Blu-ray

No matter how many times you've sat through it on TV on Boxing Day afternoons, The Great Escape's combination of an unbeatable ensemble cast, inspirational true-story origin and that motorbike stunt ensure its place as one of the greatest WWII adventures ever filmed. Don't argue.

Picture: In the build-up to its release, there was lots of talk about this Blu-ray release being based on a 4K scan of the film. However, what nobody thought to ask – and what MGM has been reticent to answer – is what exactly it was a scan of. Because, having seen the disc projected on a ten-foot wide screen, it's impossible to believe that it was a scan of the original camera negatives.

While it's far from being the complete disaster some have made it out to be, it's obvious this AVC 2.35:1 1080p encode doesn't present the film in its best light. Admittedly, there are a lot of optical dissolves in the movie that would automatically effect the image quality, but even that doesn't account for the poorly resolved grain or the softness inherent throughout the image.

There's also a serious issue with the overall consistency of the encode. Image quality varies significantly (the worst offender being the 4th of July celebrations in Chapters 18 and 19), almost as if various different source elements – some many generations removed from the original negatives – had been stitched together.

With all of this in mind, as we said at the top, it's not a disaster. The film is still completely watchable – particularly on screen sizes under 50in, where many of the problems may go unnoticed. However, when compared to the kind of restorations classic films have been treated to on Blu-ray, it feels like a missed opportunity.
Picture rating: 2.5/5

Audio: The Great Escape hits Blu-ray with a DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack that we imagine is not too far removed from the film's original four-track stereo mix. Most of the audio is focused on the front soundstage, with effective stereo separation present during some of the key scenes.
Audio rating: 3/5

Extras: This Blu-ray's bonus features are all taken from MGM's old Special Edition DVD. There's a piecemeal commentary edited together from various interviews with the director and stars, plus a wide selection of featurettes and documentaries looking at how the movie was made, plus the people and events that inspired it. The disc also includes the theatrical trailer, which is the only extra presented in hi-def.
Extras rating: 4/5

We say: This otherwise well-specced disc is sadly let down by its less-than-stellar 1080p video presentation

The Great Escape, MGM/20th Century Fox, All-region BD, £18 Approx
HCC VERDICT: 3.5/5