Film Symphonic : The Great Escape - Full symphony, Dirk Brossé

The Hollywood film The Great Escape is based on a true story. During World War II, as many as 76 prisoners managed to escape from Stalag Luft III, a German prisoner of war camp in present-day Poland. The entire camp population worked on the plan for months, digging a tunnel more than 100 metres long, mainly supported by planks from the beds in the prisoners’ barracks. Out of the 76 people who were able to escape, only three managed to reach Allied territory safely after a long and perilous journey.

One of the prisoners of war who had helped dig the tunnel, but was unable to escape himself, documented his experiences in a book that was published in 1950. That book, The Great Escape, served as the foundation for a real blockbuster in 1963. The film of the same name by director John Sturges was nominated for several awards and won an award in the Best Actor category at the Moscow International Film Festival.

Elmer Bernstein’s music was partly responsible for The Great Escape’s incredible success. Each character in the film has his or her own musical motif linked to the film’s main theme. Stirring music conveys the courage of the prisoners of war, while softer passages give them a deeply human, sympathetic face. The Belgian National Orchestra plays Elmer Bernstein’s score under the baton of Dirk Brossé, while the classic film is shown on the big screen.

Dirk Brossé, conductor