Self-inflicted torture

There is a movie that I feel compelled to watch every time it's on TV (as it was Sunday night). That movie is The Great Escape, and those of you who have seen it will know why repeated viewings of this movie can be linked to horrible depression. And yet I love it! It's the story of a special inescapable Nazi Prisoner of War camp for various Allied soldiers who were really good at escaping, the attempt of those prisoners to escape this camp en masse, and best/worst of all it is loosely based on real events which start out awesome but end tragically. And I can't help but stop stare at the TV in fascination every time it's on, like one of those really horrible car wrecks that you have to rubberneck just in case there might be dismembered body parts.



Don't get me wrong, it's got some great stuff in the first half. For one thing, you have to love the ingenious plans of these men to escape the inescapable camp. And who doesn't want to root for anyone who's fighting against Nazis?


Then there are the compelling personal stories. You have the cheeky American soldier ("the Cooler king") who defiantly escapes practically every other day even though he's always brought back, there's the "tunnel king" who is secretly claustrophobic, "the forger" who sadly goes blind just before the escape... all brilliantly depicted in a way modern movies and actors just couldn't hold a candle to. These are men one could truly admire, and the Americans are really awesome, so what's not to love?

Kiss America's butt, ya dumb Nazis! YEEEHAW!


And finally (and probably most importantly), there are these faces to gaze in wonder at:



But despite the pretty pretty faces, the excitement of pulling one over on the bad guys, and the engrossing characters the ending of this movie is so tragic and gut-wrenching (for those who haven't seen it I won't ruin it for you because you should totally watch it) that I simply can't understand why my brain forces me to watch it over and over. Is this a sickness? Should I seek help? Because if not, I'm totally putting this movie on my Christmas list so I don't have to wait for it to be on AMC to cry like a baby.