Review of The Great Escape (1963) by Ricky C — 12 May 2009

Based on a true story, shown every Christmas and homaged thousands of times in film, we are taught from an early age that The Great Escape is the ultimate classic feel-good film. But I never actually saw it. Because no matter how many Christmases went by, and I caught snatches of the ending, I couldn't escape how it is about a *failed* escape, and how a lot of the characters rather famously are taken into a field and murdered.

But I have now finally seen it. So what did I think?

A bunch of POWs who have a record of escaping (not a very *good* record as they have been repeatedly caught) are put in a camp together. Here they decide to escape again, and get the most men out that they can.

This signals a problem that will run through the entire film on a first watch. There are too many characters. At the start, when they were all arriving, their uniforms were too similar for me to remember who was who, and I never really got over this. And yet, despite so many characters, I never got the impression that there were many men involved - there were supposed to be hundreds, but I only saw the faces of a dozen or so, and it never felt like many, especially once the escape happened. Seventy-six men got out - fifty were murdered and twenty-three recaptured, but I saw very few of this number. Couldn't there have been a few extras jumping on trains and carts or something and being rounded up, just to make the figures constantly mentioned feel connected to the film?

The enjoyment of the story was tainted for me, because I knew many would die, but I wasn't sure who. To combat this, the angle taken in the film is that this is an interesting story, certainly watchable, but the many characters aren't given much development. I'm sure it improves with repeat viewings (every Christmas?), but I'm the kind of person who if not blown away on a first viewing, doesn't go back. There are just too many films out there to get through. It was entertaining enough while it was on, but it didn't quite engage me, probably due to its ensemble nature. So for Christmas films on every year, I think I'll stick with It's A Wonderful Life.