sksolomonb I enjoy this film and the excellent acting every time I see it. I never had looked up the cast list before as the main characters comprised an all-star cast. I must say I am a bit disappointed that the extras in the film were not given credit, and I mean mostly the two Frenchman operating the café, the three German officers who are the targeted customers, and the three French Resistance members who machine-gun the Germans in the drive-by shooting. I would appreciate having the names of these actors added to the cast list because this scene is a favorite of many viewers. As the two café workers appear to be the youngest actors in the film, it would be interesting to know if they still are alive.

BA_Harrison Continuing my quest to re-watch every film I saw during my Christmas holidays as a youth, I now arrive at The Great Escape, a staple of festive scheduling on UK television for many years. From the rousing Elmer Bernstein score, which blares out over the opening titles, to the emotional ending, this is the perfect film to digest a turkey dinner over, a 172 minute star-studded true story of incredible heroism guaranteed to stir the blood (unless you're German) and thoroughly deserving of the adjective 'Great'. A testament to the indomitable spirit of man, the film tells of how the inmates of a German WWII Prisoner of War camp planned and executed a daring escape, digging three tunnels, which they dubbed Tom, Dick and Harry. After months of careful planning, this bold bid for freedom resulted in over seventy prisoners successfully fleeing the camp. Only a handful ultimately made it to freedom, but the sheer ingenuity and bravery involved was staggering (despite seeming far-fetched, the events that occur on-screen are apparently accurate). Superb direction from John Sturges and a brilliant cast ensure that the viewer genuinely cares for the colourful characters, which only goes to make their post-escape exploits all the more nail-biting.Highly recommended, even if, like me, you're not a big war film fan.

hypercomms2001 I have to say, I understand that James Coburn is supposed to be the token Australian. This is despite the book being written by an Australian, Paul Brickhill. His Australian Accent has to be the worst in History...! That is saying a lot, because I do not know how it is difficult, for American Actors have such difficult with our accent, when it is easy for Aussies to play Americans!

beresfordjd The Great Escape is a great film. The main problem with it is that in the UK it has been shown on TV probably twice a year at least since it's first TV showing - in fact it seems like more. When it is on I, for one, usually try to avoid it but if I do catch 5 minutes then I am hooked all over again! The cast is wonderful, a mixture of real stars and character actors. Although it is a long film the pacing is superb and the viewer's attention is held throughout. My favourite characters are played by James Garner, Charles Bronson, James Coburn,Richard Attenborough and James Donald. Steve McQueen plays Hiltz the cooler king in his usual laconic, comic style but I find it annoying considering American POWs did not make such a huge contribution to escapes like these. It was great to see so many actors from The Magnificent Seven (another awesome favourite of mine) back on screen and directed again by John Sturges - he knew what he was doing in casting.