The Great Escape was great but to call it great, one might think they would all get away scott free.  The team work was incredible and the attention to detail was remarkable. The team work is what made this movie so enjoyable to watch. I feel that this movie and the type of behavior is more believable than many others on the prisoners of war. Some movies or books would have you believe that there were killings and torture every day. This made more sense to me, I could be wrong , because I was not there.  I did feel they were lenient on the men that tried to escape. The story was so exciting and filled with suspense, they were so close to discovering there plans a few times.
           They had no fancy equipment, no surveillance videos, no weapons of any kind. They had good old fashion team work and it was worked to the tee. Every one knew there job and they did it with out an ounce of question or hesitation. This was the most enjoyable part of the movie. That same commradery that they served in the military was suiting them  as prisoners of war. They still had there pecking order and no one crossed over that line. They had such good ideas about their escape, there was so much to take care of and to go over. To dig a tunnel you will have dirt and where do you put the dirt, well you fill it in bags and put the bags down your pants and sprinkle it out while your walking. It's always interesting  watching  people work together and achieve something that seems impossible.
           I was waiting for them to make someone an example, they finally did when the Mole tried to climb the fence and they shot him dead. Finally it's a prisoner of war camp, somebody gets shot and now we have a fear of death in the air.  These men did not know what was going to become of them and the unknown is what made them want  to escape. I thought it was interesting how the movie portray how they were being treated. When the men came back from their escape attempt and the German Colonel had to tell the prisoner leader at that time that fifty men were killed during the escape. He was choking on his words and it appeared that he was having trouble telling him this news because he didn't want to hurt him. I would think they would say you see what happens when you try to escape, you will lose, so stay put and at the end of the war you will go home. At some point this was told to the men , they just didn't believe them and I can't say I blame them.  Escape was a common theme in this movie but they were only half ass attempts and they would always be caught and brought back to the camp. In fact this camp was made especially for those prisoners who have tried to escape before. This was a heavily guarded with several towers and barbed wire fences.
           The guards (goons) were always checking the prisoners quarters for any sign of an escape attempt. They were digging a tunnel that would go under the fence so they would not have to draw any attention to themselves when they started to escape, they wouldn't even notice until the next day. They decided to start another tunnel as a decoy and the day before they were to leave the Goons discovered the fake tunnel. This part of the movie was so exciting, they really did it well in the picture, I almost felt like I was there. The other part of their escape I was very impressed with was the forger who made every escapee a passport. They also practiced their German and their accents so they can pass through stations with a few key words. This plan was not just to get out of the prison camp but to get out of Germany all together.
           There plan as good and thought out as it was did not work., they were all caught or they were dead. They didn't get very far either. To be in a foreign country and try to get out with out being discovered is nearly impossible. They had no chance but I feel it was worth the risk. To stay in the prison camp for the unknown was to dangerous, the not knowing was the hardest part. At any time a higher up could  give the order to kill all prisoners of war and that would not be a crazy notion. I myself would have tried to escape for the same reasons, the not knowing. I would be missing my family and would be trying to get back home to them.