This movie was shot entirely onlocation in europe, with a complete camp resembling stalag luft iii built near munich, germany. Sep 12, 2017 cross was one of the primary tunnellers for the great escape made famous by the 1963 film and was one of the 76 men who made it out of the camp in sagan, polance on 24 march 1944. The film is based on paul brickhill s 1950 nonfiction book of the same name, a firsthand account of the. The film builds to its ultimate finale, and has one of the greatest action sequences in history. Eventually harry was completed and the night of the great escape was planned for 24th march 1944, a moonless night. The great escape documentary secret underground tunnel national tv stalag luft iii german. The wwii movie the great escape s theme played on the piano. In an interview about the great escape he said that the film s producers werent interested in hearing his suggestions about making the camp scenes more realistic, so i simply.
The great escape 1963 imprisoned during world war ii in a german pow camp, a group of allied soldiers are intent on breaking out, not only to escape, but also to draw nazi forces away from. Notably, the twindowntube duplex frame more like an a10 frame than a contemporary triumph part of the film bike has gone. Exteriors for the escape sequences were shot in the rhine country and areas near the north sea, and steve mcqueen s motorcycle scenes were filmed in fussen on the austrian border and the alps. Donald pleasance is the only actor to appear in both this film and the 1988 tv movie the great escape ii. In one or two great escape publicity shots, painted over tank lining as if from a 1950s ajs model 20, say is visible. Aug 28, 2015 the great escape happened on the night of 24 and early hours of 25 march in 1944. Sturges never touches on the essential hollowness and. The great escape documentary secret underground tunnel. The great escape is a classic and timeless second world war film.
The discovery of tom was a major blow to the escape committee and all tunneling had to be suspended for a time to avoid further detection. The first half of the movie is played for comedy, as the prisoners mostly outwit their jailers to dig the escape tunnel. Fighter pilot roland beamont, later to fly the english electric canberra and english electric lightning as a test pilot, arrived at stalag luft iii just after the great escape, having been shot down in his hawker tempest by ground fire, while attacking a troop train near bocholt while on his 492nd operational sortie. Steve mcqueen and james garner lead the american side and richard attenborough heads the british side. Of three tunnels prisoners began digging, only one, harry, was completed. The last part of the tunnel is completed on the scheduled night, but it proves to be twenty feet short of the woods due to faulty surveying. The great escape 111 movie clip to cross the wire is death. Riding a wave of popularity, mcqueen delivered another crowd pleaser as hilts, the cooler king, in the knockout world war ii p. The first half of the movie is played for comedy, as the prisoners mostly outwit.
The adventure and suspense of a world war ii pow escape is given good stress of character and camerawork in the great escape a 1963 film depicting a true story from 1944 germany. The camp was liberated by soviet forces in january 1945. Hilts tangles with the commandant for the first time and is sent to the cooler. The daring bid for freedom was immortalised in the classic 1963 film the great escape, starring. At the beginning of the film, the nazis gather all their most devious and troublesome pows and place them at a new prison camp, which was designed to be impervious to escapes. It was the mass escape of allied soldiers from the german prisoner of war camp stalag luft iii, the story of which was forever immortalised in the 1963 film the great escape, starring steve mcqueen although the mass escape, which was the largest attempted during ww2. The great escape starts off slowly but is so full of detail. Aug 24, 2014 he was equally skilled at portraying wartime heroes the great escape, 1963 and hysterical cowards in which we serve, 1942, meek cockneys seance on a wet afternoon, 1964 and. Their leader decides to try to take out several hundred all at once. The great escape is a 1963 american epic war film starring steve mcqueen, james garner. Masterminded by the same x organisation, in june 1943 a large party of twentysix prisoners escaped while being escorted by fake guards prisoners disguised as germans being taken to another compound for delousing. The film was based on the book by paul brickhill who was a prisoner of war at stalag luft iii during the escape.
The great escape 611 movie clip how to get rid of the dirt 1963 hd. Dec 15, 2007 the trailer for john sturges the great escape starring steve mcqueen james garner best on youtube. T reated lukewarmly by critics when first released, the great escape later came to be regarded as one of the greatest wwii films ever. The great escape is based on the true story of a group of allied prisoners of war who managed to escape from an allegedly impenetrable nazi prison camp during world war ii. Cast and crew credits for the great escape, 1963, directed by john sturges, with robert graf, nigel stock, angus lennie, at turner classic. Masterminded by the same x organisation, in june 1943 a large party of twentysix prisoners escaped while being escorted by fake guards prisoners disguised as germans being taken to. Its also an enjoyable glimpse into the early careers of several major stars. Widely considered a classic, the movie was especially known for the direction by john sturges and for a cast that included steve mcqueen in one of his defining roles. Widely considered a classic, the movie was especially known for the direction by john sturges and for a cast that included steve. One of the great escape bikes comes up for show in the uk. A heavily fictionalised version of the escape was depicted in the film the great escape 1963, which was based on a book by former prisoner paul brickhill. The great escape 1963 cast and crew imprisoned during world war ii in a german pow camp, a group of allied soldiers are intent on breaking out, not only to escape, but also to draw nazi forces. No prisoner of war would be dressed the way he was.
The first half of the film has a lot of humor, but the story as a whole is tragic. The was another earlier mass escape attempt from the same compound as the great escape. Ending spoiler for the great escape 1963, plus mistakes, quotes, trivia and more. Jul 19, 2016 the making of the great escape 1963 july 19, 2016 alan royle movies 5 in world war two stalag luft iii was an enormous pow camp in germany, encompassing 59 acres surrounded by over five miles of perimeter fencing and housing some 10,000 allied servicemen of the fleet air arm. Back to the film and hopefully ill end on a positive note. Steve mcqueen, james garner and richard attenborough the great escape 1963 official trailer steve mcqueen movie allied. Using the great escape as a tool to learn about wwii the great escape is a film about a prisoner of war camp in world war two. Amazing story of brave airman who led the famous great. Amazing story of brave airman who led the famous great escape from a nazi camp revealed as his portrait goes on sale. Mar 24, 2014 of three tunnels, only one, harry, completed. The triumph bike ridden by steve mcqueen while filming 1963 s the great escape will be displayed at the blenheim palace concours d elegance. The great escape happened on the night of 24 and early hours of 25 march in 1944. It reminds us again what kinds of sacrifices are involved in war.
Still beloved in the uk after many decades and despite the broad americanization of the actual events the movie portrays, it is a truly classic war film crafted in the style of the age. Read the full synopsis of the great escape, 1963, directed by john sturges, with robert graf, nigel stock, angus lennie, at turner classic movies. Based on a true story, a group of allied escape artisttype prisonersofwar are all put in an escape proof camp. The great escape, american war film, released in 1963, that was loosely based on the true story of an ambitious escape by allied prisoners of war during world war ii. The great escape 1111 movie clip the cooler king returns 1963 hd by movieclips. The great escape theatrical release poster by frank mccarthy directed byjohn sturges produced byjohn sturges screenplay by james clavell w. Taking the number three spot overall, and number one for men, was the 1963 world war ii epic the great escape. The movie is basically about british and american troops trying to escape from nazi cam. Fapp edited byferris webster production company the mirisch company distributed byunited artists release date june 20, 1963 july 4, 1963 running time 172 minutes c.
Rent the great escape 1963 on dvd and bluray dvd netflix. Steve mcqueen in the great escape 1963 james garner in the great escape. Renowned author paul brickhill wrote the book from which this. Elmer bernstein would survive the red scare with a slap on the wrist and perhaps an american flag branded by mccarthy on his fatty hinds to write my favorite of his movie scores, the 1963 film the great escape, based on the true story of the stalag luft iii prisonerofwar escape from nazi occupied germany in march of 1944. Released by intrada in 2011 maf7112 containing music from the great escape 1963. Display as images display as list make and model make and year year category importancerole date added new ones first episode appearance ep. Stammlager luft, or primary camp for aircrew was a luftwafferun prisonerofwar camp during. Roger bartlett, big x, arrives at the camp and immediately reveals his plan to engineer the biggest escape from a german pow camp in history. The great escape complete soundtrack from 1963, composed by elmer bernstein.
The great escape, movie, 1963 pictures provided by. The great escape 611 movie clip how to get rid of the dirt 1963 hd by movieclips. Bartlett richard attenborough is the british officer who. The trailer for john sturges the great escape starring steve mcqueen james garner best on youtube. In 2006, a poll in the united kingdom was done to determine which old family film tv viewers would want to watch in christmas. Mar 25, 2020 the great escape, american war film, released in 1963, that was loosely based on the true story of an ambitious escape by allied prisoners of war during world war ii. However, while the 1963 film the great escape and its theme tune did much to spread the story of how 76 prisoners escaped through a secret tunnel, it left one of the central players in the true. The great escape 1963 official trailer steve mcqueen movie. May 22, 2015 the 1963 film the great escape is about the ingenuity of the allied prisoners of war in their planning, building the tunnels and the tense excitement of the escape. Burnett based onthe great escape by paul brickhill starring steve mcqueen james garner richard attenborough music byelmer bernstein cinematographydaniel l. Steve mcqueens great escape motorbike used to herd cows. In 1963, the great escape was probably the most exciting film event in movie theatres across the uk and usa. Hilts is wearing casual clothing typical of the time the film was shot, not when it was set. Let down slightly by bronson and coburn, saddled with awful accents.
Im told that there was a negative sideeffect from this film, even though its not the film s fault. This quiz is all about the truth behind the great escape that was immortalised in the 1963 film of the same name. The events of that night have been immortalized in the 1963 film. The great escape is that rare war film that doesnt fully indulge in assumed nationalism, save for the fact that everyone speaks english. About 70 of them escape, but 50 get caught and shot, including roger, mac and ashley. About the only recognisable part of that bike as compared with wh371 is the petrol tank. The wwii movie the great escapes theme played on the piano. The great escape the commandant of stalag luft 3 btho5531. Amazing story of brave airman who led the famous great escape. The great escape is a 1963 american epic war film starring steve mcqueen, james garner and richard attenborough, and featuring james donald, charles bronson, donald pleasence, james coburn and hannes messemer. In reality, the actual escape occurred in march, 1944 while there was still significant snow on the ground. Dec 31, 20 the great escape 1963 movie movieclipsfilm. Allied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a german camp during world war ii. Lots were drawn for the 200 places and maps, papers and disguises were completed.
Most of the escapees who were trying to walk across country were forced by the deep snow to leave the fields and go on to the roads and into the hands of the patrols. He rarely mingled with the rest of the cast and stayed with his wife and family in a chalet nearby, from which he would travel each day to the set in a chauffeurdriven. See also great escape ii, an unsuccessful sequel made in 1988. The war epic beat hitchcocks menacing film, the birds, and james bonds outing in the cold war classic from russia with love to hit the top spot. With steve mcqueen, james garner, richard attenborough, charles bronson. The 1963 film the great escape is about the ingenuity of the allied prisoners of war in their planning, building the tunnels and the tense excitement of the escape. It was the mass escape of allied soldiers from the german prisoner of war camp stalag luft iii, the story of which was forever immortalised in the 1963 film the great escape, starring steve mcqueen.
The true story of the great escape tv shows history. Unlike the eyewitness book by former pow paul brickhill on which it is based, the film compresses some events and uses fictitious composite characters. Attenborough, who was knighted for his film work years before he completed gandhi in 1982, had long been considered one of. The great escape, american war film, released in 1963, that was loosely. The film shows almost everything happening in the summer months. Whilst i tip my hat to hollywood for the production of a great film, the real great escape was very different. Tcm messageboards post your comments here add your comment share. Rent the great escape 1963 starring steve mcqueen and james garner on dvd and bluray. Based on the book by paul brickhill, the great escape is the true story of allied prisoners plotting to break out of nazi detention camp. The rafs air vice marshal stuart atha told those gathered that the great escape was an extraordinary chapter in the history of the allied air forces written by men with great courage and. Desmond plunkett, a british flier in world war ii who played a major role in the mass breakout from a german prisoner of war camp that was portrayed in the 1963 film. It focuses on two main prisoners trying to escape but about 50 other prisoners assist. The triumph bike ridden by steve mcqueen while filming 1963s the great escape will be displayed at the blenheim palace concours d elegance. The handsome, brooding actor performed all his own stunts in the action sequences in the type of action adventure film that became mcqueens trademark.
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