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IMDbPro

The Great Escape

  • 19631963
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 2h 52m
IMDb RATING
8.2/10
247K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,032
43
Richard Attenborough, Steve McQueen, and James Garner in The Great Escape (1963)
Allied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II.
Play trailer3:09
3 Videos
99+ Photos
AdventureDramaHistory
Allied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II.Allied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II.Allied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II.
IMDb RATING
8.2/10
247K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,032
43
    • John Sturges
    • Paul Brickhill(based on the book by)
    • James Clavell(screen play by)
    • W.R. Burnett(screen play by)
  • Stars
    • Steve McQueen
    • James Garner
    • Richard Attenborough
    • John Sturges
    • Paul Brickhill(based on the book by)
    • James Clavell(screen play by)
    • W.R. Burnett(screen play by)
  • Stars
    • Steve McQueen
    • James Garner
    • Richard Attenborough
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 428User reviews
    • 124Critic reviews
    • 86Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Top rated movie #149
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar

    Videos3

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 3:09
    Watch Official Trailer
    The Great Escape
    Trailer 2:42
    Watch The Great Escape
    'The Great Escape' Anniversary Mashup
    Video 1:01
    Watch 'The Great Escape' Anniversary Mashup

    Photos194

    Steve McQueen in The Great Escape (1963)
    Steve McQueen in The Great Escape (1963)
    James Garner in The Great Escape (1963)
    Charles Bronson in The Great Escape (1963)
    Steve McQueen in The Great Escape (1963)
    Steve McQueen in The Great Escape (1963)
    Steve McQueen in The Great Escape (1963)
    Richard Attenborough in The Great Escape (1963)
    Donald Pleasence and James Garner in The Great Escape (1963)
    Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Jud Taylor in The Great Escape (1963)
    Steve McQueen in The Great Escape (1963)
    Richard Attenborough, Donald Pleasence, James Garner, and Gordon Jackson in The Great Escape (1963)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Steve McQueen
    Steve McQueen
    • Hilts 'The Cooler King'
    James Garner
    James Garner
    • Hendley 'The Scrounger'
    Richard Attenborough
    Richard Attenborough
    • Bartlett 'Big X'
    Charles Bronson
    Charles Bronson
    • Danny 'Tunnel King'
    James Donald
    James Donald
    • Ramsey 'The SBO'
    Donald Pleasence
    Donald Pleasence
    • Blythe 'The Forger'
    James Coburn
    James Coburn
    • Sedgwick 'Manufacturer'
    Hannes Messemer
    Hannes Messemer
    • Von Luger 'The Kommandant'
    David McCallum
    David McCallum
    • Ashley-Pitt 'Dispersal'
    Gordon Jackson
    Gordon Jackson
    • MacDonald 'Intelligence'
    John Leyton
    John Leyton
    • Willie 'Tunnel King'
    Angus Lennie
    Angus Lennie
    • Ives 'The Mole'
    Nigel Stock
    Nigel Stock
    • Cavendish 'The Surveyor'
    Robert Graf
    • Werner 'The Ferret'
    Jud Taylor
    Jud Taylor
    • Goff
    Hans Reiser
    • Herr Kuhn
    Harry Riebauer
    • Strachwitz
    William Russell
    William Russell
    • Sorren
      • John Sturges
      • Paul Brickhill(based on the book by)
      • James Clavell(screen play by)
      • W.R. Burnett(screen play by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In this movie, several Americans (including Hilts and Henley) were amongst the escapees. In real life, American officers assisted with the construction of the escape tunnel, but weren't amongst the escapees, because the Germans moved them to a remote compound just before the escape.
    • Goofs
      Timbers are needed to hold back thousands of pounds of dirt from a tunnel collapse. The three feet long, 1/2 inch thick pieces taken from the bed frames shown used in the tunnel could not withstand the weight. However documentary interviews and excavation of the actual Stalag Luft 3 site, shows that the films depiction of the tunnel's construction was accurate. While the material used may not have been adequate for a professional tunnel or mine, they were apparently adequate for the task and some are still holding up the tunnel even now.
    • Quotes

      Sedgwick: Danny, do you speak Russian?

      Danny: A little, but only one sentence.

      Sedgwick: Well, let me have it, mate.

      Danny: Ya vas lyublyu.

      Sedgwick: Ya ya vas...

      Danny: Lyublyu.

      Sedgwick: Lyubliu? Ya vas lyubliu. Ya vas lyublyu. What's it mean?

      Danny: I love you.

      Sedgwick: Love you. What bloody good is that?

      Danny: I don't know, I wasn't going to use it myself.

    • Alternate versions
      Some TV versions edit the scene in which Ives is shot and killed for trying to escape over the fence.
    • Connections
      Edited into Return to 'the Great Escape' (1993)

    User reviews428

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    GREAT MOVIE: MORE HISTORICALLY ACCURATE THAN SOME REALIZE...
    This is a great movie which much more historically accurate than it is often given credit for. So many who say otherwise are ill-informed and obviously don't know much about the actual history of that actual escape. The depiction of what happened to the recaptured prisoners in the movie of THE GREAT ESCAPE is reasonably accurate as detailed on the historyinfilm site...specifically on the "Reprisal" page; along with being detailed in the various published accounts.

    Hitler ultimately calmed down after being reasoned with by Goering, Feldmarschall Keitel, Maj-Gen Graevenitz and Maj-Gen Westhoff, and dictated that more than half the prisoners be shot and cremated. So, as depicted in the film, several of those recaptured were not executed and were indeed returned to confinement. In fact, even those executed were not "shot on the spot" for the most part, but were actually executed later after being turned over to the Gestapo; most being shot while being allowed to relieve themselves, under the guise of "trying to escape".

    Furthermore, there are many accounts as to how much more humane the environment was within the camp (which even had a popular and very successful theatre, featuring prisoners who would later be name performers) than many other POW camps...and certainly nothing like the harsh conditions associated with the Concentration or Extermination camps.

    To quote one source:

    "It must be made clear that the German Luftwaffe [the German Air Force], who were responsible for Air Force prisoners of war, maintained a degree of professional respect for fellow flyers, and the general attitude of the camp security officers and guards should not be confused with the SS or Gestapo. The Luftwaffe treated the POWs well, despite an erratic and inconsistent supply of food.

    Prisoners were handled quite fairly within the Geneva Convention, and the Kommandant, Oberst (Colonel) Friedrich-Wilhelm von Lindeiner-Wildau, was a professional and honourable soldier who won the respect of the senior prisoners."

    Finally, virtually all the major engineering aspects in regards to the tunnels and the initial escape in the film are as they were actually acheived in the real escape.

    It would behoove some to learn a little more actual history or do a little simple research before shooting from the hip with supposed "knowledge" of reality. THE GREAT ESCAPE certainly takes liberties in tone and character portrayal, but not in the key elements that are disparaged out of sneering ignorance.

    BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI is also a great film, but took even greater liberties with the technical details of the events described than THE GREAT ESCAPE did....and offering up VON RYAN'S EXPRESS as a more realistic alternative is simply delusional and ridiculous.
    helpful•222
    51
    • warrior_sarah
    • Jan 11, 2004

    FAQ9

    • What is 'The Great Escape' about?
    • Is this movie based on a book?
    • Is this a true story?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 4, 1963 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
      • German
      • French
      • Russian
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Füssen, Bavaria, Germany
    • Production companies
      • The Mirisch Company
      • Alpha
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 2 hours 52 minutes
      • Color

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