I rate it up their among the other great war Movies, Fantastic!

Rating: 9/10 (4 August 2000)

"The Great Escape" is a combination of great acting, actors, directing, Great Music, and of course the great action sequences. The director John Sturges employed great film techniques. The overall escape spanned over a year I think in real life. However, since this is only a movie length movie, it has successfully captured that whole time without any noticeable gaps. The movie is in color which was somewhat uncommon before 1963, so that is a bonus.
The elaborate set of the P.O.W camp was exemplary. The director did not hesitate to confine the camera views, he tried to capture as much as possible of the camp at times, taking full advantage of the expansive set.
The action sequences were well done. The motorbike scenes well very good. Quick takes of different shots, used a lot of wide shots to capture the surroundings. The music was extremely entertaining. The opening theme and internal music is one of the best I've ever heard. Especially during the action sequences, changes to suit the different people escaping.
One of the good things about this movie is because it doesn't have a happy ending. Not all of the POW's escape, which coincides with reality as this is a true story with some Hollywood additions to spice the movie up. The location of shooting in Europe was very good and added to the aesthetics of the film.
The on-going Cooler King, Steve McQueen added the most humor into the film, making it not so serious. Speaking of McQueen I have to mention the stunts. Excellent motorbike stunts. Another bit of humor was the try-hard Australian and some classic lines in the film.
If there is anything to criticize in the actual shooting of the film is that there were some noticable continuity errors from different shots. For the actual movie, It is much better to see it on DVD as it is very much considerably cleaned up as far as picture and sound quality are concerned.
I can't find anything in the actual plot or story to criticize, but there must be something.
I rate it 9.5/10 Just Absolutely Fantastic.