With the 106th pick, It's just a Flesh Wound, is delighted to be able to pick one of our all time favourite movies; "The Great Escape" (1963). This movie will represent our War selection.
The Great Escape, written by
James Clavell,
W.R. Burnett, and
Walter Newman (uncredited), and directed by
John Sturges is a popular
1963 World War II film starring
Steve McQueen,
Richard Attenborough and
James Garner, based on a true story about
Allied prisoners of war with a record for escaping from
German prisoner-of-war camps. The
Luftwaffe placed them in a new more secure camp,
Stalag Luft III, from which they promptly formed a plan to break out 250 men.
The film was based upon the
factual book of the same name by
Paul Brickhill, who observed the actual events as a prisoner, as did
George Harsh who supplied the introduction. Harsh, one of the few Americans in the British section of Stalag Luft III, died in 1980 at age 72
[1].
Featuring an all-star cast including McQueen (whose motorcycle chase is the film's most remembered action scene; he also did many of his own stunts),
James Garner,
Richard Attenborough,
James Coburn,
Gordon Jackson,
Charles Bronson and
Donald Pleasence,
The Great Escape is regarded as a classic and frequently repeated on
television. The film marked Attenborough's first appearance in a major Hollywood blockbuster.
The
march tune that serves as the film's theme, written by
Elmer Bernstein, has also become a classic, particularly in
English football.
Links:
The famous Steve McQueen scene:
"Good luck"
Theme music: