The Great Escaper

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The Great Escaper

2023

1h 36m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

90%

Tomatometer

42 Reviews

84%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

In the summer of 2014 -- the 70th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings -- octogenarian Bernie Jordan (Michael Caine) made global headlines. He'd staged a "great escape" from his care home to join fellow war veterans on a beach in Normandy, commemorating their fallen comrades. It was a story that captured the imagination of the world -- Bernie seemed to embody the defiant, "can-do" spirit of a generation that was fast disappearing. But of course, it wasn’t the whole story. It was the story we all tell ourselves to make war and old age bearable. The bitter-sweet script explores the reality with wit and a very big heart. Bernie's adventure, spanning a mere 48 hours, also marked the culmination of his 60-year marriage to Irene (Glenda Jackson) -- the story celebrates their love without sentimentality and with an eye to the lessons we can all learn from the Greatest Generation.

Critics Consensus

Sweet without straying into sentimentality, The Great Escaper gains added resonance thanks to a pair of stellar performances from Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson.

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Nick Schager

The Daily Beast

Nov 23

If its melodrama is unabashedly manipulative, it’s not altogether ineffective at eliciting waterworks.

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Robert Lloyd

Los Angeles Times

Nov 21

Jackson and Caine wear their years proudly; there’s no vanity in their performance or their appearance. The couple’s eventual reunion is deep and real and, like their whole relationship, gorgeously ordinary.

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Barry Hertz

Globe and Mail

05/30/2024

While not remotely the best project of either Caine or Jackson’s career -- it wouldn’t crack the Top 10 -- the film is a slight but sweet ode to a particular flavour of Britannia that will leave its target audience in sentimental shambles.

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Todd Jorgenson

Cinemalogue

Nov 21

An esteemed cast helps this bittersweet drama about healing, reconciliation, mortality, and the lasting emotional trauma of war from drifting into heavy-handed sentimentality.

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Francesca Steele

iNews.co.uk

12/11/2024

3/5

Jackson is rambunctious without it ever feeling like the film is patronising Rene.

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Blai Morell

Fotogramas

11/08/2024

3/5

But... why do you want more when you have two acting beasts sharing that last cinematic journey together? [Full review in Spanish]

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Jo-Ann D

@Jo-AnninTO Jan 9

Good movie. Interesting journeys. Though why it has to ridicule those who believe in a life after death - it’s clear based on the movie that life is ultimately about love…..hardly physics - is beyond me. The industry seems bent on ridiculing those of faith. Sad really.

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Stephen D

@sjhdearden Jan 4

Although nice to see some of the older generation of British actors still delivering their performances this film would best be described as worthy but dull. As with many BBC dramas it seems to be aimed at a narrow demographic and the limited budget shows.

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Milan P

@TLPS71 Jan 4

Once upon a time this is the sort of upscale feel-good movie that Harvey Weinstein would have snatched up and turned into a sleeper hit AND an awards contender. In 2025, however, it's just PBS content for a Sunday night. That's inordinately depressing.

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Sharang L

@Scribe187 Jan 1

A gentle film that makes up with heart what it lacks in drama.

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Barrie S

@Barrieboy Dec 27

A good, heartwarming film with excellent acting from all the cast, and based on a true story. The horrors and memories of war are never forgotten by those who were involved.

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desmond b

@Dez65 Dec 27

I was worried it would be too sentimental. It was not and so rare to see A+ actors together in one film. Glenda Jackson has always been versatile from portraying Stevie Smith the poetess or in comedy like in Hopscotch, or in straight acting in DH Lawrence or films by Ken Russell. Sir Michael Caine and Sir John Standing simply superb too. One of the few films I have seen in recent years that I will happily watch again and again.

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Oliver Parker

Director

Michael Caine

Bernard Bernie Jordan

Glenda Jackson

Irene Jordan

Danielle Vitalis

Adele

John Standing

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Synopsis

In the summer of 2014 -- the 70th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings -- octogenarian Bernie Jordan (Michael Caine) made global headlines. He'd staged a "great escape" from his care home to join fellow war veterans on a beach in Normandy, commemorating their fallen comrades. It was a story that captured the imagination of the world -- Bernie seemed to embody the defiant, "can-do" spirit of a generation that was fast disappearing. But of course, it wasn’t the whole story. It was the story we all tell ourselves to make war and old age bearable. The bitter-sweet script explores the reality with wit and a very big heart. Bernie's adventure, spanning a mere 48 hours, also marked the culmination of his 60-year marriage to Irene (Glenda Jackson) -- the story celebrates their love without sentimentality and with an eye to the lessons we can all learn from the Greatest Generation.

Director: Oliver Parker
Producer: Robert Bernstein, Douglas Rae
Screenwriter: William Ivory
Distributor: PBS Distribution
Production Co: Pathe UK, Ecosse Films, Ingenious, BBC Films
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 23, 2025
Runtime: 1h 36m