The Great Escape

1963 173 min ★ 7.9 Adventure, Drama, War

The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocate them to a high-security 'escape-proof' camp to sit out the remainder of the war. Undaunted, the prisoners plan one of the most ambitious escape attempts of World War II. Based on a true story.

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Cast

Steve McQueen

Hilts 'The Cooler King'

James Garner

Hendley 'The Scrounger'

Richard Attenborough

Bartlett 'Big X'

James Donald

Ramsey 'The SBO'

Charles Bronson

Danny 'Tunnel King'

Donald Pleasence

Blythe 'The Forger'

James Coburn

Sedgwick 'Manufacturer'

Hannes Messemer

Von Luger 'The Kommandant'

David McCallum

Ashley-Pitt 'Dispersal'

Gordon Jackson

MacDonald 'Intelligence'

Details

Director

John Sturges

Screenplay

James Clavell

Tagline

"Put a fence in front of these men... and they'll climb it!"

Status

Released

Original Language

EN

Budget

$4,000,000

Revenue

$11,700,000

Production

The Mirisch Company, United Artists

Reviews

J

John Chard

September 2, 2019

★ 10/10

Not just great, simply magnificent more like! "Wait a minute, you aren't seriously suggesting that if I get thru the wire and case everything out there, and don't get picked up, to turn myself in and get thrown in the cooler for a couple of months so you can get the information you need" Smart, witty and directed with adroit hands by John Sturges, The Great Escape is standing the test of tim...

G

GenerationofSwine

January 10, 2023

★ 10/10

I can't watch this any more. It's a fun movie, one that my dad made me watch as a kid. One that I loved... .... and then Eddie Izzard killed it for me. Now whenever I try to watch it all I do is think about his stand-up bit. I think it was from his "Dressed to Kill," maybe "Circle," but whichever it was, that is how you know you're hysterical, when you forever utterly ruin a classic movie becau...

C

CinemaSerf

June 1, 2024

★ 8/10

Got to be the definition of an all star (albeit all male) cast in this gripping demonstration of just how inventive and ingenious people can be when incarcerated and facing a bleak (if any) future. Each character in this WWII POW drama brings something different to this ensemble of style and imagination. Richard Attenborough stars as the proverbial pain in the ass to his Nazi guards having repeate...