A real classic

Rating: 10/10 (1 January 2018)

THE GREAT ESCAPE is director John Sturges's follow up to THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN and if anything it's even more epic than his classic western. Once again we have an all-star cast taking place in an action and suspense-filled story, this time about a jailbreak from a prisoner of war camp in Germany. Despite an incredible running time, this film is enjoyable for every second of screen time; it has humour and heart in spades, and of the huge cast, nobody puts a foot wrong. I think Steve McQueen steals all of his scenes here in a show-stopping role, but others like Richard Attenborough and James Garner are more quietly determined while Donald Pleasence and Charles Bronson are the most sympathetic you'll ever see them. A classic and worthwhile tale is told with the budget to tell it properly and the production values are quite brilliant throughout. It's an unashamed fist-thumping classic and a film I never tire of watching; I love it to bits and can't say a bad thing about it.