Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Kev367th on May 09, 2005, 04:55:36 AM
-
Watched the movie again after many years and it piqued my interest.
Found this site which gives loads of info including reality vs movie.Was actually very suprised how close to reality it was.
http://www.historyinfilm.com/escape/real1.htm
-
Yeah, several of the people involved were consulted, one of them stayed on location the whole time.
They added the Hilts character to get McQeen and to add the amount of Hollywood needed to make it a big hit. They added the rest of the USAAF characters because they were actually there up until right before the escape.
Despite what a lot of people say, most of the men who were really there LIKED the movie, and understood the departures from the actual event. They felt the movie was not a documentary, but rather a Hollywood movie, and they understood why.
-
The book by Paul Brickhill is excellent.
Charon
-
I bought the DVD. Found out that Donald Pleasance who played 'the forger' was a POW himself.
-
I think I have the book somewhere, it was a real good story to read.
-
There is one thing about this movie that cannot be denied ------> staying power.
Seems every month or so someone comes up with a thread about this movie. I still enjoy rewatching it every year or so. Was a great movie then and now.
Two movies of these times I remember really stand out in memory for me. They are The Great Escape and Strategic Air Command.
-
Originally posted by Charon
The book by Paul Brickhill is excellent.
Charon
every book i have read by 1st & 2nd WW escape artists have been excellent. if you liked that one likely you would enjoy The Wooden Horse[/b] & Free as a Running Fox[/b] as well
-
Thanks Bunch!
Charon
-
Not to hijack, but...
But here's a link I came across from a British soldier in WW2 that covers the fall of Singapore and his time as a POW working on the Thai railroad. A long read, very long, which is good because it's a great story...
http://www.pegasus-one.org/pow/len_baynes1.htm
Charon
-
Wally Floody, a Canadian was the tech advisor on the movie. He'd been one of the main tunnel guys right until he was purged with a few other notables prior to the break.
The biggest problem I had with the movie, and I do like it, was that they didn't really tell us much about Roger Bushell, who was Big X.
He's almost a secondary character in the movie when he was the driving force behind it all. His story in itself would make a good movie
Not directly connected to the Great Escape, but a story I got from a Spitfire XII pilot named Tom Slack who became a friend while I was researching the XII back in the 80s. He'd been forced down in August 44 and ended up in Stalag Luft III. He was asked all kinds of questions by the other POWs who'd been there a while and he promised that the war would be over by Christmas or he'd run the camp naked.
Of course it wasn't and he did, although he was allowed tennis shoes, a baclava and a yellow ribbon tied around a certain part of his anatomy :)
Typical POW humor
Tom passed away a couple years ago now.
Dan/CorkyJr
-
lol, i occasionally print thing out from the 'net & attach them inside the appropriate book. that will be one of them
-
Great story...but what a fantastic cast!
Sir Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, James Garner, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn (terrible aussie accent!), Gordon Jackson, David McCallum....and of course Steve McQueen...
An example of they truly don't make em like they used too....
Tronsky
-
I have one great book about all sorts of escape attempts.
It's called "Escape from Germany", editor Tim Coates.
It covers the great escape and so many others, mostly they failed.
My favourite is the "Wooden Chest" escape, but there were some other smart ones as well.
Some even escaped from Colditz, - dressed as German officers!
Anyway, some odds and ends from the RL of the great escape, and other bits....
- One of the ones involved was RAF ace R.S.Tuck. His luck was there, - he was transferred some day or so before the escape
- Only some 2 or 3 actually made it all the way back. Some 50 were executed, - the order was from Hitler.
- Some VIP's from the LW went furious about the executions. Nowotny for instance.
- Brickhill was also a RAF person, and a POW himself.
- The actor Denholm Elliot was also a POW.
- The famous actor James Stewart was a bomber pilot, but never a POW. Clark Gable was just a rear gunner.
Lots of material in WW2, wasn't it....
-
-
Another great book dealing with POWs is King Rat .
-
King Rat was a movie also
-
Originally posted by Jackal1
Another great book dealing with POWs is King Rat .
Yeah.. that one got me started on a Clavell kick for awhile.
-
Originally posted by Jackal1
Another great book dealing with POWs is King Rat .
So was "Five Years To Freedom" by Nick Rowe. From what I understand he was later killed by terrorists in the Philippines. Amazing story anway.
-
Anyone see the 2002 movie Hart's War staring Bruce Willis and Colin Farrel?
"There is nothing inherently original about Hart's War, and contrary to its promotional trailers and television advertisements, it is not a big war movie shoot-em up. Hart's War, based on the novel by John Katzenbach (which is based on his father's experiences in World War II) is a classic prison escape movie, in the style of Stalag 17 or The Great Escape. It is also a chance for a wider audience to see Irish actor Colin Farrell (American Outlaws, The War Zone), who wowed critics in Tigerland. Bruce Willis is in the movie too (he's the main character if people believe the ads) but this is Farrell's movie. Not a great movie, but a nice wide introduction. Farrell is Lt. Thomas Hart, the son of a Senator. This status keeps him out of combat, but he still ends up in a German concentration camp.
Colonel William McNamara (Bruce Willis, Bandits, Unbreakable), the ranking U.S. officer in the camp. The German officer in charge of the camp, Col. Werner Visser (Marcel Iures, The Peacemaker, I Hope...) split the camp amongst Russians and Americans. The Russians work for a munitions factory, while the Americans idle. To Hart's dismay, McNamara does not place him with the officers, although there is extra space. McNamara stations him with the enlisted men. To make matters worse, McNamara places two black officers with Hart, which inflames tensions with the soldiers. This leads to a murder, first of one of the black officers, then of Staff Sgt. Vic Bedford (Cole Hauser, Pitch Black, Tigerland), an unabashed racist. The other black officer, Lt. Lincoln Scott (Terrence Dashon Howard, Glitter, Angel Eyes) is the primary suspect. McNamara convinces Visser to allow them to hold a court martial, and assigns Hart, a second year law student, as Scott's counsel.
It takes a while to get to this point, but now, Terry George (The Boxer, Bright Shining Lie) and Billy Ray's (Legalese, Volcano) adaptation picks up in intensity. Hart must participate in a tense trial that he believes already has an outcome. He is not sure if McNamara has a bias against Scott, but it sure seems like it. McNamara also has a cordial yet tense relationship with Visser, which affords him a large amount of freedom. Visser offers his help to Hart, perhaps to annoy McNamara. Hart just does not know Visser's actual motivations. Hart also feels ill prepared as a lawyer, and does not have the trust of Scott. In actuality, McNamara is plotting an escape, with the trial as a distraction. This is not a spoiler, it's in all the trailers. Hart discovers this and faces a moral dilemma; is it right to trade the life of Scott for the freedom of other soldiers?
The main thing hampering Hart's War is its familiarity. Director Gregory Hoblit (Frequency, Fallen) does a decent job at keeping the courtroom tension high, and for a minute, it actually looks like the ending may be ambiguous. Willis' acting is a little too stoic to be of any use. He lords over everybody else, acting mysterious and answers questions evasively, as his character should. It's just not that interesting. Farrell is better, but his character is also on autopilot. He carries the movie with his role as a neophyte rising to the occasion. And just because the movie is familiar doesn't mean that it's bad. Hart's War is the same movie people have seen before, but it is enjoyable watching something familiar, even though the outcome is a given."
http://www.haro-online.com/movies/harts_war.html
-
Here is something of a more funny side to this.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060474/#comment
I almost laughed myself to death when I saw this one some 20 years ago!
Nothing beats La Grande vadrouille.....
-
hehe
(http://home.nordnet.fr/~chrpetit/photos/defunes/films/gde-vad/gv-321.jpg)
-
Originally posted by DiabloTX
So was "Five Years To Freedom" by Nick Rowe. From what I understand he was later killed by terrorists in the Philippines. Amazing story anway.
Hmmmmm..... I`ll have to check that one out. Thanks.
-
Stalag 17 was a classic in terms of POW movies.
Any of the books on Colditz Castle are worth reading too. What those guys did from the supposadly unescapable Colditz was amazing. Even had a glider built in hidden part. War ended before it flew but that they got away with is is amazing.
Dan/CorkyJr
-
Originally posted by Angus
I have one great book about all sorts of escape attempts.
It's called "Escape from Germany", editor Tim Coates.
It covers the great escape and so many others, mostly they failed.
My favourite is the "Wooden Chest" escape, but there were some other smart ones as well.
Some even escaped from Colditz, - dressed as German officers!
Anyway, some odds and ends from the RL of the great escape, and other bits....
- One of the ones involved was RAF ace R.S.Tuck. His luck was there, - he was transferred some day or so before the escape
- Only some 2 or 3 actually made it all the way back. Some 50 were executed, - the order was from Hitler.
- Some VIP's from the LW went furious about the executions. Nowotny for instance.
- Brickhill was also a RAF person, and a POW himself.
- The actor Denholm Elliot was also a POW.
- The famous actor James Stewart was a bomber pilot, but never a POW. Clark Gable was just a rear gunner.
Lots of material in WW2, wasn't it....
-
Book just came out called "Jimmy Stewart-Bomber Pilot" about his WW2 and military career. Looks fairly decent.
Dan/CorkyJr
-
Originally posted by Guppy35
Book just came out called "Jimmy Stewart-Bomber Pilot" about his WW2 and military career. Looks fairly decent.
Dan/CorkyJr
Ahhh, one of my boyhood heroes. I'll definately check that on eout. Thanks for the heads up.
-
I have the description of how the succesful escape was made out of Colditz.
And the glider, - it was destroyed by the townsfolk after the war ended, but rebuilt and I belive, is there. I think Colditz is a muesum now.
For gamers, Commandos II had an episode where one was supposed to get the POW's out of Colditz by supplying them with uniforms from the Germans. Completely hilarious.
And Medal of Honour has somewhere a MP map from Colditz, - and yes, the Glider is actually there!
-
Oh, naming Jimmy Stewart, one must not forget the flight of the Phoenix, - now that one was really good.
-
Originally posted by Jackal1
Hmmmmm..... I`ll have to check that one out. Thanks.
Colonel "Nick" Rowe graduated from West Point in 1960 and made the Army his career. When his country became engaged in Vietnam, he served there as a Special Forces Officer (Green Beret) and was captured by enemy forces on October 29, 1963. He struggled against the depravity of the prison camps, never giving up hope, until finally on December 31, 1968 he escaped his captors and made his way back to allied lines.
Sadly, he was killed by Communist guerrilas in Manila, Philippines, on April 21, 1989 and was buried in Section 48 of Arlington National Cemetery.
He had once written, "So look up ahead at times to come, despair is not for us. We have a world and more to see, while this remains behind." This is enscribed on his gravestone and is a fitting memorial for yet another American Hero who left us entirely too soon.
-
Originally posted by Guppy35
Book just came out called "Jimmy Stewart-Bomber Pilot" about his WW2 and military career. Looks fairly decent.
Dan/CorkyJr
That looks good. I've been hoping for some further info on Ted Williams fighter piloting than I've been able to find