Apologies to the makers of Saving Private Ryan, Das Boot, Cross of Iron and countless other great war films but this one is for the Brits only. Stiff upper lips, gritty realism and tally ho’s all round.
Film Description
It is getting close to Christmas so how about a look forward to the inevitable showing of The Great Escape.
A film about an escape by Allied prisoners of war from a German POW camp during World War II. The film stars Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Richard Attenborough. The film is based on the book of the same name by Paul Brickhill, a nonfiction account of the true story of a mass escape from Stalag Luft III in Sagan, which was then part of Germany. The characters in the film are composites of real men.
As good as the film is, the real story is a hundred times better.
Go an buy the DVD, less than a fiver, bloody bargain
Trivia
Donald Pleasence had actually been a Royal Air Force pilot in World War II, who was shot down, became a prisoner of war and was tortured by the Germans. When he kindly offered advice to the film’s director John Sturges, he was politely asked to keep his “opinions” to himself. Later, when another star from the film informed John Sturges that Pleasence had actually been a RAF Officer in a World War II German POW Stalag camp, Sturges requested his technical advice and input on historical accuracy from that point forward.
Charles Bronson, who portrays the chief tunneler, brought his own expertise and experiences to the set: he had been a coal miner before turning to acting and gave director John Sturges advice on how to move the earth. As a result of his work in the coal mines, Bronson suffered from claustrophobia just as his character had.
Wally Floody, the real-life “Tunnel King” (he was transferred to another camp just before the escape), served as a consultant to the filmmakers, almost full-time, for more than a year.
Best Bits
Some quotes;
Herr Kuhn: We have reason to believe this prisoner is the mastermind behind numerous criminal escape attempts.
Von Luger: [sarcastically] Squadron Leader Bartlett has been three months in your care! And the Gestapo has only “reason to believe”!
….
Sedgwick: Danny, do you speak Russian?
Danny: A little, but only one sentence.
Sedgwick: Well, let me have it, mate.
Danny: Ya vas lyublyu.
Sedgwick: Ya ya vas…
Danny: Lyublyu.
Sedgwick: Lyubliu? Ya vas lyubliu. Ya vas lyublyu. What’s it mean?
Danny: I love you.
Sedgwick: Love you. What bloody good is that?
Danny: I don’t know, I wasn’t going to use it myself.
….
MacDonald: Oh my God, they found Tom.
…
The Lego version is equally as good
And have a view of the real story
As you say an amazing story , and if your ever in POZNAN poland make a trip to the commonwealth war cemetery in the citadel , where sqd leader bartlett and the rest of the executed prisoners were laid to rest . i went lsat year , very moving .
Isn’t it odd that most of the best British war films are PoW stories? I reckon it is because they enable characters to develop and interact. Much better viewing than pyrotechnic extravaganzas whose budgets and health & safety constraints can never match the real thing.
Ice cold in Alex best war film ever made!
Great film, great scene with the Heinekin but I still think you would have to go a long way to beat Zulu
http://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/2010/05/best-british-war-films-zulu/
or
Carry on Up the Kyhber
http://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/2009/07/best-british-war-films-carry-on-up-the-khyber/
Then there is always the British version of the Hurt Locker
http://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/2010/03/the-hurt-locker-uk-version/
Great link to merkki.com, thanks.
Aside from PoW’s (wot no mention of Escape to Victory? ) mutinies are also fruitful subjects, from the Bounty to the Battleship Potemkin and the Caine Mutiny.
Talking of character development, it’s notable how a lot of the best war things are mini-series, Das Boot (sort of) and Band of Brothers being obvious ones. I’d love to see a mini-series of all the things that 617 Squadron got up to – I suppose it might happen in the wake of Peter Jackson’s remake of the Dam Busters.
I’ll also throw in The Cruel Sea.
But surely, given all the playing of fantasy fleets on this site, the ultimate TD film has to be The Final Countdown, the one where the Nimitz goes back in time to Pearl Harbor 1941. Who needs Top Gun when you can have Tomcat vs Zero :
I was refering to ww2, I would say best british war film.
Henry 5th (with Dear Larry)
Appointment In London is a minor classic set on a Bomber Command station in 1943.
A small point TD (Dec 12 2:49pm), i think you’ll find that the beer in question was Carlsberg. That scene from the film was used in an advert a few years ago.
Dambusters is head and shoulders above the rest with an honourable mention to First of the Few.
I have to point out that, as much as I would like to claim it as a British film, Great Escape was actually a Hollywood movie.
Very true ELesy, but how do you make the distinction, they are British in subject matter and that’s my yardstick