THE GREAT ESCAPE
1963’S The Great Escape, the true (mostly) story of the 1944 escape of British and Allied airmen from a World War II German POW camp, has been (and still is) available on standard Blu-ray. But this Kino Lorber release is its first appearance in 4K. It’s a great, classic film, though at three hours, and often leisurely paced, it might be a little slow to meet today’s Marvel-esque expectations. But the details about the secret preparations, including the making of civilian clothes, the forging of documents the escapees would need, and the endless digging in claustrophobic escape tunnels, are all compelling in their own way. The film is also loaded with 1960s stars ranging from the immediately recognizable to “hey, it’s...it’s... that guy!”
Of the 250 escapees originally planned for, just over seventy made it under the fence. Nevertheless, the breakout kept the Germans busy for weeks trying to round them up. The last act, as the escapees try to make their way out of Germany, is nail-biting. But while the film’s final scenes take a valiant stab at an upbeat ending, the actual outcome was anything but, and that isn’t sugarcoated here.
Kino Lorber, a releasing company that contracts with major studios (in this case, MGM) to offer their (often older) films on disc, has done a decent job with this release. But don’t expect miracles from the audio and video. The 4K picture looks adequate, though the quality is variable. And there’s no HDR, despite the Dolby
Vision imprint on the jacket. (The Ultra HDTV specification only requires 4K for a release to be labelled 4K Ultra HD; HDR is optional.)
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack
(2.0 is also selectable), simulated from the mono original, is satisfactory, but only rarely offers a hint of envelopment.
The extra features on the included regular Blu-ray version make this package a must-have for those interested in the subject and who don’t already own one of the prior releases. Criterion’s disc offers most of the same extras, but an audio commentary, selectable on the 4K disc, is exclusive to this new release. As with the film, the extras run for nearly three hours and range from “making of” shorts to interviews with survivors. These interviews, often accompanied by stark dramatizations, are every bit as compelling as the film itself. Several trailers are also included.