The Great Escape
It is the story of the mass escape from Stalag Luft III in Sagan (now Żagań present in Poland), in the Lower Silesia province of Nazi Germany. The events begin with a wonderful comedy about the prisoners' attempt to dig a tunnel to escape, where they are surprised by the presence of guards. On the other hand, it seems that the adventure is high because they use boats, trains and planes to get out of Europe occupied by the Nazis and others.
19 December 1923, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
17 February 1936, Frinton-On-Sea, Essex, England, UK
4 July 1921, Reichenberg, Sudetenland, Germany [now Liberec, Czech Republic]
1928, London, England, UK
7 June 1915, Aachen, Germany
18 April 1930, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
17 May 1924, Dillingen an der Donau, Bavaria, Germany
13 November 1933, Berlin, Germany
12 June 1921, Stuttgart, Germany
15 April 1930, Tawroggen, Lithuania
7 April 1916, Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]
18 May 1917, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK
31 August 1928, Laurel, Nebraska, USA
3 November 1921, Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania, USA
19 November 1924, Sunderland, England, UK
7 April 1928, Norman, Oklahoma, USA
3 June 1919, Munich, Germany
21 September 1919, Malta
19 September 1933, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
26 February 1931, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
9 March 1938, Poplar, London, England, UK
29 August 1923, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK
18 November 1923, Witten, Germany
26 August 1918, Munich, Germany
5 October 1919, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, UK
24 March 1930, Beech Grove, Indiana, USA
25 February 1932, New York City, New York, USA
August 22, 2013
While it's a definite classic in the Steve McQueen gallery, it's also a masterpiece of the action genre...
June 09, 2013
a slow burn which allows you to watch wildly different characters work together and form a team in spite of their differences
May 23, 2013
Each group of characters get their own riveting planning sequences, all skillfully told. This is one "heist" film where knowing the details of how the escape is supposed to go down before it happens only strengthens the suspense further.
April 23, 2014
Watching the starry cast is always entertaining, and while The Great Escape has little new to say about war, this is really not a criticism.
March 01, 2007
Way too flabby at 168 minutes, but once this 1963 feature gets going it's good, solid stuff.
April 23, 2014
This is one of the all-time great war movies, a PoW adventure from director John Sturges that celebrates the indomitable spirit of the Allied forces even when their backs were to the wall.
June 24, 2006
Worth seeing the last half hour, if nothing else, for one of the best stunt sequences in years: McQueen's motor-cycle bid for freedom.
February 06, 2014
The Great Escape is simply great escapism.
April 23, 2014
Even if you feel you know every scene backwards, there are still manifold pleasures here beyond nostalgia.
March 26, 2009
Producer-director John Sturges has fashioned a motion picture that entertains, captivates, thrills and stirs.
May 09, 2005
It's a strictly mechanical adventure with make-believe men.
April 23, 2014
This is a Boys' Own Tale, and, as boys, we wanted it, cleansed of horrors, for ourselves.
