History Film / TheGreatEscape

* AntiVillain: Von Luger. He is the main villain the organization has to overcome to escape, but he has no real animosity towards them or any real love for the Nazi cause. He would much prefer that they all sit out the war comfortably, but as much as its the officers' duty to escape, it's his own [[PunchClockVillain to contain them]]. [[spoiler:When he hears about the 50 men who were killed in cold blood, he's visibly ashamed as he gives the news to Ramsey.]]

The film is largely a work of fiction, though a number of details about the preparations for the escape are fairly accurate. [[ExecutiveMeddling meddling executives]] added a historical American character, and, for security reasons, omitted all mention of the help the escapees received from outside the camp. It also contains a series of continuity errors relating to the real-life segregation of American prisoners part-way through the tunnel digging; Hilts is given a couple of lines which are references to this (based on the book) while he, for no explained reason, is left there. The other American prisoners do not appear, so the whole thread is meaningless in context.

* ForWantOfANail: Tom gets discovered because Werner helps himself to a cup of coffee and then spills it, revealing that there is drainage in that room that shouldn't have been there.

A [[VideoGame/TheGreatEscape video game]] based on the movie came out in 2003 for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, PC and Xbox,. It managed to maintain a small cult following. There was also a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Escape_(1986_video_game) 1986]] [[https://youtu.be/YKNzSiiyN8g game]] from the 8-bit computer era which didn't really follow the movie plot, but has the distinction of being considered one of the best games for the ZX Spectrum.

** The movie also removes a large amount of help the prisoners obtained from the Allied Intelligence services, which sneaked information and some gear through the Red Cross care packages. Some of this information was classified at the time the movie was made. The real POWs also requested the filmmakers to leave out a lot of such information to ensure that future real life escape attempts wouldn't be thwarted.

* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: After his second stay in the Cooler, Hilts goes to tell Roger and MacDonald about his next plan to escape. During their conversation, Hilts address Roger as "Squadron Leader", before the latter tells him his actual name. In addition, when Roger asks Hilts about his first name, Hilts asks to be addressed by his surname.

* DiedInYourArmsTonight: Blythe's death. After he's shot, he lays on the ground while Hendley hurries over to him. After telling the approaching Germans not to shoot, Hendley takes Colin in his arms, the latter who expires as the Germans reach the top of the hill.

* PointOfNoReturn: When informed that the tunnel is twenty feet short, Mac proposes that they wait until they reach the woods. However, Roger says that because of the documents being dated for that specific date, there's no turning back.