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The Great Escape

The Great Escape

Adventure · Drama · War · 1963

The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocate them to a high-security 'escape-proof' camp to sit out the remainder of the war. Undaunted, the prisoners plan one of the most ambitious escape attempts of World War II. Based on a true story.

Movie details

The Great Escape

“Put a fence in front of these men... and they'll climb it!”

1963 Adventure · Drama · War 2h 53m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

8.2 / 10

276.1K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

94 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

86 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

7.9 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocate them to a high-security 'escape-proof' camp to sit out the remainder of the war. Undaunted, the prisoners plan one of the most ambitious escape attempts of World War II. Based on a true story.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Great Escape?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Guns of Navarone

The Guns of Navarone

Adventure · 1961

A team of allied saboteurs are assigned an impossible mission: infiltrate an impregnable Nazi-held island and destroy the two enormous long-range field guns that prevent the rescue of 2,000 trapped British soldiers.

Rescue Dawn

Rescue Dawn

Adventure · 2007

A US Fighter pilot's epic struggle of survival after being shot down on a mission over Laos during the Vietnam War.

Seven Years in Tibet

Seven Years in Tibet

Adventure · 1997

Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer journeys to the Himalayas without his family to head an expedition in 1939. But when World War II breaks out, the arrogant Harrer falls into Allied forces' hands as a prisoner of war. He escapes with a fellow detainee and makes his way to Lhasa, Tibet, where he meets the 14-year-old Dalai Lama, whose friendship ultimately transforms his outlook on life.

The Way Back

The Way Back

Drama · 2010

A small band of multicultural convicts stages a daring escape from a WWII-era Siberian gulag, and embarks on a treacherous journey across five countries in a desperate race for freedom and survival.

Passage to Marseille

Passage to Marseille

Adventure · 1944

A freedom-loving French journalist sacrifices his happiness and security to battle Nazi tyranny.

All Quiet on the Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front

Drama · 1930

When a group of idealistic young men join the German Army during the Great War, they are assigned to the Western Front, where their patriotism is destroyed by the harsh realities of combat.

Escape to Victory

Escape to Victory

Drama · 1981

A group of POWs in a German prison camp during World War II play the German National Soccer Team in this powerful film depicting the role of prisoners during wartime.

The Count of Monte Cristo

The Count of Monte Cristo

Adventure · 2002

Young sailor Edmond Dantès is wrongfully imprisoned, escapes, finds treasure, and reinvents himself as the wealthy Count of Monte Cristo to exact revenge on those who betrayed him.

Where Eagles Dare

Where Eagles Dare

Adventure · 1968

World War II is raging, and an American general has been captured and is being held hostage in the Schloss Adler, a Bavarian castle that's nearly impossible to breach. It's up to a group of skilled Allied soldiers to liberate the general before it's too late.

The Bunker

The Bunker

War · 1981

Dramatization depicting the events surrounding Adolf Hitler's last weeks in and around his underground bunker in Berlin before and during the battle for the city.

Where it lives

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Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Sturges

Written by

James Clavell · W.R. Burnett

Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen

Hilts 'The Cooler King'

James Garner

James Garner

Hendley 'The Scrounger'

Richard Attenborough

Richard Attenborough

Bartlett 'Big X'

James Donald

James Donald

Ramsey 'The SBO'

Charles Bronson

Charles Bronson

Danny 'Tunnel King'

Donald Pleasence

Donald Pleasence

Blythe 'The Forger'

James Coburn

James Coburn

Sedgwick 'Manufacturer'

Court is in session

Put The Great Escape on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.