Advantages: Fantastic story, excellent performances, true to the real story
Disadvantages: Very few Hollywood action sequences

...Before i get in to the actual movie, i think it's important to point out that The Great Escape is very much based upon a true story. In World War II, the Germans grew tired of repeated escape attempts by POWs across the nation. As a way of putting "all their dirty eggs in one basket", the worst offenders were sent to a newly constructed camp; the infamous Stalag Luft III. Of course, what the Germans didn't consider was that by grouping the men together, they were subsequently grouping the very finest escape artists in the land. "For you, the war is over." A line famous as traditional German speech having captured a POW. But for these men, the war was far from over. Not to reveal details for those who've yet to see the movie, but this long picture (close to three hours) depicts the efforts of the captured POWs as they evaded... Read review

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Advantages: Some interesting additional material
Disadvantages: None Really

...The Great Escape is a classic 1963 film directed by John Sturges, with an impressive cast list, including Steve McQueen, James Garner, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, and stalwarts of the British Acting community such as Richard Attenborough and Gordon Jackson, along with Angus Lennie who went on from sharing the cooler with McQueen to become Shughie the chef in Crossroads for many years. As I doubt many people are unaware of this film as it has been a stalwart of the TV schedules for as long as I can remember it is not my intention to review the film in detail but rather to discuss the additional features available on this two disk special edition. Disk One This contains first and foremost the film itself where you can relive the exploits of the digging of Tom, Dick and Harry, the forging and scrounging, the camp break out, Mc... Read review

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Advantages: Thrilling adventure from the past
Disadvantages: none

...for everyone, even the younger children, as there is no rudeness, bad language or bloodshed, (apart from one or two scenes where escaping prisoners are gunned down, but then this isn't really bloodshed), and it may even be a little educational for the younger viewer… With it being a sort of historical fact based movie it does tend to be a little long, this one being around three hours, so some people may get a little bored, although once you start watching the time simply flies by… Would I recommend this…? Yes I certainly would. It is a great film showing roughly how POWs lived during there stay at the Hotel Stalag… depicting there day to day routine, showing how there chain of command never diminishes even though they are under guard from the Germans… It is an all round entertaining and some what educational movie with some rather... Read review

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Advantages: great film
Disadvantages: none

...Arguebly the best war film of all time. The great escape is set during WWII in a prisoner of war camp. The main aim of the film is for the prisoners to escape and flee to a safe area. The main characters are Hilts, Roger, Hendley. Firstly there is Hilts "the cooler king" as he was well known as in the film, because of his multiple daring escape attempts which did work but he was then caught the next day and sent to the cooler. Secondly there is Roger or the Big X, he was the man who organised the the escapes and did actually manage to escape but then he was caught and murdered in the final scene. Hendley or "the scrounger" as he was better known, got someone to divert the attention of the guards while he would steal something useful. The main escape plan in the great escape is to escape out of the POW camp via an underground tunnel... Read review

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Advantages: Beautiful woodland, great day out, potential team bonding, fun!
Disadvantages: Need to book, may get muddy!

...Der der, der der der der der, der der, der der der derrrrrr Yup you guessed it, that was the theme to the Great <