Movie 110 The Great Escape

It took me a while, but I finally watched the next movie on the list, "The Great Escape". Started the Netflix account so reviews should come more consistently now, every 3rd day or so depending on other obligations.

There are a couple things that you should take note of if you plan on watching this movie for yourself. Number 1, it is VERY long. 2 hours and 53 minutes to be exact. I postponed watching it twice because of commitments I had made and wanted to watch the movie in its entirety. Number 2, during World War 2, all officers of the allied forces swore an oath the escape as often as possible to inconvenience the Germans as much as possible and try to keep as many troops off the front lines as they could. The camp depicted in the movie was built to house the most persistent escape offenders, and from the small bit of research I did, it was very close to the actual conditions and many of the events happened as seen.

My first thought when seeing the opening credits and knowing that Steve McQueen was in this film, I expected him to dominate screen time. To my surprise this was not the case, and although his characters role in the escape was embellished, as well as the other American prisoner, screen time was broken up well between all the major players in the planning and digging of the escape tunnels. All the actors do a very good job at playing their roles, and although McQueen was the only name I knew, I hope to see more of the others in some of the older films still on the list. Several of the actors actually served in conflicts around the globe, and a few of those actually spent time as POWs. the one detraction I have with the performances is the characters are very nonchalant about their situation. You find out that many of them had already spent nearly 3 years as POWs which kind of explains their demeanor, but it seemed more like summer camp at times as compared to a POW camp.

The scope of the movie is very small while taking place during WW2. Two thirds of the movie happen inside the fence of the e camp, which itself only covers 4-5 football fields worth of space. Even with that focus, the movie does not feel stagnant, and it introduces you to literally every part of the escape that helps keep the 3 hour affair paced well. The end of the movie especially picks up the pace following the escapees on their respective journeys.

I have commented a lot on the previous movies on their musical scores and the impacts they had on the film. "The Great Escape" does not falter by providing one of the most recognizable theme songs of all time. You probably did not even know it came from this movie, I didn't, but you will recognize it, and probably even whistle right along with it. Start at 20 seconds if you want to skip to the main part, otherwise listen all the way through.

Overall I really enjoyed this movie. I could have easily fallen asleep had it not been so well done, and it kept pulling me back in with the constant interaction and maturation of the characters. It may not be your cup of tea if you cannot sit through the first hour and a half, but the ending definitely rewards you with enough action, including a motorcycle chase scene with "the king of cool" himself, McQueen, and a satisfying conclusion to a true story that changed Allied policy on how to act as a POW. If I had to pick, I would still probably watch "Saving Private Ryan" if we are talking WW2 movies, but that's the new age action man in me.

Score: 4.2 Two thumbs up, must see for anyone who enjoys historic films.
Next movie "Die Hard" until then...

I'm just sayin...