I saw two prison camp escape movies right in a row (the other one being The Great Escape) and they sort of blended together. As I try to sort them out in my mind, I think of this one as "the thought-provoking one." Not that the other wasn't equally "thought-provoking" in its own way, but this had far less fluff. I can see how it might have been a classic -- it was certainly interesting to watch, and Alec Guiness's character was fascinating. But I don't think I'd put it on my list of favorites. Too many cut-and-dried prison camp movie scenes.