THE GREAT ESCAPE [1963 / 2013] [50th Anniversary Edition] [Limited Edition SteelBook] [Blu-ray] [UK Release] The Great Adventure! The Great Entertainment!
In 1943, the Germans opened Stalag Luft III, 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 and were brilliantly portrayed here by Steve McQueen, James Garner, Charles Bronson and James Coburn who worked on what, became the largest prison breakout ever attempted. One of the most ingenious and suspenseful adventure films of all time, ‘THE GREAT ESCAPE’ is a masterful collaboration between director John Sturges [‘The Magnificent Seven’], screenwriters James Clavell [‘Shogun’] and W.R. Burnett [‘Little Caesar’]. Furthermore, Elmer Bernstein's brilliant classic film score has rarely sounded better. Backed up by an interesting package of extra features, making ‘THE GREAT ESCAPE’ an excellent piece of cinema and was filmed in Panavision.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1963 National Board of Review, USA: Win: NBR Award for Top Ten Films. 1964 Academy Awards®: Nominated: Best Film Editing for Ferris Webster. 1964 Golden Globes: Nominated: Best Motion Picture in a Drama. 1964 Laurel Awards: Nominated: Golden Laurel Award for Top Drama. Nominated: Golden Laurel Award for Top Action Performance for Steve McQueen. Nominated: Golden Laurel Award for Top Action Performance for James Garner [4th place]. 1964 Writers Guild of America: Nominated: WGA Award (Screen) for Best Written American Drama for James Clavell and W.R. Burnett. 2004 GoldSpirit Awards: Nominated: Best Edition of a Classic Soundtrack for Elmer Bernstein and Varèse Sarabande. 2005 International Film Music Critics Award: Nominated: Best New Release, Re-Release or Re-Recording of an Existing Score for Elmer Bernstein (music), Robert Townson (album producer), Jerry McCulley (liner notes) and Bill Pitzonka (album art direction).
FILM FACT No.2: The film ‘THE GREAT ESCAPE’ had its Royal World Premiere at the Odeon Leicester Square in London's West End on the 20th June, 1963.
Cast: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Sir Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, Hannes Messemer, David McCallum, Gordon Jackson, John Leyton, Angus Lennie, Nigel Stock, Robert Graf, Jud Taylor, Hans Reiser, Harry Riebauer, William Russell, Robert Freitag, Ulrich Beiger, George Mikell, Lawrence Montaigne, Robert Desmond, Til Kiwe, Heinz Weiss, Tom Adams, Karl-Otto Alberty and Arthur Atkinson (uncredited)
Director: John Sturges
Producers: James Clavell (uncredited), John Sturges and Walter Mirisch (uncredited)
Screenplay: James Clavell (screenplay), W. R. Burnett (screenplay) and Paul Brickhill (book)
Composer: Elmer Bernstein
Cinematography: Daniel L. Fapp, A.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Color by DeLuxe)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Panavision)
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
French: 5.1 DTS-HD Audio
German: 5.1 DTS-HD Audio
Italian: 5.1 DTS-HD Audio
Spanish: 5.1 DTS-HD Audio
Polish: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, German, Cantonese, Czech, Dutch, Greek, Italian, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Polish and Thai
Running Time: 172 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: 20th Century Fox / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Andrew's Blu-ray Review: With a story based on an actual POW breakout in 1943 wartime Germany, director John Sturges brought to audiences ‘THE GREAT ESCAPE,’ a 1963 box office smash that has since joined the ranks of other POW classics, such as ‘Grand Illusion’ [1937] and ‘The Bridge On the River Kwai’ [1957]. While the film was blessed with a cast that boasted some of the best actors working in the movies, none was hotter than Steve McQueen, who had the starring role as the camp cynic and American rebel, “Cooler King” Hilts. In less flashy roles, James Garner and Donald Pleasance provide strong dramatic support as cellmates who attempt an equally daring escape from the camp.
Fifty years after the release of the iconic 1963 World War II POW film ‘THE GREAT ESCAPE’ which permanently etched the rebellious screen image of Steve McQueen in moviegoers' heads, it is still easy to see why this film was so revered back in its day. Director/Producer John Sturges (who also did ‘The Magnificent Seven’) epic adventure film is nearly three hours long and sometimes it feels that way, but its underdog mentality and triumph-of-the-spirit narrative make it virtually irresistible. The stunning new Blu-ray 50th Anniversary Edition Limited Edition Steelbook presentation, featuring all of the insightful extra features from the 2004 two-disc Collector's Edition DVD set, plus other extra Documentaries.
The setup is brilliant in its simplicity and surprising ultimately in how tragic it can be. Nazis have rounded up all of their Allied problem prisoners into one prison camp, including US Air Force Captain Steve McQueen, Royal Air Force officers James Garner, Charles Bronson, Richard Attenborough, Donald Pleasence, and Royal Australian Air Force officer James Coburn. The idea is that they will all be held under the strictest security possible, but inadvertently, this also means all the best escapists are in one spot.
Adapted from the nonfiction book by Paul Brickhill about a 1944 escape, the characters in the film are composites of the ones in the book. This is startling because one of the things that the screenplay which was written by James Clavell and W.R. Burnett, gets so right is the characters. If a film like this were filmed today, perhaps it would ramp up the action and leave some of the rousing character development on the cutting room floor, but John Sturges employs classic Hollywood film language and takes time with his ensemble to this story. Each group of characters get their own riveting planning sequences, all skilfully 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, especially when things go wrong. Steve McQueen infamous motorcycle chase scene, which also gives the film its defining moment, is its own mini-chapter, and it's still exciting as hell.
Of course, this all leads up to the big event, but ‘THE GREAT ESCAPE’ has one more trick up its sleeve. Following the events of the escape itself play out, the film continues and takes on a more sombre tone. After all the time invested in the story of the POWs and all their careful planning, the straightforward storytelling takes on a cumulative and emotionally resonant tone.
Surprisingly, ‘THE GREAT ESCAPE’ went virtually ignored at OSCAR® time except for a sole nomination for Best Editing. What about a special award for Best Stunts? Or how about Best Picture, Best Director, or Best Music Score? The latter, by Elmer Bernstein, cleverly weaves together military marches, taut suspense music, and a title tune you can whistle. Instead, the Academy nominated the composed music scores for ‘Cleopatra,’ ‘55 Days at Peking,’ ‘How the West Was Won,’ ‘It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World’ and ‘Tom Jones,’ with the latter winning for composer John Addison.
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Blu-ray Image Quality – The ‘THE GREAT ESCAPE’ 1080p image transfer seems to be relatively new for an M-G-M catalogue property, likely made a few years ago. The transfer has likely been long-pass/low-pass filtered, stripping out some level of resolution. ‘THE GREAT ESCAPE’ 1080p encoded image is very reasonable for its age, especially if people who look after the negatives do not treat it with some respect, but it’s certainly not a true film-like experience as it was seen in cinemas on its first release. There is also some visible sharpening, which does give the image more dimensionality and depth than I expected on Blu-ray. They also seem to have tweaked the colour timing, enhancing contrast and dialling up the greens. Those moves improve the film’s appearance from what I’ve seen of it before in prior incarnations, appearing washed-out and lifeless on the inferior DVD release. I would call this 1080p image very watchable, despite its age, with considerable room for improvement, if they had handled the digital tinkering with more grace.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – According to IMDb ‘THE GREAT ESCAPE’ was initially released to cinemas in both Mono and four-track stereo. Previous iterations on inferior DVD discs have run the gamut. M-G-M's initial release in 1998 offered a stereo track in Dolby Digital. It’s more elaborate “collector's edition” six years later offered a choice between 5.1 and mono tracks, also in Dolby Digital. The Blu-ray offers a single option in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (along with numerous tracks dubbed in other languages). The mix for this track is presumably the same as that offered on the 2004 inferior DVD and is probably based on the four-track stereo source. From the opening bars of Elmer Bernstein's memorable score, the Blu-ray's track reveals very good dynamic range for a recording of this vintage, with excellent bass extension that supplies genuine punch to the martial beat of the bass drums. The dialogue with its variety of accents and intonations is distinct and crisp, and the sense of stereo separation is often helpful when multiple characters are arrayed across the screen. Signature effects like the roar of Hilts's motorcycle or the bounce of his baseball register with the necessary impact, and the sounds of camp life are both legitimate and clandestine and punctuate the action as necessary. While it would be a stretch to claim that the track creates a surround field comparable to what one might expect from a contemporary mix, the sound editing is sufficiently detailed and the reproduction of sufficient quality to more than make up for the lack of rear channel activity.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
1974 Audio Commentary with Director John Sturges, Cast and Crew interviews: This isn't so much an audio commentary; it is more like a series of interviews edited together. The interviews were done by Steven Jay Rubin, director and co-writer of the documentary, “Return to The Great Escape;” which is also included and listed below, who serves as a sort of moderator. Steven Jay Rubin also provides additional commentary, derived from his book Combat Films: American Realism, 1945 – 1970. The following is a list of the audio commentary participants include: John Sturges [Director] (interviewed in 1974); James Coburn; James Garner; David McCallum; Donald Pleasance; Jud Taylor; Robert Relyea [former assistant to John Sturges]; Bud Ekins [Motorcycle Stuntman]; Fernando Carrere [Art Director] and Hilly Elkins [former manager for Steve McQueen].
Special Feature: The Great Escape: Bringing Fact To Fiction [2001] [480i] [1.37:1] [12:21] One of a group of short documentaries that was produced for M-G-M and was narrated by Burt Reynolds. We start off hearing a few facts about the original escape and how director John Sturges spent years trying to get the rights. Once he did get the rights he couldn't find a studio willing to make the picture until after ‘THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN’ became a hit and M-G-M finally giving the film the green light to the project. This feature documentary also focuses on the differences between the real history and the film and also on the contributions of technical advisor Wally Floody. The most interesting stories are about how they wanted to get the camp to look authentic and what they did to get this done. Contributions include: John Weir [Ex-POW of Stalag Luft III], Jonathan Vance [Author of “A Gallant Company: The men of the Great Escape”], Robert E. Relyea [Assistant Director for ‘THE GREAT ESCAPE’], Arthur Durand [Author of “Stalag Luft III”], Alex Cassie [Ex-POW of Stalag Luft III] and Betty Floody [Wife of Ex-POW Wally Floody]. Directed by Frankie Glass.
Special Feature: The Great Escape: Preparations for Freedom [2001] [480i] [1.37:1] [19:50] This second short documentary is produced for M-G-M and was narrated by Burt Reynolds. This particular feature was about the actual prison camp, Stalag Luft III as well as the inmates of this institution. Apparently, many random and unorganized escape attempts were made before the camp decided to organize and to push for one HUGE escape instead of doing it haphazardly. The film also addresses an important historical inaccuracy in the film especially about the American prisoners. Apparently, there had been some but they had been transferred out of the camp before the escape. Some had worked on the tunnels. The filmmakers knew this but decided to use a few Americans such as James Garner and Steve McQueen in order to attract a broader international audience for the film. This is understandable...but quite inaccurate. This is documentary, unfortunately, ends on a cliff-hanger! Fortunately, it's addressed in the next film which talks about what happened during and after the escape. Contributors include: Albert Wallace [Ex-POW of Stalag Luft III], James J. Cullen [Ex-POW, Stalag Luft III], John Weir [Ex-POW of Stalag Luft III], Jonathan Vance [Author of “A Gallant Company: The men of the Great Escape”], Robert E. Relyea [Assistant Director for ‘THE GREAT ESCAPE’] and Arthur Durand [Author of “Stalag Luft III”]. Directed by Frankie Glass.
Special Feature: The Great Escape: The Flight To Freedom [2001] [480i] [1.37:1] [9:22] This third short documentary is produced for M-G-M and was narrated by Burt Reynolds. This feature compares the film's account of the escapee’s flight after their exit from the tunnel with the less sensational, but no less dramatic experiences of the real fugitives. Everyone knows that when a film is being made then there's going to be issues that come up or facts that need to be changed for entertainment purposes. The decision on what to change about the escape is very interesting but what makes this so entertaining is hearing from the real POWs and what it was like at the camp once news of the event had reached them. You can hear their stories but you can also see the anger in their eyes. Fans of the film and history buffs should enjoy this featurette as it really touches on both sides of the story. Contributors include: Jonathan Vance [Author of “A Gallant Company: The men of the Great Escape”], Robert E. Relyea [Assistant Director for ‘THE GREAT ESCAPE’], Albert Wallace [Ex-POW of Stalag Luft III], James J. Cullen [Ex-POW of Stalag Luft III], Alex Cassie [Ex-POW of Stalag Luft III], John Weir [Ex-POW of Stalag Luft III] and Arthur Durand [Author of “Stalag Luft III”]. Directed by Frankie Glass.
Special Feature: The Great Escape: A Standing Ovation [2001] [480i] [1.37:1] [5:58] This third short documentary is produced for M-G-M and was narrated by Burt Reynolds. This feature focuses about the response once the film was finally released as well as its reputation in regards to being one of the greatest war pictures ever made. The most interesting aspect was getting to hear from the actual POWs who all gave their stamp of approval even if certain aspects of the story were changed. We also hear about how the critics and fans loved ‘THE GREAT ESCAPE’ the day it was released and that love has grown even more over the years. As one of the POWs survivors said, even if there was only a fraction of the film that was the truth at least the story would reach people. In their words, in a day when there aren't too many heroes left who are able to look at the film and remember the colleagues that are no longer around to view this Second World War film. Contributors include: Robert E. Relyea [Assistant Director of ‘THE GREAT ESCAPE’], Arthur Durand [Author of “Stalag Luft III”], Betty Floody [Wife of Ex-POW of Stalag Luft III Wally Floody] and Jonathan Vance [Author of “A Gallant Company: The men of the Great Escape”] and Alex Cassie [Ex-POW of Stalag Luft III]. Directed by Frankie Glass.
Special Feature: The Great Escape: The Untold Story [2001] [1080p] [1.78:1] [50:47] This documentary was made for British Television for Granada Production and was narrated by Derek Jacobi. This documentary includes interviews with men who were in the Stalag Luft III camp at that time and were still alive in 2001, when these interviews took place. Relatives are also interviewed and even Germans who were involved in the massacre that followed. Using interviews and re-enactments, it chronicles the successful Allied effort, after the Second World War ended, to identify and prosecute members of the Gestapo responsible for casualties among the escaped prisoners. We also get to hear a number of other facts, such as why 50 people were killed, by orders from Hitler, which make this a really decent documentary. It's nice to know, too, that much of the film is not made up, as so often happens in films. Contributors include: Jimmy James [Escaper], Alex Cassie [Forger], Jack Lyon [Escaper], Beryl Fitch [Sister], Colin Kirby-Green [Son], Les Brodrick [Escaper] and Adolph Hitler (archive footage). Produced and Directed by Steven Clarke.
Special Feature: The Great Escape: The Untold Story [Additional Interviews] [2001] [1080p] [1.78:1] [9:35] Just under ten minutes of extra interviews that were cut from the previous main documentary “The Great Escape: The Untold Story.” Contributors include: Alex Cassie [Forger] and Jimmy James [Escaper]. Produced and Directed by Steven Clarke.
Special Feature: The Real Virgil Hilts: A Man Called Jones [2001] [480i] [1.37:1] [25:01] A portrait of American Army pilot David Jones, who served as the inspiration for Steve McQueen's character, told through interviews with David Jones in 2001. It also features historical photos and excerpts clips from the film ‘THE GREAT ESCAPE,’ as well as information about where the walls were removed so that they could hide items behind them. According to what James Coburn says, director John Sturges always wanted to show that the McQueen character was a real person because the American in the cast always caused some controversy because the person wasn't really involved in the escape. Among his other exploits, David Jones was one of the pilots chosen for the Doolittle Raid that constituted the immediate U.S.A. response to the attack on Pearl Harbor. David Jones was later shot down and spent time at Stalag Luft III. After the war, he served as a pilot for NATO and as a test pilot for advanced bombers. David Jones also worked with NASA. David comes off quite pleasant here as he talks about his life and then what part he had in the escape. The truth is that he was removed before the escape actually took place but it's interesting seeing what bits and pieces of the story he was involved in. Fans of the film or the real adventure will certainly want to check this out. Narrated by James Coburn.
Special Feature: Return to ‘THE GREAT ESCAPE’ [1993] [480i] [1.37:1] [24:09] This Showtime documentary most focuses on the film as the others also spend time on the real escape. Fans of the film are certainly going to enjoy seeing the cast and crew again. All of them offer up some very good stories about the making of the film but the most interesting part comes when they discuss Steve McQueen and how he stormed out of an early viewing of the film, which wasn't even complete at the time. They talk about how unhappy he was with his part and apparently Garner and Coburn had to talk him back to the set. Other great stories include the motorcycle chase sequence and how it was actually done and we also hear about how there were eleven different screenplays. Fans of the film will certainly want to check this out after viewing the film and it also provides an effective overview of the making of the film. Contributors include: David McCallum [Ashley-Pitt 'Dispersal'], John Sturges [Director] (Archival recording), James Coburn [Sedgwick 'Manufacturer'], Donald Pleasence [Blythe 'The Forger'], James Garner [Hendley 'The Scrounger'], Jud Taylor [Goff], Robert E. Relyea [Assistant Director of ‘THE GREAT ESCAPE’], Fernando Carrere [Art Director], Neile McQueen Toffel [Actress], Bud Ekins [Motorcycle Stuntman and Chad McQueen [Son of actor Steve McQueen]. Narrated by Miguel Ferrer. Director: Steven Jay Rubin. Screenplay: Deborah Goodwin and Steven Jay Rubin.
Theatrical Trailer [1963] [1080i] [2.35:1] [2:42] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘THE GREAT ESCAPE.’ Anyone who thinks that giving away important plot points in a trailer is a recent phenomenon should find this one an eye-opener.
Finally, as an iconic suspense thriller, ‘THE GREAT ESCAPE’ is always a massive delight. The all-star cast and the filmmakers effortlessly bounce between taught drama, wise-ass comedy, and heart-breaking tragedy. Despite its length, this is one of those pictures that sucks you in and never let’s go. As a Blu-ray Disc, true fans will be excited to finally own this classic in high definition, but the HD transfer is often soft and flat. The obvious upgrade on the disc is the stunning 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, though purists will malign the missing Mono audio presentation. For Special Features fans, everything from the 2004 two-disc inferior DVD Collector's Set appears to be on this Blu-ray, which I suppose is a bonus. However, other than the HD theatrical trailer, the bonus material is nearly all in standard definition. You should definitely give this release a definite upgrade from the inferior DVD release to this ultimate Blu-ray format, as I would recommend this Blu-ray to fans who consider this a Must Own title. For everyone else, including those who have never seen this classic war film, you will not go wrong, as this is a fantastic package and definitely puts the icing on the cake. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
