For those who like the film, what makes The Great Escape so great for you?

Steve McQueen and his motorcycle riding towards the end.

^ That. So much THAT. And his unconquerable attitude. And his baseball.

It was the cleverness and bravery of the prisoners to dig a tunnel and get so many out right under the noses of the Nazis. Steve McQueen wasn’t even the highlight except the motorcycle jump. I always liked the James Gardner character the best.

My fondness for the movie echoes @zenvelo in that the brazenness of the POW’s to dig that tunnel and get away with it was awesome. Truly and on the edge of your seat movie…but for me it was the stellar direction of the movie that poignantly showed just how much duty and freedom meant to these soldiers. Each one that sprang from that tunnel just a hundred feet from freedom who was cut down in their dash to freedom was agonizing to watch but made the movie that more compelling.

I liked the camaraderie among the men.

Coincidentally, just today I heard a fascinating piece on NPR narrated by one of the remaining men upon whose true-life escape was the basis for the movie.

I saw a documentary a couple of years ago which showed some of the guys who’d returned to the scene. They looked down into what was then an open trench which exposed their work. The men just looked down in amazement and commented that they couldn’t imagine how they ever made it. It was obviously a very emotional visit for them.

What made the escape great was their bravery, their planning, their PATIENCE. It would have been easy to make mistakes from impatience to be free. They knew they would not all make it to freedom. They knew the attempt was a huge risk. They gave it a go anyway.

What made the movie about the escape so great was the casting, the mix of Hollywood drama with the attempt to be as real as possible, and the special feeling I got when the poor blind fellow got his chance too. So sad he didn’t make it.

I like the fact that the movie was based on real events. I’m a fan of movies having to do with actual occurrences and circumstances.

Cheers guys, we few, we happy few!
As my link said, yesterday March 24 marked the 70th anniversary of the night of the escape, @Pachy that was no coincidence. I hope you took the time to read that link, it’s a good little piece.
Personally, I loved McQueen throughout the film, Hilts was such a cool character, stole the movie.

@ucme, you’re right, no coincidence. Darn, I should have checked the link first. Thanks for sharing.

@Pachy That’s okay, remembering that the fifty who were murdered by the gestapo puts things into perspective.

I did not realize they made a movie about my divorce

^^ No wonder it ended bad, 76 men entered her when no one was looking…shocking behaviour.