Genre Grandeur – The Great Escape (1963) – Encore Review 10 – MovieRob

For this month’s next review for Genre Grandeur – Bikers, Bikes or Motorcycles, here’s a review of The Great Escape (1963) by Me.

Thanks again to Todd Liebenow of The Forgotten Filmcast for choosing this month’s genre.

Next month’s genre has been chosen by Darren o f Movie Reviews 101 and we will be reviewing our favorite Movies That Take Place in Mexico.

Please get me your submissions by the 25th of Sep by sending them to Mexico@movierob.net

Try to think out of the box!

Let’s see what I thought of this movie:

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“Colin’s not a blind man as long as he’s with me. And he’s going with me!” – Hendley

Number of Times Seen – Too many to count (cable, video, DVD, 15 May 2001, 29 Oct 2013, 1 Jan 2015, 11 Jan 2018, 26 Sep 2019, 20 Apr 2020, 10 Jan 2021, 4 Jul 2021, 27 Feb 2022, 6 Jul 2022, 15 Apr 2023 and 30 Aug 2023)

Link to original review – Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here and Here

Brief Synopsis – A group of Allied POW’s captured by the Germans during World War II, attempt a daring escape.

My Take on it – This should come as no surprise to anyone that knows me that this is among my choices for favorite film in this genre. I have done a 175 episode podcast breaking this film down minute by minute and even managed to interview one of the three surviving cast members; David McCallum. The motorcycle scene in this film is among the most iconic scenes in film history and despite being so far from really happening, Steve McQueen does an amazing job showing his character’s disdain for the rules. The story is based on fact, yet most of the characters are amalgamations of the real men who performed this escape. The Hollywoodicized version of the story is extremely entertaining and manages to still remain hopeful despite being about a failed escape attempt. The cast is superb and they do a wonderful job giving each of them a unique kind of persona which helps them all stand out. The music by Elmer Bernstein is iconic and quite catchy even after 60 years.

Highly Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Steve McQueen also personally attempted the jump across the border fence, but crashed. The jump was successfully performed by Bud Ekins. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (10/10) (no change from original review)