Movie Music and More #14: "The Great Escape" (1963)

Hello!  Here I am again to discuss some more awesome movie music with you.  Today I'm focusing on an iconic score from one of the best WWII movies ever:  The Great Escape (1963).

One of the jauntiest, most swaggering theme songs of all time.  It's almost impossible not to whistle along with it once you know the tune.  

Of course, it's by the master of exciting, macho movie music from the '60s, namely Elmer Bernstein.  Yes, the same guy who wrote the unforgettable theme for The Magnificent Seven (1960) and so many other brilliant scores.  (Truth is, Elmer Bernstein is my absolute favorite movie composer, so it's a little surprising to me that it's taken me this long to talk about one of his scores here.)

If you've never seen The Great Escape, do yourself a favor and go watch it, cuz it's a classic war movie that blends caper films and prison escapes, and stars so many wonderful actors I get a little dizzy thinking of all that talent in one place.  Steve McQueen.  James Garner.  James Coborn.  Charles Bronson.  Richard Attenborough.  David McCallum.  Directed by John Sturges!  Based on a true story!  Like I said, go watch it.

It's a little tough to find tracks from this on YouTube to share, so here's a video that has three separate tracks, which range from quiet to very exciting to contemplative.  It gives you a pretty good idea of the range of the whole soundtrack, at least.

That's all I've got for today, folks!