The Great Escape (1963)

Director: John Sturges

Starring: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson

Allied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II.

I’ve been wanting to see ‘The Great Escape’ for a while, and now that I’ve seen it, I’m a bit disappointed. I’ll tell you why in the closing paragraphs, which will contain spoilers.

A Group of Allied airmen are taken to a new prisoner camp, and from the moment they arrive, they make plans to escape. Steve McQueen stars as Hilts, who is known to be an escape artist. However, he fails several times which sees him being sent to ‘the cooler’.

Bartlett (Richard Attenborough) then comes forward with a daring escape plan. They are to dig tunnels to the nearby forest, and about 250 men will be able to escape at once. The film follows the realization of this plan. This is a very long film and most of the film revolves in the execution of this plan.

And this is where I’m going to tell you why I’m disappointed in the film, so if you haven’t seen the movie yet and don’t want spoilers, stop reading now. When an escape plan is set into motion, the excitement comes in the anticipation of seeing them succeed. However, in ‘The Great Escape’ they don’t! Only 76 of the men manage to escape, but most of them are killed, while the rest are captured again. Hardly a great escape, is it? Supposedly based on fact, the film is however mostly fictional for the sake of a wider appeal.

This highly acclaimed film is also notable for its motorcycle chase and – apparently – the motorcycle jump scene. Let me put this in perspective: the ‘jump’ scene literally lasts all but a second, and isn’t truly all that magnificent. Back then I suppose it was, but looking at how stunts have evolved over the years, the stunts in this film are nothing in comparison. Even the chase scene, which was intercut between other scenes, wasn’t all that exciting (by today’s standards). Unfortunately, this is the problem with many of the older films: they become so dated that they don’t compare well to new films – especially action films.

There’s no doubt in my mind this film must have been extraordinary back in 1963, but the film industry has come a long way over the last six decades!

‘The Great Escape’ earned $11.7 million on a budget of $3.8 million. It received several accolades including an Oscar nomination for Best Editing.

Would I watch it again? From this review it should be obvious: no.

Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (1966)

Director: Robert Day

Starring: Mike Henry, David Opatoshu, Manuel Padilla Jr.

Tarzan battles a megalomaniac millionaire named Vinero, who kidnaps a young boy whom he believes can lead him to a legendary city of gold. Vinero is accompanied by his own army, including henchman Mr. Train and gorgeous Sophia.

Mike Henry is a delicious specimen. Any Tarzan movie starring this hunk of a man is worth watching, even if just to marvel at that great physique. Together with that soothing voice, he is a gentle giant (similar to Clint Walker). When not dressed in his skimpy jungle attire, Tarzan is a distinguished gentleman. Either way, he is a sight for sore eyes! Mike Henry is also – to my knowledge – the only hairy-chested Tarzan. Oh, and those muscular legs!

But enough of Mike Henry for now. ‘Tarzan and the Valley of Gold’ is an action adventure that revolves around the legendary city of gold. When a young boy who knows the location of the city is kidnapped by the ruthless criminal Vinero, it is up to Tarzan and his animal compadres to save the boy – and the city.

More often than not Tarzan reminded me of James Bond. His antics were reminiscent of the secret agent, and at times Mike Henry even looked like Sean Connery from his 60’s Bond movies. He was not the stereotypical jungle man as we’ve come to know Tarzan, and he had a wide knowledge of…well, almost everything!

‘Tarzan and the Valley of Gold’ is not always believable, but from an action adventure perspective, it was very entertaining. This is a good option for a family friendly movie night. Kids will love the animals and the call to adventure.

Would I watch it again? I doubt it.

The Wages of Fear (1953)

Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot

Starring: Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Peter van Eyck

In a decrepit South American village, four men are hired to transport an urgent nitroglycerine shipment without the equipment that would make it safe.

A While ago I watched ‘Sorcerer’, the 1977 remake of ‘The Wages of Fear’. The first 40 minutes of that movie were confusing and boring and could easily have been skipped. ‘The Wages of Fear’, I fear, was no different. By skipping the first 40 minutes you won’t miss a thing, because all the confusing mumbo jumbo during these 40 minutes contributes NOTHING to the events that follow. It’s best to start watching around the 40-minute mark with the crisis on the oil fields. Believe me, you honestly won’t miss anything.

The only way to extinguish the flames at the oil field, is with a ton of nitroglycerine, which has to be transported in jerrycans on two trucks. Four experienced truck drivers are selected for the job. The trucks have no safety gadgets or shock absorbers and the roads they must travel on are treacherous. Desperate for money, the drivers accept the job regardless of the high risks involved.

Over the next 90 minutes (that’s if you were to start at the 40-minute mark) we watch the drivers carefully transporting their dangerous cargo. It is a long and slow journey with many obstacles along the way. Unfortunately, I found the film just as slow paced as the speed at which the trucks were moving.

No doubt, some scenes must have been highly suspenseful and even frightening back in 1953, but not by today’s standards. Don’t get me wrong, there’s no denying this is an incredibly well made picture – for its time. Adding to the danger is the fact CGI did not exist back then and everything had to be done practically. This fact alone deserves the high praise the film received.

Whether a film is well made or not, I always rate it on the entertainment value (for me). Often well made films are not all that entertaining while cheap B-movies are. So, my final verdict on ‘The Wages of Fear’ is that is a well made film, and there were a few highly entertaining moments. As a whole, though, I found the film too slow. It would have been far more suspenseful with a shorter runtime, and significant editing, especially those boring first 40 minutes. The final 20 minutes were the best.

In French.

Would I watch it again? No.