The Great Escape II: The Untold Story (1988) (TV)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Directors:

Jud Taylor
Paul Wendkos

Writer (WGA):

Walter Halsey Davis (written by)

Release Date:

6 November 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Action | Adventure | War

Plot:

Allied prisoners tunnel out of a stalag, then return to avenge fellow escapees executed by the Nazis. |

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | WWII | Prisoner Of War | Escape | Sequel

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Christopher Reeve	...	Maj. John Dodge
Judd Hirsch	...	Capt. David Matthews
Anthony John Denison	...	Lt. Mike Corery
Charles Haid	...	Sgt. MacKenzie
Michael Nader	...	Burchardt
Ian McShane	...	Roger Bushell
Derek de Lint	...	Dr. Thost
Donald Pleasence	...	Dr, Absalon
Andrew Bicknell	...	Wings Day
Manfred Andrae	...	Col. Von Lindeiner
Martin Umbach	...	Pieber
Karl-Heinz Knaup	...	Max Wielen
Karlheinz Lemken	...	Herr Schmidt
Ron Donachie	...	Al Hake
Peter Dennis	...	Group Capt. Massey

Runtime:

Germany:178 min (2 parts)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:12 | West Germany:12 | Germany:12 | USA:PG (1990)

Filming Locations:

Yugoslavia

Company:

Michael Jaffe Films

Trivia:

The co-director of this film, Jud Taylor, appeared as Goff in the original, Great Escape, The (1963).

Movie Connections:

Follows The Great Escape (1963)

Blecch

I only saw this silly made-for-TV sequel in it's chopped-down 93-minute video version, and it was quite obvious that there were many things missing. On the plus side, I didn't care.

Where THE GREAT ESCAPE was a somewhat-fictionalized version of a true story, GE2 is a fictional story which only touches reality at odd points (and sometimes the oddest: the part about recognizing some Gestapo officers from a painting in a nightclub is true).

The real story of the investigation of the Stalag Luft III murders would probably have been a lot more interesting, but there might not have been a part in that for Christopher Reeve.