch now £2.49

The Great Escape (1963)

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    Arguably the best World War II adventure film ever made, John Sturges's dramatisation of the true story of a g...

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    • The Great Escape

    • The Great Escape
      Arguably the best World War II adventure film ever made, John Sturges's dramatisation of the true story of a group of British, American, and Canadian POWs who executed a massive escape from Stalag Luft III in Upper Silesia in March 1944, stars Steve McQueen as the rebellious Virgil Hilts. The ...

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