Great Escape II:The Untold Story [VHS]

The original television miniseries "The Great Escape II: The Untold Story" ran in 1988 according to information I have seen on the Web (I do recall it being shown in the 1980s). It was shown in two parts, each at least 2 hours long including commercials. Vidmark's version is only 93 minutes, which should indicate that something had to go.

I would hope that a more skillful editing job could preserve more of the nuances of the story. Since a VHS SP tape runs 120 minutes (and I understand that a bit more can be "fudged"), there are some things that could have been retained and would help story flow. For instance, one of the original prison guards reappears near the end of Part 2 of the original TV series, and provides useful information to the Allied investigators. This is completely cut out of the Vidmark release.

This should really have been issued as a 2-tape (VHS SP) set. Vidmark could definitely have done a better job on a one-tape release, but there is no way to cut down the original series to even 2 hours and not have a major negative impact. Like I said, the Vidmark release is "the only show in town," but it's not that good. I've seen other negative reviews of the Great Escape 2, and I think that most of the reviewers would think differently about the original TV series.

If you haven't seen the original series, and you can get the Vidmark tape cheap ($2-$3), I'd say that it might be worth buying. It would be nice if the full original series (less commercials) was released on DVD. If not, I hope that the original TV series is rebroadcast someday to allow good home recordings. Either would be greatly preferable to this disappointing Vidmark release.