Favorite WWII POW / Concentration Camp Movie

What is your Favorite WWII POW / Concentration Camp MOvie?

  • The Bridge over the River Kwai (1957 - Alec Guinness)

    Votes: 5 17.9%

  • Escape From Sobibor (1987 - Alan Arkin)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • The Great Escape (1963 - Steve McQueen)

    Votes: 14 50.0%

  • The Great Raid (2005)

    Votes: 4 14.3%

  • Hart's War (2002 - Bruce Willis)

    Votes: 1 3.6%

  • Life is Beautiful (1997)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Men Behind the Sun (1988)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • The McKenzie Break (1970 - Brian Keith)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • The One That Got Away (1957 - Hardy Kruger)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Schindler's List (1993- Ralph Fiennes)

    Votes: 9 32.1%

  • Stalag 17 (1953 - William Holden)

    Votes: 12 42.9%

  • Victory (1981 - Sylvester Stallone)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Von Ryan's Express (1965 - Frank Sinatra)

    Votes: 3 10.7%
  • Total voters
    28

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It would be tough to make a movie about the holocaust that wasn't depressing.
I voted for it myself, but i've only watched it once.
 
I own it; last time I watched it, I made it half-way through, got called away when the first disk was finished, and never went back to watch the second....the ending gets me every time. "Why did I keep this? I could have saved five more...two more, just two more.....I could have saved at least one!"
 
Marcel said:
And of course the American escaping while it the ones that escaped were 2 Norwegians and a Dutchman.
Click to expand...

I don't remember who made it in the book, but I do know that it wasn't the same as the movie. In the movie none of the Americans made it (Although some of them were played my American actors.
 
You're right, in the film it was "Danny Velinski", "Louis Sedgwick" and "Willie Dickes" who escaped, I believe all Australian/British. But in the film there were Americans among the escaping officers while in reality there were none. Dutch ace Bram van der Stock who was one of the three that made it, didn't agree with the film, especially the story and asked not to be included as a character. His character was replaced by the fictional Sedwick. I think that sais it all about the film. Why the Norwegian were not include is unknown to me.
The book you mention is that written by Paul Brickhill? That one at least includes the right names.
 
You are right about none of the successful escapies matching up with the ones in the movie. I read the book when I was in high school around 30 years ago so I don't remember the author, but the title was 'The Great Escape' or something similar, and the book(from the school library) looked very old even at that time. I remember it reading more like a documentary than a novel, and many names were mentioned. I also remember that the last few chapters were about the hunting down of the Nazi officers responsible for the executions of the 50 prisoners.
 
"Stalag 17" and "The Bridge Over the River Kwaii" have been recognized as cinema classics for several decades and are in a league of their own.

"Von Ryans Express" is a great adventure flick, worthy of anyones film library.
 
syscom3 said:
"Stalag 17" and "The Bridge Over the River Kwaii" have been recognized as cinema classics for several decades and are in a league of their own.

"Von Ryans Express" is a great adventure flick, worthy of anyones film library.
Click to expand...

I always thought "Von Ryan's Express" was well done -even though it had Frank which didn't do a bad job. My only complaint is the very beginning: A P-38 shot down with smoke coming from THE COCKPIT POD!!!! oy!!
 
There's some good films there, but the Great Escape closely followed by Bridge on the River Kwai and Empire of the Sun.

I just read the true account book of Empire of the Sun, and certainly things seemed incredibly desperate and harrowing in Shanghai at that time. There were a few making the best of it in the city and in the camp, but on the whole it seemed to be an utterly miserable time for the bulk of the population.
 
Schindler's List should be required watching for World History in high school.

Here's a few more:
Escape from Sobibor (made for TV, IIRC, stars Rutger Hauer)) - based on the actual uprising
The Devil's Arithmetic (based on a book for young adults, stars Kirsten Durnst)
The Grey Zone (Steve Buscemi, Harvey Keitel, more) - this one punches the gut
 
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