Allied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their men to escape from a German camp during World War II.Allied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their men to escape from a German camp during World War II.Allied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their men to escape from a German camp during World War II.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 3 wins & 12 nominations total
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOne day, the police in the German town where this movie was shot set up a speed trap near the set. Several members of the cast and crew were caught, including Steve McQueen. The Chief of Police told McQueen "Herr McQueen, we have caught several of your comrades today, but you have won the prize (for the highest speeding)." McQueen was arrested and briefly jailed.
- GoofsStrong timbers are needed to support thousands of pounds of dirt above a tunnel. The three foot long, 1/2 inch thick boards taken from the bed frames shown used in the tunnel seemingly could not support the weight. However, documentary interviews and excavation of the actual Stalag Luft 3 site, reveal that the film's depiction of the tunnel's construction was accurate. While the materials used may not have been adequate for a professional tunnel or mine, they were apparently adequate to the task and some are still holding up the tunnel even now.
- Alternate versionsSome TV versions edit the scene in which Ives is shot and killed for trying to escape over the fence.
- ConnectionsEdited into Return to 'the Great Escape' (1993)
Featured review
Credit should be given to the brilliant score by Elmer Bernstein. If you listen to it closely, it literally is a battle between the Allied Prisoners (flutes & woodwinds) and the Germans (tubas). The escape scenes with the little boat on the scenic german river is evocative of Wagner and his heroic Germanic Operas. The scenery of the German countryside and the Alps is breathtaking. I believe that the scriptwriters emphasized the heroism, humor, and character of the prisoners to make an uplifting statement of what is essentially a cruel and tragic story. As a child growing up in the seventies, our 7th grade glass was reading the Paul Brickhill book and we had the opportunity to meet a former (American) Stalag Luft III prisoner from that era. He had arrived at the camp after the Great Escape, but was placed on the monument detail for the 50 executed men. He said that few men seriously contemplated escape after this incident and the emphasis was on surviving the war and going home alive.
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- El gran escape
- Filming locations
- Füssen, Bavaria, Germany(motorcycle scenes; Gestapo agents chase Bartlett and MacDonald)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $4,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $230,637
- Runtime2 hours 52 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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