The Germans, "with madness in their method" have taken every captured flier who has made repeated attempts to escape and put them in a POW camp which they have devised to be inescapable. Under the supervision of Richard Attenborough, they immediately begin to dig tunnels to break out 250 men.
There are anhistorical elements here. There were four tunnels dug, not the three in the movie; the date of the escape was changed; most notably, several American flyers took part in the breakout. While Americans did take part in the planning and construction, they had been moved to a different camp by the time of the event. This was an American film, and director John Sturges had been trying to get this project off the ground for the better part of a decade before he and the Mirisches got United Artists to foot the bill, so James Garner, Steve McQueen, and Charles Bronson (as a Pole) got major roles. UA also wanted a shorter running time, and some women, which Sturges was able to resist.
It's a great, gripping blend of suspense and thrills, with some pawky humor thrown in, and a canny shift in camerawork. The first two-thirds, with its closed-in spaces sustains an element of oppression, culminating with the breakout, at night in the confined space of the tunnel. This is followed by brightly lit and open vistas as the escapees make their ways towards freedom. Because Sturges had directed THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, the remake of Kurosawa's THE SEVEN SAMURAI, I thought for many years this dichotomy was taken from Kurosawa's HIGH AND LOW. However, the latter picture was released four months after Sturges'.
170 minutes is a very long time for a feature film, and this was undoubtedly released in a road show version with an intermission. The natural place for a break would be right after the Germans discover the primary tunnel. Nowadays, when I watch this, I can take a break whenever I like. Even knowing how it comes out, it's a struggle to stop the movie at any point.
There are anhistorical elements here. There were four tunnels dug, not the three in the movie; the date of the escape was changed; most notably, several American flyers took part in the breakout. While Americans did take part in the planning and construction, they had been moved to a different camp by the time of the event. This was an American film, and director John Sturges had been trying to get this project off the ground for the better part of a decade before he and the Mirisches got United Artists to foot the bill, so James Garner, Steve McQueen, and Charles Bronson (as a Pole) got major roles. UA also wanted a shorter running time, and some women, which Sturges was able to resist.
It's a great, gripping blend of suspense and thrills, with some pawky humor thrown in, and a canny shift in camerawork. The first two-thirds, with its closed-in spaces sustains an element of oppression, culminating with the breakout, at night in the confined space of the tunnel. This is followed by brightly lit and open vistas as the escapees make their ways towards freedom. Because Sturges had directed THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, the remake of Kurosawa's THE SEVEN SAMURAI, I thought for many years this dichotomy was taken from Kurosawa's HIGH AND LOW. However, the latter picture was released four months after Sturges'.
170 minutes is a very long time for a feature film, and this was undoubtedly released in a road show version with an intermission. The natural place for a break would be right after the Germans discover the primary tunnel. Nowadays, when I watch this, I can take a break whenever I like. Even knowing how it comes out, it's a struggle to stop the movie at any point.