Return to the Great Escape (1993)
Return to the Great Escape (1993) This is a revealing documentary about the making of the John Sturges film, The Great Escape (1963). Director Steve Rubin explores the ups and down’s of producing and directing the feature film. There are numerous interviews of surviving actors. Most interesting is how Sturges and his actors managed to settle differences, especially as regards to Steve McQueen’s desire to be the focus of heroic attention in the movie. It shows how specific the set was created in Bavaria in that it really looked like Stalag Luft III. Although the principal characters represented the real escapers of 1944, albeit with fictitious names, interviews showed that many were composites of several actual POWs. The Stalag Luft POWs appreciated The Great Escape because it captured the ambiance of that prison camp. It is especially insightful on how well it was organized, the role of leadership in digging of the three long escape tunnels, and how the German Luftwaffe guards treated the Allied prisoners.
Robert C. Doyle Franciscan University of Steubenville rcdoyle@sbsglobal.net
