Pranks

Rating: Null/10 (19 August 2003)

The Great Escape is one of those movies that personifies the dream of prisoners. Speaking as someone who spent a good deal of time in detention in high school, it is no wonder when I saw this as a junior that I latched onto it so quickly.
The storytelling technique in itself is a flop because too many characters are represented, thus we aren't able to identify with them. John Sturges is a competent director, but some "serious" moments borderline comedy. Most of the actors were just too inexpressive (Bronson in particular) that they just became a large, faceless mass of accents. The Germans are presented in a fashion of stupidity, typical for a movie like this, and the guards' uniforms are an absolute riot to look at, tying with the stormtroopers in Star Wars for ridiculousness.
You can argue about the morals and values of the POWs all you want, but when you boil it down, the Great Escape is all one giant prank pulled off by dozens of men to the dismay of their captors. It's that simple. Steve McQueen (in the days before Eastwood gave rise to the squinting anti-hero) epitomizes the attitude with his frequent shenanigans.
It's interesting how many elements from this movie have been repeated by Steven Spielberg. Whether it's the initial unveiling of the fence (reminiscent of Jurassic Park) to the anti-climatic motorcycle chase (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). Elmer Bernstein's music is a swing of 60s tension and liveliness, similar to much of his work in Ghostbusters. He isn't Bernard Hermann, but I'm not complaining.
Overall, The Great Escape is a movie that should only be seen from beginning to end. There isn't any suspense, most of it is predictable, and you may feel more than a little cheated at times. Nonetheless, between this and Cool Hand Luke, you should understand the whole 60s anti-hero genre very quickly. End of discussion. 3.5 out of 5 stars.