The Coolest Guy Movie Ever

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A copy of this DVD is available at the Sherman Public Library.

791.43 COOLEST

The Coolest Guy Movie Ever:

The Coolest Guy Movie Ever is a documentary about the making of the 1963 movie The Great Escape, ostensibly, according to the makers "The Coolest Guy Movie Ever".  (You as the viewer can make your own conclusion about what constitutes the "coolest guy movie ever". You may agree or you may not, but that shouldn't detract from your enjoyment of the film makers' argument.)

The original film was released in 1963 and featured an all-star cast that included Steve McQueen, James Garner, Charles Bronson and James Coburn. It was based on a book by Paul Brickhill, which in turn was about a real WWII event, an attempt to escape from a German P.O.W. camp. 

(Note: See the end of this entry, where I will tell where you can find both the movie and the book. I would recommend you either watch the original film or read the book before watching this documentary if you don't want spoilers, although if you know a little of the history, you already know something of what actually happened.)

The documentary spends a lot of time trying to locate the sites where the film was made.  Some of the landmarks, especially the P.O.W. camp, are no longer standing, but many of them still are, albeit more modern. (Those traffic lights and the modern paved roads were not quite the same as in the 60's, but they are easily identifiable).

During the documentary there are some interviews with people who are, or at least were at the time, still living. A few of them are actually from archived interviews, however, even though the actual interviewees were, at the time, still living.  Of course, many of the actors and crew had long since passed away.  McQueen, who is one of the primary focuses in the documentary passed away in 1980, and thus was not available, as well as a number of the other primary actors in the original film.

The documentary is narrated by Lawrence Montaigne, an actor who had a major role in the original film. He played the role of Haynes, one of the prisoners who helped in engineering the escape.  Montaigne passed away not too long after completing the documentary and his name appears in a special list of dedications at the end of the film. Some of the other interviewees are people who around the set during the filming, including one guy whose father operated the hotel where many of the actors stayed while making the original film.

While there may be some who disagree that it is the "coolest guy movie" ever, it would be hard to deny that The Great Escape is not a great movie, despite the downbeat ending, which is true to the actual events, so that ending shouldn't detract from it's "great guy movie" status.

The documentary, along with The Great Escape: The Untold Story (available as an added bonus to the DVD of the original film) make for a nice pairing to accompany the actual original film.  As an amateur historian, the insights really appealed to me.

Note: The book and the original film are both available at the Grayson College library.

Book: 940.54 BRI

DVD: DVD 940.54 BRI

Until next time, happy browsing.

Quiggy

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