Rating: NR
Length: 172 minutes

Widescreen 2.35:1 Color (Anamorphic)

ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Mono
FRENCH: Dolby Digital Mono
SPANISH: Dolby Digital Mono

English, French, Spanish

It's 1944 in WWII Germany and in an effort to keep the number of POW escapes down, the Germans have put all the allied prisoners that are noted for escapes into one "escape-proof" prison camp. Of course, nothing is really escape proof.

This movie has great star power and a wonderful script. It is based on actual events that occurred in WWII, one of the survivors of the camp was a consultant on this film. Of course, Hollywood had to make the primary players Americans so that it would sell to an American audience; the actual escapees were from other allied countries. But, give MGM credit; they included an entire second disc that tells the true story of this large scale and incredible event.

They could have easily trimmed thirty minutes from this three hour film and not lose anything. Steve McQueen would not do this film unless he could show off his motorcycle skills, hence we see a lot of him on a motorcycle towards the end of the film; this could easily have been reduced if not cut altogether since it never really happened.

• Audio Commentary by Director John Sturges, Cast & Crew
• Trivia Track
• "The Great Escape: The Untold Story" Documentary
• "The Real Virgil Hilts: A Man Called Jones" Documentary
• "Return to The Great Escape" Featurette
• "Preparations for Freedom" Featurette
• "A Standing Ovation" Featurette
• "Bringing Fact to Fiction" Featurette
• "The Flight to Freedom" Featurette
• Photo Gallery
• Original Theatrical Trailer

This is a must for any fan of WWII films. If you own the movie-only DVD, give it to a friend and replace it with this Special Edition; the extras on disc 2 are well worth it. Just make sure you free-up about 5.5 hours of time; that's how long it will take to watch the film and get through all of the extras. Don't worry, it's worth it!

John Sturges   [The Eagle Has Landed, Ice Station Zebra, Joe Kidd, The Magnificent Seven, Never So Few]

Richard Attenborough - Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett "Big X"

[Elizabeth, The Flight of the Phoenix (1965), Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park II: The Lost World]

Charles Bronson - Flight Lt. Danny Velinski "The Tunnel King"

[Battle of the Bulge, The Dirty Dozen, House of Wax (1953), The Magnificent Seven, Once Upon a Time in the West]

James Coburn - Flying Officer Louis Sedgwick "The Manufacturer"

[Cross of Iron, Duck You Sucker, Hell is for Heroes, The Magnificent Seven, Midway]

James Donald - Group Capt. Ramsey "The SBO"

[The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Vikings]

James Garner - Flight Lt. Hendley "The Scrounger"

[Grand Prix, Maverick, Space Cowboys]

Robert Graf - Werner "The Ferret"

Gordon Jackson - Flight Lt. Sandy MacDonald "Intelligence"

[Mutiny on the Bounty]

Angus Lennie - Flying Officer Archibald Ives "The Mole"

John Leyton - Flight Lt. William Dickes "The Tunneler"

[Von Ryan's Express]

David McCallum - Lt. Cmdr. Eric Ashley-Pitt "Dispersal"

Steve McQueen - Capt. Hilts "The Cooler King"

[Bullitt, The Cincinnati Kid, Papillon, The Towering Inferno]

Hannes Messemer - Col. Von Luger "The Kommandant"

[The Odessa File]

Donald Pleasence - Flight Lt. Colin Blythe "The Forger"

[The Eagle Has Landed, Escape From New York, Halloween I/II/IV/V, THX 1138, You Only Live Twice]

Nigel Stock - Flight Lt. Denys Cavendish "The Surveyor"

[The Lion in Winter]

Jud Taylor - Goff

[Attack!]