The Great Escape: The Untold Story (2001)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Well-produced story of the actual POW escape that is best remembered today for the classic film THE GREAT ESCAPE. Actual survivors Jimmy James, Alex Cassie, Jack Lyon, Colin Kerby-Green and Les Brodrick recall their days at the camp and their memories on the actual escape. Fans of the film as well as history buffs are really going to enjoy this hour-long documentary for a number of reasons. One of the biggest is simply the fact that the story itself is just amazing and something truly heroic. This documentary also goes into great detail about the events after the men were captured and how fifty of them were put to death by orders from Hitler. It's rather shocking to hear how these murders were carried out and just as heartbreaking hearing from some of their children and wives. The documentary certainly doesn't hold any punches and we even get a few reenactments from the interrogation of the German soldiers who shot the escapees. THE GREAT ESCAPE: THE UNTOLD STORY doesn't go into great details about the event but I think it does do a very good job at giving you the basic events that happened and it's certainly all the more impressive getting to hear the stories from those who were involved.
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Well-produced story of the actual POW escape that is best remembered today for the classic film THE GREAT ESCAPE. Actual survivors Jimmy James, Alex Cassie, Jack Lyon, Colin Kerby-Green and Les Brodrick recall their days at the camp and their memories on the actual escape. Fans of the film as well as history buffs are really going to enjoy this hour-long documentary for a number of reasons. One of the biggest is simply the fact that the story itself is just amazing and something truly heroic. This documentary also goes into great detail about the events after the men were captured and how fifty of them were put to death by orders from Hitler. It's rather shocking to hear how these murders were carried out and just as heartbreaking hearing from some of their children and wives. The documentary certainly doesn't hold any punches and we even get a few reenactments from the interrogation of the German soldiers who shot the escapees. THE GREAT ESCAPE: THE UNTOLD STORY doesn't go into great details about the event but I think it does do a very good job at giving you the basic events that happened and it's certainly all the more impressive getting to hear the stories from those who were involved.