Discover the incredible true story that inspired The Great Escapethe Hollywood classic by John Sturges with Steve McQueen, broadcast this Sunday, November 10, 2024 at 9 p.m. on Arte.
Films about the Second World War are in the spotlight this Sunday, November 10, 2024. Indeed, while France 2 draws The Big Mopa cult French comedy whose plot takes place in occupied France, Arte is playing the action card with the broadcast at 9 p.m. of The Great Escapea classic of Hollywood cinema that you can also find on Arte.tvserved by the charismatic Steve McQueen. The latter bursts the screen and literally steals the show from his numerous playing partners like Charles Bronson, Richard Attenborough and James Coburn.
The Great Escape : the incredible true story that inspired the film
Recounting the 1943 escape of British, Canadian, Australian, Polish and American airmen from a supposedly inviolable Luftwaffe prison camp, Stalag Luft III, John Sturges is loosely based on one of the most incredible stories of the Second World War, during which more than 70 Allied prisoners of war escaped through tunnels on the night of March 23-24, 1944.Tunnels were the most common means of escape, even more than hiding in a truck“, explains the historian specializing in the Second World War Claire Andrieu to 20 Minutes. In February 2024, an exhibition at the National Archives in London told the true story of these brave soldiers who wanted at all costs to regain their freedom. A spectacular escape, with a tragic outcome for most of the fugitives. “76 people got out, (but) 50 of those captured later were executed by the Gestapo“, specifies Will Butler, the assistant curator of the event at Franceinfo.
The Great Escape : the birth of a movie star
Remember this memorable sequence from The Great Escapewhich remains engraved in the memories of all movie buffs: Steve McQueen gets on a Triumph TR6 motorcycle and flies into the air to escape from the prison camp, Stalag Luft III. From this precise moment and thanks to this emblematic stunt, the American actor, 33, rose to fame and became a true cinema star. Certainly he had already proven himself three years previously in The Seven Mercenariesbut he wasn’t the star of the film, it was Yul Brynner. After The Great Escapethe successes follow one another for McQueen with Le Kid de Cincinnati, Bullitt or even The Infernal Tower in which he shares the poster with another Hollywood icon of his time, Paul Newman.
