The Great Escape (1963)

This Anzac Day weekend we celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the actual true event called The Great Escape...

Only three of the men managed to escape to safety, while 50 of the 73 who were recaptured were killed... an epic World War Two adventure, The Great Escape is based on an actual 1944 mass prison break from a German prisoner of war camp. Director and producer John Sturges goes big with an all-star cast and a running length close to three hours, and succeeds in delivering a stirring spectacle.

Tired of repeated and disruptive escapes by Allied prisoners, the German Luftwaffe build a new, theoretically escape-proof prison to hold captured airmen. But by concentrating all the escape artists in one location, the Germans create a dream team of the best breakout men. Dedicated to tying up enemy forces by causing the biggest possible distraction, the prisoners organize themselves under the leadership of master escape plotter Roger Bartlett (Richard Attenborough), who devises a bold plan to liberate 250 prisoners by digging three tunnels (codenamed Tom, Dick and Harry) under the prison camp's fences and into the forest beyond.