The Great Escape

1963, Steve McQueen & James Garner. The setting is a Nazi POW camp designed as a holding place for all the allied POW's who keep escaping from their POW camps. Of course, the prisoners immediately begin plans for escape. This is more Hogan's Heroes comedy than serious war film, although it is based on actual events. What I find most fascinating is the 1960's portrayal of WWII, compared to any WWII film in the 2000's. It really is very clean and friendly. All the POW's are in their new-looking dress uniforms and are treated with deference and respect as military officers. The housing is suburban bungalow, and the skies are clear and blue. All very proper. A modern telling of this story would be more desperate, more grunge. It would also be a short instead of a full length film since the modern sentiment is that any POW backtalk to a Nazi would result in immediate execution. The 1960's Nazis seemed to be much nicer than the 2000's Nazis. Maybe this difference is the result of the transition to graphic violent and high intensity films in the present, or maybe it is the result of the cultural willingness/ability to confront what that war actually was.
3 stars (out of 5)