This DVD item from MGM (Video & DVD) was reviewed on 19-Mar-2009.
The Great Escape Reference DVD. Classifications : General Action & Adventure Genres DVD Video Charles Bronson Action Stars Action & Adventure Genres DVD Video Steve McQueen Action Stars Action & Adventure Genres DVD Video Classics Action & Adventure . Click the following link to view the cover of The Great Escape. Related topics: 1963-07-04. General. Action & Adventure. Genres. DVD. Video. Charles Bronson. Action Stars. Action & Adventure. Genres. DVD. requestid: f2fded1d-1178-4850-a17b-88b8b5d84009
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1) DVD DVD The Great Escape by MGM (Video & DVD). The past seven decades have seen the release of innumerable WWII films. A relative handful of these are truly great movies, the majority are products of wretched hackery, and too many of the latter are unconscionable fictions that have been unfairly venerated. "The Great Escape" is among the former - the film has firmly stood the test of time by the merits of John Sturges´ meticulous direction, a lavish production and an array of flawless performances by a distinguished cast.
The most important aspect of this DVD edition is its beautiful, vibrant picture, finally presented in the proper 2.35:1 aspect ratio after decades of claustrophobic pan & scan editions on VHS. The Dolby 2.0 sound is fine, if unexceptional; "Escape´s" high budget afforded it a 4-Track Stereo sound mix instead of the usual mono - a lavish rarity in 1963 - so I can only imagine that fans and audiophiles alike are waiting for a 5.1 mix on future releases.
As this is one of MGM´s earlier discs (1998), the menus are egregiously and predictably ugly, rendered in garish, clashing lime green, purple, bright orange, etc. However, they are accessible and easy to read. The titled thumbnail images of the screen selection menu are divided into 8 screens of 32 scenes, so just about any specific moment in the film can be located with ease.
The French dubbed dialogue track is the old one from ´63, and MGM were wise to retain it, as it´s excellent. The English, Spanish and French subtitles are also quite good.
Narrated by Miguel Ferrer and first released in 1993, the documentary "Return to ´The Great Escape´" is also included on the disc, and quite a few entertaining stories concerning the film´s production are told by members of the cast and crew (most notably Garner, McCallum and Sutherland). It´s probably for the best that this documentary was produced when it was, as few of the movie´s contributors are still alive today.
The theatrical trailer is also available on this release, in all its hokey, buttoned-down glory.¤ 2) DVD DVD The Great Escape by MGM (Video & DVD). As with all of my other purchases on amazon, I received my shipment early, and got exactly what I paid for. I would recommend this service to anyone.¤ 3) DVD DVD The Great Escape by MGM (Video & DVD). It took this 2-disc "Collector´s Set" - which finally offered a good DVD transfer - to renew my interest in this classic film. Over the years, it seems the film had gotten slower and slower and didn´t have the hold on me it once did. I guess I had become used to today´s faster-moving war films.
However, the excellent transfer has me "back," but it still should be noted it takes almost two hours before the "great escape" finally takes place.....and that may be too long for today´s audiences. I loved the last 50 minutes. That, still, was fascinating as much as it ever was, and I liked the earlier character studies of men played by Charles Bronson and Steve McQueen.
With stars like McQueen, Bronson, James Garner, James Coburn, Richard Attenborough, Donald Pleasance and James Donald you will get some characters you´ll remember for a long time. Regardless of the pace, this will always be considered on the best of the World War II movies.
Now, we wait for a stunning Blu-Ray version.¤ 4) DVD DVD The Great Escape by MGM (Video & DVD). This movie is so good, all around, that you can´t praise it enough. The talent both before and behind the camera is phenomenal, and elevate the film to the top rank of film classics. When you think of ´60s films, certain titles pop into your head. Things like "The Magnificent Seven,""Breakfast at Tiffany´s," the Bond films, "The Longest Day," "Lawrence of Arabia," "Doctor Zhivago," the Pink Panthers, "Bullitt," "Planet of the Apes," "Easy Rider," etc., etc. Films that kind of sum up the mood of the decade. Particularly for the early, pre-Beatles sixties, "The Great Escape" holds a high position. Everything about it is just so right, and so good, that you can´t stop watching it. It´s one of those films that you can catch while channel surfing, and you tell yourself you´ll just watch it for a few minutes, and suddenly, it´s three hours later. My experience, anyway.
Much has been said about the film, about the actors, and about what it did for their careers. I guess it boosted many of them to superstar status. Particularly McQueen. With that iconic motorcycle chase, how could it do anything but? While the film is a little fuzzy in the historical accuracy department- it was largely a British affair, as the Americans had been transferred elsewhere- I imagine it captures the essence of that POW experience. Much like "Bridge on the River Kwai," which also plays fast and loose with the facts, but still retains the truth of the experience. But truth really can be stranger than fiction, and you read real-life accounts of the war, and there were some pretty colorful characters then. As with so many other films made shortly after an historical event, there is a topicality about "The Great Escape." Just about everyone involved with it was really in the war, or was old enough at the time to understand what it was all about. Donald Pleasance, for example, had been a real POW, and I believe shared his insights with the staff on the film. And the early sixties wasn´t that far removed from the war- much closer to it than the film itself is to us now. I don´t think a 2000s version would be quite as immediate in that way. And anyway, what stars could do those roles now? There isn´t anyone who could come close to McQueen and company. And there would probably be the temptation to fake a lot of it with CGI. There´s nothing like the real deal, as far as I can see.
Anyway, five stars aren´t enough. But regardless of various "Best films" lists and polls, this one still ranks way up there. If the sign of a good film is that you can´t stop watching it, because it is so good, than it is at the top.¤ 5) DVD DVD The Great Escape by MGM (Video & DVD). This is a great movie!!!!
You get so much info and have fun at the same time.
You learn about the life style, how the camp was set up, the german line of command, how the escape was planned, much more!!!
In my opinion this is a great movie - the only thing that would make it better is if it was on Blu-Ray!!!¤ 6) DVD DVD The Great Escape by MGM (Video & DVD). In 1943, the Germans opened Stalag Luft North, a maximum-security prisoner-of-war camp, designed tohold even the craftiest escape artists. In doing so, however, the Nazis unwittingly assembled the finest escape team in military historybrilliantly portrayed here by Steve McQueen, James Garner, Charles Bronson and James Coburnwho worked on what became the largest prison breakout ever attempted. One of the most ingenious and suspenseful adventure films of all time, The Great Escape is a masterful collaboration between director John Sturges (The Magnificent Seven), screenwriters James Clavell (Shogun) and W.R. Burnett (Little Caesar), and composer Elmer Bernstein. Based on a true story, The Great Escape is epic entertainment that "entertains,captivates, thrills and stirs" (Variety).¤ 7) DVD DVD The Great Escape by MGM (Video & DVD). A stirring example of courage and the indomitable human spirit, for many John Sturges´s The Great Escape is both the definitive World War II drama and the nonpareil prison escape movie. Featuring an unequalled ensemble cast in a rivetingly authentic true-life scenario set to Elmer Bernstein´s admirable music, this picture is both a template for subsequent action-adventure movies and one of the last glories of Golden Age Hollywood. Reunited with the director who made him a star in The Magnificent Seven, Steve McQueen gives a career-defining performance as the laconic Hilts, the baseball-loving, motorbike-riding "Cooler King." The rest of the all-male Anglo-American cast--Dickie Attenborough, Donald Pleasance, James Garner, Charles Bronson, David McCallum, James Coburn, and Gordon Jackson--make the most of their meaty roles (though you have to forgive Coburn his Australian accent). Closely based on Paul Brickhill´s book, the various escape attempts, scrounging, forging, and ferreting activities are authentically realized thanks also to technical advisor Wally Flood, one of the original tunnel-digging POWs. Sturges orchestrates the climax with total conviction, giving us both high action and very poignant human drama. Without trivializing the grim reality, The Great Escape thrillingly celebrates the heroism of men who never gave up the fight. --Mark Walker¤ Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 16-Apr-2009, 0792838408027616668028, 080-DFB-9LB-PCB-FWB-M4B-RSB-8 
The Great Escape, DVD, Image © MGM (Video & DVD)
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