63 Years Later, The Great Escape Gets A New Streaming Home

Published Sep 14, 2026, 9:30 AM EDT

Karlis has been obsessing over television and movie news since he first learned how to read. He has worked in tech, as a musician, and in journalism with a well-rounded knowledge base of pop-culture throughout the eras. He claims that he has memorized the entire Internet Movie Database, and to date no one has been able to refute this.
Holding a Bachelor's Degree in Religion and Culture from Wilfrid Laurier University, Karlis loves to examine the intersections of popular science-fiction and culture. His latest novel MASS. is available now on Amazon and examines a world where obesity has become a federal crime.

One of the greatest war movies ever made is finally available on one of the most popular streamers today. World War II has been the setting for all kinds of projects through the years, and has even resulted in some of the best movies of the 2020s. A complex time in human history, the period is rife for thematic exploration.

Some World War II movies are wildly inaccurate, while others do a great job constructing stories that are almost entirely true. Finding the perfect balance between these lines is where some of the most entertaining films of all time come from. While there is much to be horrified by in wartime settings, they also yield opportunities for great heroism.

Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds is a great example of using the period to tell a story that is wildly entertaining. However, that film also leans fairly far away from the truth of what occurred during that time, especially in its shocking ending. Finding a better balance between truth and fiction has tended to produce more lasting films.

This includes what is arguably the greatest World War II movie ever made, which is simultaneously a technical marvel and an incredible story, while maintaining a decent sense of reality concerning the war itself. This incredible 1963 project remains an absolute must-see, and is thankfully now available on one of today's most-subscribed streamers.

The Great Escape Tells An Incredible World War 2 Story

The Great Escape is one of the greatest World War II movies ever made, and tells the true story of a prisoner breakout from a German POW camp in 1944. While many of the details of this are fictionalized and sensationalized, giving the plot a much more American-centric bent, it makes for a compelling and inspiring film.

The 1960s movie epic was and still is a thrilling experience, packed with a fantastic cast and featuring some stunning visual sequences. Rife with tension and filled with strong characters, the film is an incredibly well-made piece, with strong music and a great slow-burn script. It even received an Academy Award nomination for Best Film Editing.

Best of all, The Great Escape is now available to stream on Prime Video. It holds up surprisingly well in all respects, and has been a massive inspiration for all kinds of World War II movies ever since its release, making it all the more worth watching now.

WWII Movie Casts Don't Get Much Better Than The Great Escape's

The Great Escape features one of the greatest casts ever seen in a movie of this kind. Steve McQueen leads the ensemble as Captain Virgil Hilts, 'The Cooler King', in one of the greatest roles of his career.

Looking down the line, however, even more beloved names fill out this stunning cast. Maverick star James Garner plays a major role, as does Brighton Rock and Jurassic Park star Richard Attenborough.

The list goes on and on. Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, David McCallum, and many, many more fill in the roles of this tremendous ensemble, and each adds something truly special to the film.

The Great Escape Still Has One Of Cinema's Most Iconic Stunts

The Great Escape tells a fantastic story, but it is also filled to the brim with great set pieces and visuals, including one of the best stunts ever seen. During a powerful scene, Hilts rides his motorcycle around the edges of the camp before performing a stunning 60-foot jump over a barbed wire fence.

The sequence was not performed by McQueen, although he did much of his own motorcycle driving during the film's production. Instead, the stunt was performed by Bud Elkins.

While not as big and bombastic as many such visuals produced today, the practical nature of this stunt and the excellent visual it produced were incredibly influential on the industry moving forward. This sequence helped to make The Great Escape into one of the best war movies of all time, and a film that holds up in many regards to this day.