Overrated But Entertaining American Movie

Rating: 7/10 (29 August 2005)

This came third in Channel 4's recent 100 GREATEST WAR MOVIES poll a few months ago which did rather surprise me since I've always found it somewhat overrated but it does remain a fairly entertaining American movie
Yes THE GREAT ESCAPE is an American movie and I'm glad that the IMDb classes it so . It's directed by an American , is produced and financed by an American studio and most ironic of all the theme tune that is adopted and chanted by English football fans was written by the American composer Elmer Bernstien . It may contain many British actors but notice also the likes of Garner , Bronson and Coburn playing British Commonwealth characters which is down to what's known as " Audience identification " ie if a movie is made with American money the Yanks want their movie to do well in America hence nearly every " British " movie you see has a major character played by an American actor
As for the story itself everyone has seen the movie ( We in Britain get to see it almost once a year usually at Xmas ) so I won't linger on it too long except to say it comes in what can only be described as two parts . The first part centres on the build up of the escape with the movie's tongue firmly in its cheek ( Werner the stupid German , man jumps on bunk and it collapses etc ) with the prisoners on the run making up the second part of the story which is more serious in tone . Also watch out for the ironic scene early in the film where a character chastises someone for replying in English to a question in German as the escapees plan their escape with the character later on making the same mistake himself . Who says Americans have irony deficiency ?