The Great Escape - Special Edition  (1963)

Starring: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, James Coburn

Director: John Sturges

Rating: NR

Distributor: MGM Home Entertainment

Release Date: May 18, 2004
Review posted: June 3, 2004

Spoilers: None

Reviewed by Dennis Landmann

SYNOPSIS

In 1943, the Germans opened Stalag Luft North, a maximum security prisoner-of-war camp, designed to hold even the craftiest escape artists. In doing so, however, the Nazis unwittingly assembled the finest escape team in military history.

CRITIQUE

I've probably seen The Great Escape about four times, which is nearly twelve hours. I went back to it again because it's an exciting blockbuster. Yes, that's right, one of the first (if not the first ever) blockbusters that Hollywood has produced. The film is based on a true story, but for the sake of entertainment a few liberties were taken, such as combining personalities/characters and events.

At 172 minutes, The Great Escape is a long film, that's for sure. But the good news is that the story moves at a good pace. There isn't a bad scene in the film, but a few are longer than ultimately necessary. The reason for the three-hour running time is the build-up of events. In order to make the payoff work and elicit excitement, the script needs to build on the characters and the conditions of the prison.

Writers James Clavell and W.R. Burnett make the cast of characters (or protagonists) likeable, but also identifiable. Each character possesses a certain skill or profession, and later in the film all of them must combine their talents to make the escape plan a possibility. The antagonists, obviously the Nazis, are not dumbed down like one would expect from most films nowadays. They're not the focus of the story, but they pose well as the threat that they are.

The quality of the script is one thing, the acting is another. Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Richard Attenborough lead the film's star power, but every supporting actor makes a difference, such as Charles Bronson, James Coburn, and Donald Pleasence. These actors are fantastic, they portray their characters with wit and integrity.

The Great Escape is not terribly accurate or as factual as other war films, like Stalag 17, but it sure is very well done in terms of filmmaking. Director John Sturges and crew stage some incredible scenes, and overall they create a great visual experience. Camera placement and photography is great, editing is fast and paced, the sets are enormous, and Elmer Bernstein provides an exciting score.

There's not much to dislike about this film. It's great entertainment despite not being all fact. The script incorporates the fictional elements pretty well, ultimately offering a rewarding experience. This is not a film with a happy ending, that's for sure, but it ends on an uplifting note. It's Hollywood, yes, but I don't think it's a problem. The Great Escape is what blockbusters are all about.

THE VIDEO

MGM presents The Great Escape in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. I remember the original DVD release presented the film very wide. The image was pretty small, and the black bars seemed quite large. The new transfer looks a little different, especially the aspect ratio. Video quality looks better than before, especially the bright and crisp colors. Sharpness and detail look nice. There are still some specks and a bit of dirt on the print, but otherwise the image is clean. A few scenes look soft, but they don't distract. Optional subtitles include English, French, and Spanish.

THE AUDIO

MGM presents The Great Escape in English 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound. This is a cool step up from the original 1998 release. The film benefits from the discrete channels, especially the surround sound during the major action sequences and Elmer Bernstein's memorable score. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand. There's hardly any distortion or noise, although a lot of the audio is front-centered. Channel separation is supportive enough to make this a very nice audio experience.

English, Spanish, and French mono tracks are also available.

THE EXTRAS

The first disc hosts a commentary by the cast and crew. It is narrated by combat film historian and author Steven J. Rubin and comments from the cast and crew are culled from past interviews. The participants include director John Sturges, assistant director Robert Relyea, actors James Garner, James Coburn, Donald Pleasence, David McCallum and Jud Taylor, production designer Fernando Carrere, Steve McQueen’s manager Hilly Elkins, and motorcycle stuntman Bud Ekins. It's obvious that this track isn't really scene-specific, but not every commentary is. The information and stories on this track are quite interesting. A recommended listen for fans of the film.

You can also watch the film with a trivia track that presents a variety of information and bits on the story, the production, the war, and the people.

Moving on to disc two, there are a handful of featurettes. The first four are part of one whole documentary, and Burt Reynolds narrates them. The featurettes consist of film clips, archival footage, and interviews with some of the ex-POW survivors. A lot of the information is good, but also repeated in parts of the commentary and in another documentary. The featurettes are as follows: Bringing Fact to Fiction (12:15) discusses some of the liberties taken to make the film more accessible to American audiences, Preparations for Freedom (19:40) looks at the production, The Flight to Freedom (9:15) makes a pass on the story, and A Standing Ovation (5:50) looks at the film's critical success. These can be played individually or as one using the "play all" option.

The Great Escape: The Untold Story (50:35) is a 2001 documentary that more or less uses reenactments to support its narration storytelling. It features rounds of interviews and reveals more information about the prison, the prisoners, and repeated escape attempts. James Coburn narrates The Real Virgil Hilts: A Man Called Jones (25:00), a documentary using pictures, video, and interviews to tell the story of the man. The last documentary in the "featurettes" menu is Return to The Great Escape (24:00), which was also available on the first DVD release. Produced in 1993 and made by Steven Rubin, it takes a look at the present location where the prison set was built, but also delves into subjects surrounding the film and the real events.
 

The 172-minute feature is organized into thirty-two chapters. An eight-page booklet lists scene selections, cast list, and a variety of production notes.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Great Escape is entertaining and exciting, but it's also dramatic and feels real. Despite a long running time, the sense of danger surrounding the story is realized perfectly by the filmmakers. The DVD edition boasts very nice video/audio quality, and the extras are quite good, but the majority of the featurettes cover similar things and information is repeated. If you own the original DVD, an upgrade is worth it.

VERDICT: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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