Review of The Great Escape (1963) by Jim H — 24 Jul 2011

Allied POWs engineer an escape from a Nazi camp.

I reminded myself of the film's claim that this is a true story multiple times throughout this three-hour chronicle. First, it seemed unlikely to me that even the dumbest Nazis would chose to have a camp composed solely of escape artists, yet they said it was a true story. Second, it seemed unlikely that Hilts (Steve McQueen) could get caught trying to escape nearly twenty times without being killed either in pursuit, accidentally, or "accidentally" and all the while look like he just came out of a salon, but they said it was a true story. Finally, the man in charge of forging papers goes blind and the man in charge of digging a tunnel is claustrophobic, but they said it was a true story. Simply speaking, there is a lot in The Great Escape that will test your suspension of disbelief, and I'm altogether certain that much of the action is as sterilized as Steve McQueen's pearly white teeth. But the action sequences and much of the escape scenes are compelling and relatively well-directed.

There are a few attempts establishing relationships between the characters, but the film concerns itself much more with the mechanics of the escape than it does with the goings-on of the people engineering it. The dramatic focus then becomes similar to a procedural, a heist film.

Overall, I can't say that The Great Escape was a great film; there's too little attention paid to character. However, it is generally fun to watch if you're only looking for a diversion.