Strange feelings about this film...read on...

Rating: 9/10 (22 July 2006)

How can a film that I first of all never saw until yesterday, that I laughed at in the first 45 minutes because of inconsistent, unrealistic and blatant comedy and scenes, be a classic that by the end of it all...I absolutely was in love with?? This film has some magical powers and one of those powers is an ensemble cast that when spoke about really gets the short end of the stick. Steve McQueen is always hailed as the story and his name is always attached to this film and yet he isn't the star. He's a big part of it sure and his name was the big attraction back in 1963 but what makes The Great Escape is the incredible ensemble cast that each play their vitally important role and create these memorable classic characters. The problem with The Great Escape is first and foremost...it's not really a Great Escape. Fifty Men are shot and killed, and what like one man finally escapes and possibly not even him?? 250 Escape (although it looks more like 50 TOPS when the Escape finally happens,) and all of them are recaptured and the film ends where it begins. It seems so anti climatic. On top of that is this truly a truthful look at a German POW Camp in Germany?? These men arrive at the camp looking Healthy, vibrant, strong, clean cut, and professional to a place that is better than Summer Camps that I went to. Gardening?? Baseball?? Cooking?? Drawing Classes?? Ummm...yeah...I admit I was never in a German POW Camp but I'm regretting it now having seen these wonderful conditions. Yes I know it can be argued that one man is shot trying to escape and later on the Gestapo murders 50 escapees but their time in the camp prior to this is pretty nice. The Germans practically hand them the tools and time they need to prep for escape even after knowing that the men are going to attempt escape they are hardly guarded, never looked in on and are allowed everywhere within the camp and left alone frequently. It's absurd!! So all this being said why am I thinking about the film right now and how incredible it was and how it's now one of my favorites?? MAGIC!! The film a cold hard classic and it just embodies, action, comedy, real characters that are brought to live with some great performance.
Let's talk about Mr. Steve McQueen since he is commonly considering the star. We rarely see him for about the first hour of the film. His role as Capt. Hilts "The Cooler King" is good but small in comparison to some of the others. McQueen is strong and a little bit sarcastic and kind of funny in some roles and he appears to be a great leading man along the same lines as Kevin Costner or even Clint Eastwood...his characters don't change much and yet he is vibrant on screen. One of my truly favorite performances is by James Garner who plays Lt. Hendley. Hendley is a lead of sorts and people come to him to get things...any thing. Hendley comes across as trustworthy, determined, and a real hero of sorts. He's a great character!! Garner is terrific!! The terrific Richard Attenborough is the actual leader of the Escape Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett. Although I don't think Bartlett as a character is particularly likable he does a good job of organizing the team. Attenborough is a strong leader and ups the ante of the cast. Terrific in his role is Donald Pleasence who plays the very suave and likable Colin Blythe. His and James Garner's characters have unusual but very good chemistry together as they share a room together. A truly great performance is given often badly rated actor Charles Bronson who plays quiet and emotional Danny Velinski, who despite his title of Tunnel King is petrified of enclosed spaces. An aspect only made known far into the film. Despite that fact that it probably should have been established early on his performance because it's quite a credible and powerful performance. I have seen many, many Bronson films and this is one of his best!! Together this crew and the others I did not mention but still play great roles if not slightly smaller meld together and create a riveting story of friendship and team work to escape this camp although I'm not sure why they'd want to. McQueen's character who is usually labeled as the star forces his way into different scenes and the actors who portray the other scenes are good enough to hold their own but McQueen was "the star."
I still must insist on the rather unbelievable aspects of this being a WW2 film but even still the tension, suspense, story and comedy just draws you in. The famous and well shot motorcycle scenes with McQueen do certainly add for some great action but also do feel a little forced giving McQueen scenes to show off in. Truly what makes The Great Escape a classic can barely be explained in a review or in words at all. The Great Escape is a film that just stands the test of time, endears itself to you and is captivating to watch and I do stand by that the incredible cast and interesting characters are a huge part of that. If you haven't seen this movie you must because it's cinematic history. A huge film with an even bigger following!! 9/10