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The Great Escape II: The Untold Story

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The Great Escape II: The Untold Story
Action Adventure Drama War
Promotional release poster
Written byWalter Halsey Davis
Directed byPaul Wendkos
Jud Taylor
StarringChristopher Reeve
Judd Hirsch
Anthony Denison
Michael Nader
Ian McShane
Charles Haid
Donald Pleasence
Music byJohnny Mandel
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerMichael Jaffe
ProducerJud Taylor
Production locationYugoslavia
CinematographyDietrich Lohmann
EditorsChristopher Cooke
Paul LaMastra
Running time178 minutes
Production companyMichael Jaffe Films
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseNovember 6 (1988-11-06) –
November 7, 1988 (1988-11-07)

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[1] (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

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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

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Release

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Home media

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When released on VHS, nearly an hour and a half of footage was cut out from the film.[2]

In September 2024, Film Chest released The Great Escape II: The Untold Story for the first time on Blu-Ray with the complete 178-minute cut. [3]

Reception

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Critical response

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The film was nominated for the Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Special award at the Primetime Emmy Awards.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ Carroll, Tim (2013). The Dodger, The Extraordinary Story of Churchill's Cousin and the Great Escape. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1-780-57606-0.
  2. ^ christophernguyen726 (2019-08-07). "The Great Escape II: The Untold Story: VHS Vs. Network TV Version". Bootleg Comparisons. Retrieved 2019-08-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "The Great Escape II: The Untold Story/Film Chest". October 15, 2024.
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