It's a classic for a reason. It's fantastic.

Splendid.

The Great Escape should be an incredibly upsetting movie of hardship and tragedy and it manages to incorporate moments of painfully hard viewing brilliantly, but the story focuses heavily on the unbreakable spirit of the captives in impossible circumstances. The characters and story telling couldn't be better and the plot is entertaining and uplifting despite the harsh environment. A fantastic watch and some awe-inspiring events from a shocking reality we will hopefully never know.

740

I was going to complain about how the overall tone of the first half of the film is too upbeat and optimistic: the score, the sitcom-like antics, the hard-to-swallow incompetence of the Luftwaffe officers, and the meticulous display of a seemingly infallible plan. But the endings for our heroes absolutely shattered my expectations, and made the film all the better for doing so. Despite the tragedy, it retains an inspiring "Never give up!" message. Garner and McQueen shine here.

Fantastic score and a great story. I guess all true stories are great that are turned into films with a big budget of course.