Well everyone, we’re finally here at the half way point. Today, for my 550th movie review, I decided to change things up a little bit by reviewing a film that I wasn’t very familiar with, but heard was considered a classic. I mean seeing as I had made musicals like The Sound Of Music, and Fiddler On The Roof my 450th, and 500th reviews respectively, I figured it was time to go into a different kind of genre, and into newer territory, you know? So now, without further ado, let’s discuss 1963’s The Great Escape.
Plot: Based on a true story, and set in late -942, during WWII, American POWs have been captive in a Nazi concentration camp. But these Americans have been trying time, and time again to escape, led by people like Captain Virgil Hilts (Steve McQueen). They have secretly tried to dig tunnels, scrounged for tools, and whatever else it’s taken to escape the Nazi prison. So, did they succeed in the end?
Alright, so I have a bit of a funny story of how I came to hear of this film, and became eager to see it. Earlier this year, maybe around the springtime, if not earlier than that, I had remembered that the 2000 DreamWorks animated film, Chicken Run (which yes, I plan to rewatch, and review that film fairly soon, in case anyone’s interested to know that) was reaching it’s 22nd anniversary in June of this year. What’s Chicken Run got to do with The Great Escape, you may ask? Well, shortly after that, I came to discover that Chicken Run was basically The Great Escape, except with mainly chickens as characters, plus of course a married farming couple, and the farm designed like a Nazi concentration camp. So, with that being the case, I decided that because I had never seen The Great Escape before, and I am not quite as familiar with films from decades ago as I am with newer films from the 1990s, and onwards, it was time for me to expand my movie knowledge by watching a film from decades ago like this one. So now, here we are discussing The Great Escape!
So how was the film in the end? Well, I will say, really, really good. first of all, the score by Elmer Bernstein was beautiful, especially in the beginning, and near the end of this film. I’m not sure if this film won an Oscar for Best Original Score, or not. Well, if it didn’t, then it should have, because it was most likely that good. The score helps capture, first of all, the kind of music that played from a time period like that. Not only that, but the score helped to draw the audience into the film even more, whether that be the happier moments, where situations in this film felt uplifting, or even in the sad, and depressing moments, when things go haywire for certain characters. Additionally, for a movie that’s set in one of the more darker times of history, The Great Escape does a surprisingly great job of having a fair amount of light-hearted moments. Yes, the film can be very sad at times, but it surprisingly also has some very funny moments too. The makers of this film do this amazing job of weaving together a string of both tragic moments, as well as funny, and hilarious moments as well. What’s even more is that whenever a character gets shot, and killed in this film, there may may have been one instance in which there was a little bit of blood shown on that character. Other than that instance, you rarely, if ever see any blood gets killed either by being shot, or any other cause for that matter. Compare that in this film to movies, and shows of today, be it movies like Saving Private Ryan, or shows like the newer Hawaii Five-O, or Blue Bloods, where so much blood is shown on a character that’s pronounced dead, one can easily tell how much darker movies, and TV shows have become as of nowadays. There’s that, combined with things like how people in older movies had more good morals back then, while that doesn’t seem to be the case quite as much even with characters in movies nowadays. Okay, people, and fictional characters may still have good morals in movies as of nowadays. It just doesn’t seem quite as common as with films back then like The Great Escape, and many others, you know? Well, moving on! The characters are also well-developed, most notably ones like Blitz (Steve McQueen), Flight Lieutenant James Hendley (James Garner), Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett (Richard Attenborough), Flight Lieutenant Andy McDonald (Gordon Jackson), and many others. This film may focus on quite a few characters in this movie. However, because The Great Escape is nearly three hours long, it works surprisingly well. No matter how much, or very little screen time any of these characters got, you come to enjoy whatever time they are there. You really come to care about them, and want to get behind them. Finally, one has to admire how determined the American POWs were to try to escape the Nazi concentration camp, no matter how many tiles some of them were thrown into solitary confinement for a set amount of time, or whatever else. And how could we not appreciate that the characters came up with creative ways for each of the times that the prisoners would make each and every one of their escape attempts, you know? The only other thing that I would like to mention that isn’t so much something that docks the movie’s enjoyment, but rather something to make others aware of, is that some of the characters, especially the Nazi German soldiers, can end up talking a little too fast that some people might need to turn on the closed caption option just to catch what they’re saying sometimes. Of course, that’s probably how the soldiers talked back then, so how can that be a criticism? Again, just something to be made aware of.
And that’s my review for The Great Escape. It is a really enjoyable film that is for certain worth your time. Truthfully, if you want to watch a film from decades ago that has quite a few great elements mixed in, has an excellent storyline, and some rather memorable characters, and more, The Great Escape is most definitely worth your time. For a film that’s even based on a true story, it makes it worth your time even more. Also, how can you go wrong with celebrities like Steven McQueen, James Garner, James Coburn, Gordon Jackson, among others being in this film? Again, The Great Escape is worth your time, especially if you’re in the mood for an older film, and want to learn more about what life was like during WWII. Definitely see The Great Escape whenever you can. Definitely a film that you won’t regret seeing when it’s all said, and done!
Final Grade: A+
P.S. Can you all believe that The Great Escape will be teaching it’s 60th anniversary come next year, in 2023? Man, how time really has flown from 1963 until now, and soon to be 2023. Well, happy almost 60th anniversary come next year, in 2023!
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