It’s a very traditional retelling of a rather amazing story: The Great Escape (1963) presents the tale of an attempted mass escape during World War II from Stalag Luft III, a German POW camp, by prisoners from the Allied forces. Led by Major Roger Bartlett (in reality, Bushell), they meticulously planned and executed a plan to drain the camp of 250 prisoners in one explosive night through the digging of long tunnels to a nearby forest, the latter of which were dug over the course of weeks.
The movie documents the methods, eccentricities, and, most importantly, the ambitions that men can conceive and execute on in contrary circumstances. In this regard, this movie falls into the category of inspirational stories that teach us to see opportunity where we may initially see only limitations. Another lesson is that of cooperation, realizing that while not everyone is gifted in the same way, sometimes those varied gifts together will help accomplish the seemingly impossible.
In the end, the prison break only results in 76 escaping before the operation is detected and shutdown. Of those 76, 50 were summarily executed (for movie purposes, as a group, but in reality in small groups), two more died during their escape attempt, three made it to the neutral countries of Sweden and Spain, and ten or so are returned to the camp.
But it’s a mistake to focus on the concrete results: it’s a metric-selection error. As Major Bartlett states at the beginning, he’s not trying to escape so much as open a new front in the war. At this point, Germany is desperate. Nearly all able-bodied men are at the front or dead, or they are members of the Cowards’ Brigade, as I call them, the Gestapo, the uniformed bullies who kept the civilians in line, and hunted down “traitors” to the Homeland. The escape diverts precious resources from the fronts where the Allies are hammering away, uses up precious fuel, even the bullets are becoming precious.
Did few escape? Sure. But the primary mission was, in reality, accomplished. And that’s what makes this story so interesting. It’s not the destination which is important, but the journey.
Very well made, and virtually overrun with stars, both matured and in the egg, this is an excellent story that can strain credulity – and yet it’s true.
