Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1988
The Great Escape II: The Untold Story
Buy The Great Escape II: The Untold Story now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
'The Great Escape II: The Untold Story' is a 1988 American made-for-television action-adventure drama film and a sequel to 'The Great Escape' (1963). It stars Christopher Reeve, Judd Hirsch, Anthony Denison, Ian McShane, Charles Haid and Donald Pleasence in a supporting role (in the 1963 original Pleasence had played Flight-Lieutenant Colin Blythe, "The Forger"). The film was directed by Jud Taylor (in the 1963 original Taylor had played 2nd Lt. Goff). 'The Great Escape II' premiered in two parts on NBC on November 6 and 7, 1988.
'The Great Escape II' is not a true sequel, as it dramatizes the escape itself, like the original film, but mostly by using the real names of the individuals involved; the original film fictionalized them and used composite characters. The murder of the prisoners is more accurate than in the 1963 original, with the POWs being shot individually or in pairs, but other portions of the film are fictional. It depicts the search for those responsible for the murder of the Allied officers, and the subsequent trials. The film features the exploits of Major Johnnie Dodge (played by Christopher Reeve), an American-born British Army officer and cousin of Winston Churchill, and largely follows his journey to freedom after the escape. The second half of the film is based on the postwar investigation into the murders of fifty of the escapees by the Gestapo, conducted by Dodge and two fictional Americans (whereas in fact it was conducted by the Royal Air Force Special Investigation Branch).
Plot
A former POW leads a special task force to hunt down the culprits responsible for carrying out the orders to murder 50 of the 76 escapees from Stalag Luft III.
Cast
Reception
The film was nominated for the Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Special award at the Primetime Emmy Awards.
Release
When released on VHS, nearly an hour and a half of footage was cut out from the film.
References
Buy The Great Escape II: The Untold Story now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 1988