The Great Escape

[addo]

I know its now common knowledge that the film wasn't accurate. I remember one of the original escapees explaining this on Blue Peter when I was young and really into the film, which came as a shock.

But, its still a brilliant film and I still get excited watching it 33 years after first seeing it. We used to play German search light on the street in winter and soldiers (plastic and badly painted) till late in the summer in the gardens because of that film.

 

[BlueTrain]

Well, movies like that are entertainment first and accurate last. Yet movies often capture things that don't often show up in documentaries and as such, will typically have a lot of criticism because they show something in what might be an unpopular light. Of course, some are better than other and none are fantasies.

Some war movies that are especially good are "Tora! Tora! Tora!," which is unusually factual, "All Quiet on the Western Front," which was unusual in that it depicted the enemy as did "Letters from Iwo Jima." The latter told its story using a common device in Japanese movies of having the story being held together by showing it as experienced by two ordinary soldiers. Another very old movie about a POW camp was Le Grande Illusion. Supposedly Hitler wanted all copies of the film seized, possibly because it did not depict German solders of WWI the way he thought they should be. You might call it an attempt to rewrite history.

There are many others. One of local interest was Gettysburg. It showed a historical figure, Col. Chamberlain from Maine interviewing a captured Confederate soldier. He couldn't understand his Southern dialect, the same way I couldn't understand people in England.

 

[resnikov]

What a great thread. Would be brilliant to see some more photos of the area.

Slightly off topic. I was on holiday in France, staying in a the town of [FONT=arial, sans-serif]Port-en-Bessin on the Normandy coast. Whilst walking down the harbour I thought I recognised the area which was odd as I had never been there. I found out latter in the holiday from the Tourist office there they had use the town as a set for the film "The Longest Day" It was used as the set of [/FONT]Ouistreham [FONT=arial, sans-serif].
You could even see on one of the buildings where they have painted over the text they had painted on for the film.
[/FONT]

 

[salad]

What a great thread. Would be brilliant to see some more photos of the area.

I start a 4 week holiday from work at the end of this week, Next week I am flying back over to the UK but when I get back I will spend a day going round and taking photos of places that were used for the film and start a thread with this as there seams to be some interest .

However I do have a a few photos that I took with my phone over the last year that have a few of the film locations in , so here are a few poor quality ones until I can get back and do it properly .

This first photo is a view from the balcony of my first flat here, this is in the village you see in back ground when Steve Mcqueen is tangled up in barred wire after the bike jump



This photo is where the french cafe scene was shot



This is the actual jump site of the bike, I took this photo out the window of my car using my phone on a rainy day , I will get a much better photo of this when I get back here after my visit to the UK next week



Thats just a few there but I know loads of other places all through the town and surrounding land and will get a proper job thread done soon

 

[resnikov]

Cheers for pictures. Going to have to sit down with the film and compare them

 

[wingstoo]

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My Wife attended the funeral of one of the last "Great escapers" Squadron Leader Bertram A "Jimmy" James.

third row back in the blue uniforms (the one with the hat is my wife)

 

[rik_uk3]

Like with many films you have to suspend reality and just enjoy. The Great Escape as a film had flaws but its still a wonderful film; in my top twenty for sure (and I'm a film geek).

Any photo's you can post will be much appreciated.

 

[BlueTrain]

Not a P.O.W. movie but it still has prisoners: I'll take "Where Eagles Dare" any day over The Great Escape but "The Longest Day" is better still. "The Boat" isn't bad, either, if you don't mind seeing things from the perspective of the other side.

 

[Don123]

I have photos of The Great Escape locations which I would love to share when I visit FUSSEN on the 4th August 2014....regards, don j whistance