The Great Escape - Special Edition

Last week I watched an engrossing NOVA documentary on the real life events that the film The Great Escape was based on. A team of historians found the site of the prison camp and excavated - and found the tunnels! What I found particularly poignant was that 3 of the surviving prisoners were brought out to the site. My soon-to-be 7 year old son came into the room and when I explained to him what I was watching he watched it with me, and was completely engrossed. After about 10 minutes he asked if it was true and I told him that yes it was, that it had really happened 60 years ago. I highly recommend watching or purchasing this documentary.

Because of the documentary over the weekend I purchased the Special Edition version of the classic 1963 film The Great Escape. I haven't seen the film in years, and I watched about half of it last night. I'd forgotten what a great film this is. What's more, it did the real life story justice.
And they don't make 'em like Steve McQueen anymore!

Pete -

You wrote:

A team of historians found the site of the prison camp and excavated - and found the tunnels!
What I found particularly poignant was that 3 of the surviving prisoners were brought out to the site.

For a moment, I thought you were going to say they were brought out of the tunnels !

Now that would have been a sight to see.................

Yes, I've seen the documentary [or one very like it].

Good to read that the youngsters are still interested in this sort of thing !

Pete,
It was a great documentary and the film, of course, is a classic. There are some very interesting features on the second DVD, many along the same lines as the documentary you saw. This is one of all-time my favorite special edition DVD's.

Tom

I saw and really enjoyed that documentary a little while ago. Oddly enough, it also inspired me to purchase the SE DVD. I hadn't seen it since I was a kid, so seeing it again made me realise what all the fuss is about. Classic movie

"Good Luck"
"Thanks"
Doh

That was the doc on channel five...god the amount of sand they dug just to get to one of them was amazing.

I love The Great Escape.
first saw it in '85, rented it - had 2 tapes.

History Channel's History vs Hollywood shows it with a documentary and commentaries about it.

I loved in the movie Resevoir Dogs when Tarrantino is describing the true meaning of a Madonna song and he refers to Charles Bronson.

Pete -

The Great Escape - SE:

Is there an alternative ending in which Steve McQueen gets away ?

Well, there should be !

Does he don wire cutters?

Carolyn -

Do you remember the weak, ineffectual, bespectacled, little loser of a character played by Donald Pleasance, who went blind ?

It seems whenever there is a character like that he is always called Colin !

Seems I was named against type !

Carolyn: Colin Powell.
Colin (B, not Powell): Look on the bright side. McQueen lives at the end of The Great Escape. And he does escape in Papillon!

Peter -

Colin Powell ?

He can't even pronounce it right !

Well, yeah, in real-life we Colin's are OK.

It's the fictional ones who are all the same !

Are you sure Steve got away in Papillon ?

That raft thing looked a little unsteady to me.

Are you sure Steve got away in Papillon ?

That raft thing looked a little unsteady to me.

Colin -
I hear you! I think I would've elected to live out the rest of my days gardening with Dustin/Dega and Freddie the pig rather than risk the shark-infested waters on a flimsy looking sack of coconuts!

But, if memory serves, before the film's end credits there's a bit that says he made it. And the film was based upon the real-life exploits of Henri Charriere as written in his book (Charriere also wrote a follow-up). However, some have questioned the veracity of Charriere's account.

Pete -

You wrote:

However, some have questioned the veracity of Charriere's account

.

Yeah, and some aren't sure it's true.

I remember reading the book, and it was written while he was still out in the vicinity of Devil's Island [although 'free'].

He was still trying to get back to France.

Pete -

You wrote:

However, some have questioned the veracity of Charriere's account

.

Yeah, and some aren't sure it's true.

I remember reading the book, and it was written while he was still out in the vicinity of Devil's Island [although 'free'].

He was still trying to get back to France.

Colin-
Given the current state of France if Charriere was still alive today he'd probably break out the coconut sack and head BACK to Devil's Island!