John Brooks Taking this film as it is there's lots of fun to be had. It makes for a smooth viewing, a wild ride full of bumps on the road and unexpected developments. Whether you're particularly a fan of either lead doesn't make a difference here as it's a very solidly crafted film, with excellent pace and good dialog. It avoids being completely ridiculous as many such films do in an attempt to produce base humor for the masses, and despite being obviously on the parody side of things maintains a balanced compromise between emphatic comedy and story telling. The jokes find fit into the scenes, rather than pushing so hard as to leaking out of the plot.Of course it has to be mentioned the film takes advantage of the world war context to take a good crack at various clichés and make fun of the English, the Germans as well as the French themselves, and it's done pretty accurately with, again, a balanced effort.It's perhaps a little long for its own good, surpassing the two hour format which surely can constitute a flaw in the sense that: this is a lighthearted comedy, not to be taken seriously at any one possible point, and the goal being straight up having fun one doesn't so much care about the characters really or what happens to them as the thin tone of the film doesn't allow for it. The result of this is the ending tends to be a little overworked and spread on too long a final act where we all understand the main characters will get out alright and it's just a matter of how the film chooses it, like the viewer can feel like he's had his fun and "get on with the happy ending already". Two hours plus is a bit too much...7.5/10. A French comedy classic.

elvircorhodzic LA GRANDE VADROUILLE is an adventurous war comedy that breaks the political and military myths while glorifying the heroism of ordinary citizens. Of course, in a hilarious comic way. The aim of this film is, perhaps, to return a smile to the face of generations who has survived the occupation during the World War II.A Royal Air Force bomber becomes lost after a mission and is shot down over Paris by German flak. Three of the crew, parachute out over the city and manage to hide from German soldiers. They found allies in a romantic painter, nervous conductor, resourceful puppeteer and brave nun, who have decided to help the airmen in their escape to a free zone...This film has offered a kind of comic tension, which is closer to a Hollywood blockbuster than a European film. The scenery is very rich, while the photography is beautiful. The plots, although predictable, are very exciting. National stereotypes, although the protagonists are the French and the British, did not become a subject of comedy. That's good, because, a comedy of absurd is presented in an universal way. There is some truly hilarious situations as a homoerotic encounter in a Turkish baths, a spectacular chase, or a "fiery" night in a hotel. The characterization is not bad.André Bourvil (Augustin Bouvet) and Louis de Funès (Stanislas Lefort) are two artists, who are constantly in a petty-bourgeois conflict. Their struggle is the most entertaining aspect of the film.This is a very good comic contrast, which is, from time to time, complete with exciting action sequences.

giovanni-leonardi This film is associated to personal memories of holidays with family. My father used to take me with him to watch war films in the 1960s, and this film starts as if it is yet another serious war film. However, this lasts only one or two minutes, and the rest is a fantastic series of good quality gags that strike a perfect balance between the humour of its fable and the fearsome echo of the disastrous war.I particularly enjoyed seeing the effect of this on my father, who I have rarely seen enjoying himself as much as when he was watching "tre uomini in fuga" (the Italian title). We used to see a film or two per summer with many friends, and we went to see this in at least 3 or 4 years as this was the best of all the films we saw in those years.

Wu Huimin I've liked this movie since I was child,now nearly 30 years has passed, but I still like it very much! I've just bought a original french edition DVD of this movie. I always like french movies, they have some special characteristic that the Hollywood movies don't have! and commemorate the two leading role of this movie,Louis De Funes and Bourvil!The Chinese name means "escape from the tiger's mouth", once I talk about this movie with a french friend, at that time I didn't know the french name of this movie, so I just told him that the movie named "escape from the tiger's mouth", he felt curious and told me that he didn't know this movie!