Based on a true story, The Great Escape is about the largest Allied escape attempt from a German POW camp during World War II. The first half of the movie introduces us to the characters and concentrates on the escape attempt within the camp, while the second chronicles all of their attempts to get out of Gemany and into Allied or neutral territory, and the massive manhunt for them by the Gestapo.

This is a wonderful ensemble movie with an excellent cast. Characters such as Capt. Virgil 'The Cooler King' Hilts (McQueen), Flight Lt. Danny 'The Tunnel King' Velinski (Bronson), Flying Officer Archibald 'The Mole' Ives (Angus Lennie) and Squadron Leader Roger 'Big X' Bartlett (Attenborough) grab your interest, and in some cases your sympathy, as you watch them try and keep their morale up as they wait patiently for their chance to escape. The two moments that always stay with me are when "The Mole" finally snaps and when "The Tunnel King" admits he's claustrophobic. And of course I have to mention this is the movie with the famous scene involving Steve McQueen in a motorbike chase trying to outrace a group of Nazis.