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I must have at least 7 home video releases of John Sturges’ classic, starting from VHS, but they’ve come up with a good reason to return: a 4K transfer with color and contrast grading that to me better represents the movie. The thrilling, not-too-violent escapades of Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, James Garner, David McCallum, James Coburn, Charles Bronson & James Donald are no longer timed so that everything looks like a washed-out high noon: both the 4th of July and much of the mad-dash escape scramble are meant to take place near the crack of dawn. In this case ‘Much darker’ is much richer; faces don’t get blown out. And I do see more detail in the enhanced image. So here we go again, happily.

The Great Escape 4K

4K Ultra HD

Kl Studio Classics

1963 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 172 min. / Street Date January 11, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 39.95

Starring: Steve McQueen, James Garner,...

Images from this picture were burned into our Boomer childhood brains … we actually sat still for almost three hours to watch it. John Sturges’ epic show is like a fine-tuned watch — its unbreakable story is populated by ideal characters that become instant heroes, just for acting like normal men that want free of confinement. It’s really about freedom — after two hours in the Pow compound, the fugitives set loose in the wide, green beauty of Germany might as well be escaping into a wonderland of light and space. In its own way this show made our parents’ wartime experience come alive — it’s The picture to interest kids in events of the past.

The Great Escape

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 1027

1963 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 172 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date May 12, 2020 / 39.95

Starring: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, Hannes Messemer,...

This year, The Great Escape celebrates its golden anniversary. To honor the 50th anniversary of that film’s release, we’ve compiled 50 interesting facts about the film, actors, the true story, the novel and more, and we’re giving two lucky North American readers the chance to win the anniversary blu-ray of the film.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment are proud to announce that The Great Escape will arrive on Blu-ray for the first time on May 7, 2013. Based on a true story, The Great Escape is “a motion picture that entertains, captivates, thrills and stirs” (Variety). In 1943, the Germans opened a maximum-security prison-of-war camp, designed to hold even the craftiest escape artists. By doing so, they unwittingly assembled the finest escape team in military history – brilliantly portrayed by Steve McQueen, James Garner, Charles Bronson, and James Coburn – who worked on what became the largest prison breakout ever attempted.