This blog entry is part of my “movie year countdown”. To read more about that check out my first Spout filmblog entry.
The Great Escape
Supposedly (I guess I like starting out my blog posts with that word) this movie was supposed to be a very accurate portrayal of many real life events. Yes they condensed many real life people into single characters, and they changed some timelines and orders of events. But supposedly all of the sets and environment were very accurate.
It just seems so hard for me to believe. The security is supposed to be so tight at these Nazi camps, yet how could these Americans sneak in all of these supplies and have all of these hidden rooms? Maybe it's because the word Nazi has become such a monstrous word that it's hard for me to think of them as real people, but the Germans in this movie just seemed so nice and cordial. I mean at least in comparison to other POW movies I've seen where prisoners are locked up in chains, and spit on, and shot at for laughs. They do make mention that the camp was run by the Luftwaffe which I guess wasn't as harsh as other divisions. Still to me, the movie kind of felt less like reality and more of a cub scout's dream of what it's like to be in the armed forces. All American chaps and their allied cohorts, making jocular comments at the Nazi's expense, playing with baseballs and baseball gloves, whipping up their own alcoholic beverages. It leads right into the straight up goofiness of Hogan's Heroes.
This is my first Steve McQueen movie too. And from the stories he sounds like he had a real ego. I dunno, I just don't feel too impressed by him. Maybe I'll have to see some of his other movies. I'd like to see if he can get a little more badass than this.
I don't want to complain about this movie though because for everything it does, it does it as well as possible. All of the acting, action sequences, writing and everything are solid, and the whole thing is enjoyable. It's probably the number one successful mainstream war movie, but you can't say that it really takes any chances.
Rating: 8/10