The Great Escape
Clip | 3m 31sVideo has Closed Captions
Host Cecelia Sutton reveals the many films who pay homage to The Great Escape.
BA-KAAAA!! Host Cecelia Sutton takes us on a trip down pop culture lane as we learn about the many films that pay homage to The Great Escape, including one of her favorite childhood movies.
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SATURDAY NIGHT CINEMA is a local public television program presented by KSPS PBS
The Great Escape
Clip | 3m 31sVideo has Closed Captions
BA-KAAAA!! Host Cecelia Sutton takes us on a trip down pop culture lane as we learn about the many films that pay homage to The Great Escape, including one of her favorite childhood movies.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Welcome to my web comments on the 1963 classic film The Great Escape.
My name is Cecelia, and I'm here to share a bit more about this historical epic.
Did you know that this film was so popular that many other films were made to emulate its greatness?
This includes, but not limited to, one of my favorite childhood films, Chicken Run.
Chicken Run, for those of you who don't know, is a G-rated version of The Great Escape, featuring a gaggle of hens attempting to escape captivity from a farm in which they will inevitably be turned into pies.
If you're ever interested in sharing the Great Escape story with the children in your life, this is an age appropriate place to start that does not include blood, war, tobacco, or alcohol.
But hey, I'm not here to tell you how to parent your kids.
I'm here to tell you that films like Reservoir Dogs, Charlie's Angels, The Final Insult, Inglourious Basterds, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood all contain references to The Great Escape, or pay homage to the film.
Even the likes of Seinfeld, The Simpsons, Shaun the Sheep and Monty Python include little Easter eggs, firmly cementing The Great Escape in pop culture history.
At the time of its release, The Great Escape was very well received.
Aside from a few minimally negative reviews from writers at the New York Times and Time magazine, the critic Bosley Crowther wrote, “But for much longer than it is artful or essential, The Great Escape grinds out its tormenting story without a peek underneath the surface of any man.
Without a real sense of human involvement.
It's strictly mechanical, with make believe men.” This critique of the film caught my eye because it juxtaposes my own opinion of the film.
From my point of view, the film does an excellent job at highlighting the interpersonal relationships between the soldiers, which is a necessary aspect of organizing such a grand and intricate escape plan.
Namely, the relationship between Willie and Danny, the Tunnel Kings, played by John Leighton and Charles Bronson.
When Danny admits to having claustrophobia, Willie proposes a buddy system and vows to stay beside him through their escape.
This, to me, is evidence of the human involvement that Bosley Crowther claimed was missing in the film.
What people really raved about were the motorcycle stunts performed by actor and notorious motorcyclist Steve McQueen.
Or perhaps you know him by his racing name, Harvey Mushman.
McQueen shared similarities with his character Hilts by having a background in motorcycle racing at the time of the filming of The Great Escape.
Not only did McQueen operate the motorcycles himself on screen, but he also performed all the stunts.
Yes, even the one where he barrels straight through the barbed wire fence on the border to Switzerland.
Three actors took turns filming the stunt.
Steve McQueen, Bud Akins and Australian motocross champion Tim Gibbs.
Though no one knows for sure which men were featured in the final cut.
One thing is certain, though, McQueen played the role of the German guard that crashed his bike after being sabotaged by Hilts.
A little movie magic and McQueen went straight from flipping the motorcycle into a ditch to riding a way to freedom.
While some of the film's details were fabricated for the sake of drama and intrigue, a few stats in the film are true to history.
67 men did, in fact escape from Stalag Luft two, and while 50 of them were killed by German forces, two escaped soldiers did successfully make it to freedom.
That's all I have for you right now, folks.
Tune in next week for Saturday Night Cinema on KSPS PBS.
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