90th birthday tribute to Sir Michael Caine

In a tribute to Michael Caine on the occasion of his 90th birthday, Pathé has released a new image from his forthcoming film The Great Escaper.

The film reunites two-time Oscar winner and six-time nominee Caine (The Quiet American, The Cider House Rules, Hannah and Her Sisters, Educating Rita, Sleuth and Alfie) and two-time Oscar winner and four-time nominee, Glenda Jackson (Hedda, A Touch of Class, Sunday Bloody Sunday and Women in Love). It will open in UK cinemas later this year.

Inspired by true events, the film tells the story of octogenarian Bernard Jordan’s escape from his care home to attend the 70^th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings in France:

In the summer of 2014 Bernard Jordan (Michael Caine) made global headlines. He had staged a “great escape” from his care home to join fellow war veterans on a beach in Normandy, commemorating their fallen comrades.

It was a story that captured the imagination of the world - Bernie seemed to embody the defiant, “can-do” spirit of a generation that was fast disappearing.  But of course, it wasn’t the whole story.  It was the story we all tell ourselves to make war and old age bearable. The bitter-sweet script explores the reality with wit and a very big heart.

Bernie’s adventure, spanning a mere 48 hours, also marked the culmination of his 60-year marriage to Rene (Glenda Jackson) - the story celebrates their love without sentimentality and with an eye to the lessons we might all learn from the Greatest Generation.