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Product Information

John Sturges's dramatisation of the true story of a group of British, American, and Canadian POWs who executed a massive escape from Stalag Luft III in Upper Silesia in March 1944, stars Steve McQueen as the rebellious Virgil Hilts. The German high command has filtered out all the most talented escape artists of the Allies' and placed them in a POW camp specifically designed to foil any unwanted departures. Of course, as soon as they arrive, the prisoners begin work on a series of tunnels under the direction of Roger Big X Bartlett (Richard Attenborough). He assigns the POWs to jobs according to their specialties: Bob Scrounger Hendley (James Garner) steals necessary items, Eric Dispersal Ashley-Pitt (David McCallum) hides the soil being dug from the tunnels, and Danny the Tunnel King Willinski (Charles Bronson) and Colin the Forger Blythe (Donald Pleasence) have self-explanatory handles. For more than a year, 600 prisoners, most of whom won't be leaving, work toward an escape that will temporarily disrupt the operations of the German army.

Product Identifiers

ProducerJohn Sturges

EAN5050070000115

eBay Product ID (ePID)3942573

Product Key Features

ActorJames Coburn, Richard Attenborough, David Mccallum, Steve McQueen, Angus Lennie, John Leyton, Jud Taylor, Gordon Jackson, Charles Bronson, James Garner, Donald Pleasence, Nigel Stock, James Donald

Film/TV TitleThe Great Escape

DirectorJohn Sturges

LanguageEnglish

Subtitle LanguageDutch\English\French\German\Norwegian\Polish\Portuguese\Spanish

Run Time172 Mins

Aspect Ratio2.35 Wide Screen\4:3 Full Frame

Release Year2000

FormatDVD

FeaturesReturn To The Great Escape Making Of Documentary\Original US Theatrical Trailer\Booklet\Interactive Menu\Chapter Search, Widescreen, Closed Caption, With Subtitles

GenreWar

Additional Product Features

Number of Discs1

CertificatePG

Country/Region of ManufactureUnited States of America

Hearing ImpairedEnglish\German

ComposerElmer Bernstein

Production DesignerFernando Carrere

Additional InformationArguably the best World War II adventure film ever made, John Sturges's dramatisation of the true story of a group of British, American, and Canadian POWs who executed a massive escape from Stalag Luft III in Upper Silesia in March 1944, stars Steve McQueen as the rebellious Virgil Hilts. The German high command has filtered out all the most talented escape artists of the Allies' and placed them in a POW camp specifically designed to foil any unwanted departures. Of course, as soon as they arrive, the prisoners begin work on a series of tunnels under the direction of Roger Big X Bartlett (Richard Attenborough). He assigns the POWs to jobs according to their specialties: Bob Scrounger Hendley (James Garner) steals necessary items, Eric Dispersal Ashley-Pitt (David McCallum) hides the soil being dug from the tunnels, and Danny the Tunnel King Willinski (Charles Bronson) and Colin the Forger Blythe (Donald Pleasence) have self-explanatory handles. For more than a year, 600 prisoners, most of whom won't be leaving, work toward an escape that will temporarily disrupt the operations of the German army. The host of big-name stars meshes beautifully in this meticulous re-creation of the legendary escape. Although this is a film about courage, Sturges wisely takes a low-key approach, leavened with humour, rather than allowing the cast to indulge in macho antics. However, McQueen's memorable motorcycle stunts could be said to fit in that category. THE GREAT ESCAPE, based on the book by Paul Brickhill, is quite simply one of the grandest war films ever made, featuring many key scenes (McQueen's motorcycle chase, McQueen tossing the baseball against the cell wall, Bronson sliding on his chest in the tunnel) that are unforgettable.

ReviewsTotal Film - THE GREAT ESCAPE is the finest, all-out entertaining movie from that pot of World War Two, multi-star films

ScreenwriterW.R. Burnett, James Clavell

Dubbing LanguagesGerman\French\Spanish\Italian

CinematographerDaniel Fapp

Sound sourceMono

EditorFerris Webster

Movie/TV TitleThe Great Escape