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The Great Escaper clearly plays on the World War II movie title from the ’60s, but in this case, it relates to a true story, albeit one I wasn’t aware of… then again, it harks back to 2014, so I probably did hear about it, and have forgotten since.
The 70th Anniversary of D-Day is approaching for veteran Bernard Jordan (Michael Caine – Tenet, who lives in a care home with his wife, Irene (Glenda Jackson – Elizabeth Is Missing). He doesn’t need to be there, yet, but since his wife does, he doesn’t want to be separated from her.
Alas, Bernard left it too late to arrange a D-Day trip to France, so rather than commemorate at the care home, he decides to hot-foot it to France on the ferry (reminding me of Jim Broadbent’s The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, earlier this year), meeting up with other veterans, including John Standing‘s (The Elephant Man) character, Arthur. Cue lots of reminiscing about golden days, the war, and with some WW2 flashbacks.
Meanwhile, Ms Jackson stays back at the home, and she’s as sharp as ever. The film, itself, was shot in September 2022, and she sadly passed away on June 15th, this year. And in the past week, Mr Caine has confirmed at, at the young age of 90, he’s finally retiring from acting. I bet he comes back…
However, as engaging as The Great Escaper is, it does feel very much like a TV drama, although Caine’s presence has clearly the brought it to the big screen. And the only thing we learn, is that war is a waste of life… which we already knew.
The Great Escaper is in cinemas now, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 96 minutes
Release date: October 6th 2023
Studio: Pathe UK
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 7/10
Director: Oliver Parker
Producers: Robert Bernstein, Douglas Rae
Screenplay: William Ivory
Music: Craig Armstrong
Cast:
Bernard Jordan: Michael Caine
Irene Jordan: Glenda Jackson
Heinrich: Wolf Kahler
Arthur: John Standing
Vicky: Carlyss Peer
Adele: Danielle Vitalis
Young Irene: Laura Marcus
Young Bernard: Will Fletcher
Nathan: Donald Sage Mackay
LCT Commander Parker: Ian Conningham
Young Tour Guide: Kiera Bell
Cyclist: Daniel Hayde
Susan Everard: Isabella Domville
Scott: Victor Oshin
Tim: Joe Bone
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.