Watching World War II
action/drama “The Great Escape” -– based on fact, highly dramatized, three hours
long -- has a new, unshakable tinge of sadness that did not exist during my childhood
viewings. The entire principal cast has now passed, with Richard
Attenborough and James Garner dying earlier this year. The true story: In 1944,
250-plus Allied prisoners attempted the most brazen escape from a POW camp ever
known, with hundreds of minds and hands and three tunnels dedicated to
infuriating Hitler’s military machine. Director John Sturges has made a near
classic, even if it whiffs far too sanitized even for 1963. Attenborough,
Garner, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Donald Pleasence, and Charles Brosnan play
the master escapists. Two hours document the dirt and work, the final rousing hour
focuses on border runs. Pleasence’s forger is still my favorite hero of the
bunch. The motorcycle chase with McQueen is exciting as hell, all
stunts, no CGI. This kind of epic -– gifting character development
and attention to process -– exist no longer. In Michael Bay’s world, it’s all
flash and bang. Another sad passing. A-
Thursday, October 2, 2014
The Great Escape (1963)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment