A Film that Defines the term Classic

Rating: Null/10 (10 July 2004)

The Great Escape is certainly among the top 5 films ever made of World War II. Steve McQueen is superb, even though his part was written as they went along. You've got to love James Garner the scrounger and helpmate the Donald Pleasance (The Forger) and interestingly a prisoner of war himself. John Sturges the Producer/Director had just come off "The Magnificent Seven" so he was as hot as the core of the sun. Basically the film is about the indominable will of the human spirit. It chronicals the greatest escape attempt of the war, what it doesn't tell you is that it diverted the attention of nearly a million German soldiers from the landing on D-Day. A magnificent epic, gorgeously transfered in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio with a score by Elmer Bernstein that will ring in your ears for a good week after watching the film. 10/10