Movie · 1963 · Adventure, Drama, War · 2h 53m · NR · English
Curator score: 9.1/10 (420.1K ratings)
Put a fence in front of these men... and they'll climb it!
Overview
The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocate them to a high-security 'escape-proof' camp to sit out the remainder of the war. Undaunted, the prisoners plan one of the most ambitious escape attempts of World War II. Based on a true story.
Ratings
Curator score: 9.1/10
IMDb: 8.2/10
Letterboxd: 4.16/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
Metacritic: 86
TMDB: 7.9/10
Director
John Sturges
Production
The Mirisch Company, United Artists
Cast
Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, Hannes Messemer, David McCallum, Gordon Jackson, John Leyton, Angus Lennie, Nigel Stock, Robert Graf, Jud Taylor, Hans Reiser, Harry Riebauer, William Russell, Robert Freitag, Ulrich Beiger
Where to watch
TCM
Curator Review
Verdict
A classic WWII prison-camp escape adventure that balances suspense, teamwork, and star-powered swagger. It’s long, but the procedural plotting, iconic set pieces, and crowd-pleasing momentum still make it highly rewarding.
Best for
fans of ensemble capers and meticulous escape plans
viewers who like WWII films with adventure energy rather than grim realism
people drawn to iconic star turns and quotable classic cinema
audiences who enjoy long-form, old-school studio craftsmanship
Skip if
you want a relentlessly serious or historically harrowing war film
you dislike procedural storytelling and multiple moving parts
you prefer modern pacing and shorter runtimes
you’re looking for a deeply revisionist or anti-war perspective
Overview
The Great Escape is one of the defining examples of the WWII adventure film: tense, efficient, and built around the pleasure of watching a group of specialists work a problem from every angle. It turns imprisonment into a kind of engineering challenge, and that procedural satisfaction is a big part of why it still plays so well.
Worth noting
What gives it extra lift is the ensemble. The movie is full of distinct personalities, small rivalries, and moments of camaraderie that make the escape plan feel communal rather than mechanical. Even when you know the broad outcome, the film keeps finding new ways to make the process entertaining.
Bottom line
It’s also very much a product of its era, with a heroic, somewhat polished view of wartime conflict that may feel softened compared with later WWII films. But if you accept it on its own terms, it’s a durable crowd-pleaser: smart, sturdy, and packed with memorable sequences.
Top Letterboxd reviews
sam kyker (4★) · 2941 likes
McQueen was great and all, but Rick Dalton is Rick fucking Dalton. Don’t you forget that.
Huge misstep by the casting team.
Will Menaker (5★) · 1111 likes
Many of my favorite movies are about how being behind enemy lines during World War 2 would have been fun and the essential class vs swag dichotomy between British and American officers.
What a cast. What a picture.
Patrick Willems · 1000 likes
I had only seen the Steve McQueen motorcycle scene before, and I’d seen that dozens of times because whenever that part was on TV my dad would call me in to watch it.
Now that I’ve finally seen the whole thing, Dad why didn’t you get me to watch the rest?! The whole thing is great!
A classic WWII drama with disciplined craftsmanship, tension under pressure, and a similarly iconic sense of men in conflict with authority and circumstance.