Though I’ve always enjoyed a good war movie, the ones I enjoy the most involve great escapes. So somehow it seems fitting that my all-time favorite great escape movie would be… ”The Great Escape.” Originally released to theatres in 1963, ”The Great Escape” is still easily one of the best films on the subject, in part due to the great direction and cast, but also the fact that it was a true story. Directed by John Sturges, the film was based on the book by Paul Brickhill and follows the exploits of a group of men who had gained notoriety for their repeated attempts to break out of Nazi P.O.W. camps. It was the idea of the Germans to take all of these ‘worst-of-the-worst’ and put them in one impenetrable prison. Needless to say history teaches us that this was most certainly a really big mistake considering putting all these creative minds together culminated in one doozy of a prison break. Brickhill himself had been interned in the camp that is the subject of the film, so his attention to detail is terrific.

I mentioned the great cast, and what an all-star cast it was. Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasance, James Coburn and David McCallum are just a handful of the names you’ll find in ”The Great Escape.” Then there was the solid direction by Sturges who was able to deliver a film where these men stood up against incredible odds in a wholly believable manner, unlike a lot of the ‘action films’ you’ll see today where everything is over the top and generally absurd. I’d go on and on about the movie, but there’s no need. It’s a great film, you have to watch it, end of story.

Well, that may be the end of the story, but it’s not the end of the extra features that MGM has decided to bestow upon us in their new 2-disc Special Edition set. There is an unusual audio commentary by Sturges, along with Garner, MCallum, Coburn, Pleasance and Jud Taylor. When I read this, the first thing that came to mind was that most of these actors (and director) had since unfortunately left this mortal coil, and wondered how it was put together. I initially thought perhaps they might have done some massive séance to get these actors (and director) back together again, but this was not the case. I imagine it was too cost prohibitive. However, what the producers of the DVD did was to find previous recordings from interviews and put them together to form a cohesive commentary. The commentary is hosted by combat film historian Steve Rubin, and it is well produced.

On the second disc you’ll find a ton of featurettes and documentaries, each and every one a worthwhile watch. One of the documentaries runs just under an hour and focuses on the real story of the ‘great escape’ and is followed up by an additional set of interviews. We also get a look at the real Virgil Hilts (who was played by McQueen in the film) in a 25 minute documentary narrated by James Coburn. Once you’ve had a chance to enjoy these, there are 5 more featurettes to check out.

Coming in under a half hour is Steve Rubin’s “Return to the Great Escape” narrated by Miguel Ferrer, followed by the 12 minute “Bringing Fact to Fiction”, the 20 minute “Preparations for Freedom, the 9 minute “The Flight to Freedom”, and finally the 6 minute “A Standing Ovation.”

There are a ton of films that are long overdue for the Special Edition DVD treatment. Finally, ”The Great Escape” can be crossed off that list.

Directed by: John Sturges
Starring: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasance, James Coburn, David McCallum
Extras: Commentary by Cast and Crew, Theatrical Trailer, "The Great Escape: Heroes Underground" Featurette, "The Great Escape: The Untold Story" Featurette, "The Real Virgil Hilts: A Man Called Jones" Documentary, Trivia Track, Photo Gallery
Specifications:
Studio: MGM
Release Date: 5/18/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating:
Website

We'll give The Great Escape an A.