A World War II Masterpeice

Rating: 10/10 (3 August 2003)

I gave this film a 9 out of 10. The only reason I didn't give it a 10 is because it tells one lie. No Americans actually participated in the escape.
It is a historical fact that the escape was originally to be made by the Americans, but their tunnel, Tom, was discovered by German camp guards just a few days before the scheduled break. The movie shows how Tom was busted, but unfortunately does not reveal that it was the American tunnel. The second tunnel, Dick, was used instead, but that particular tunnel originated in a British barracks; therefore all the escapees were in fact British soldiers.
Other than that, the rest of the details were unusually accurate, given the fact that Hollywood is not well known for sticking with facts. The Great Escape is an excellent chronology of a group of brave men attempting a nearly-impossible task with an amazing degree of success.
The actual escape belongs on the list of greatest human efforts in history, and the movie belongs on the list of greatest films ever made.