It is the story of the mass escape from Stalag Luft III in Sagan (now Żagań present in Poland), in the Lower Silesia province of Nazi Germany. The events begin with a wonderful comedy about the prisoners' attempt to dig a tunnel to escape, where they are surprised by the presence of guards. On the other hand, it seems that the adventure is high because they use boats, trains and planes to get out of Europe occupied by the Nazis and others.
12 June 1921, Stuttgart, Germany
21 September 1919, Malta
31 August 1928, Laurel, Nebraska, USA
29 August 1923, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK
18 May 1917, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK
3 June 1919, Munich, Germany
15 April 1930, Tawroggen, Lithuania
7 June 1915, Aachen, Germany
9 March 1938, Poplar, London, England, UK
19 November 1924, Sunderland, England, UK
24 March 1930, Beech Grove, Indiana, USA
13 November 1933, Berlin, Germany
1928, London, England, UK
25 February 1932, New York City, New York, USA
3 November 1921, Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania, USA
4 July 1921, Reichenberg, Sudetenland, Germany [now Liberec, Czech Republic]
26 February 1931, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
19 December 1923, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
18 November 1923, Witten, Germany
17 February 1936, Frinton-On-Sea, Essex, England, UK
26 August 1918, Munich, Germany
19 September 1933, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
17 May 1924, Dillingen an der Donau, Bavaria, Germany
18 April 1930, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
7 April 1928, Norman, Oklahoma, USA
5 October 1919, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, UK
7 April 1916, Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]
April 23, 2014
This is one of the all-time great war movies, a PoW adventure from director John Sturges that celebrates the indomitable spirit of the Allied forces even when their backs were to the wall.
March 26, 2009
Producer-director John Sturges has fashioned a motion picture that entertains, captivates, thrills and stirs.
March 01, 2007
Way too flabby at 168 minutes, but once this 1963 feature gets going it's good, solid stuff.
April 23, 2014
This is a Boys' Own Tale, and, as boys, we wanted it, cleansed of horrors, for ourselves.
June 24, 2006
Worth seeing the last half hour, if nothing else, for one of the best stunt sequences in years: McQueen's motor-cycle bid for freedom.
August 22, 2013
While it's a definite classic in the Steve McQueen gallery, it's also a masterpiece of the action genre...
June 09, 2013
a slow burn which allows you to watch wildly different characters work together and form a team in spite of their differences
April 23, 2014
Even if you feel you know every scene backwards, there are still manifold pleasures here beyond nostalgia.
April 23, 2014
Watching the starry cast is always entertaining, and while The Great Escape has little new to say about war, this is really not a criticism.
May 23, 2013
Each group of characters get their own riveting planning sequences, all skillfully told. This is one "heist" film where knowing the details of how the escape is supposed to go down before it happens only strengthens the suspense further.
February 06, 2014
The Great Escape is simply great escapism.
May 09, 2005
It's a strictly mechanical adventure with make-believe men.
