Episode description

In the summer of 2014, Bernard Jordan 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 at the D-Day Landings 70th anniversary.

It was a story that captured the imagination of the world as Bernie embodied the defiant, “can-do” spirit of a generation that was fast disappearing. But of course, it wasn’t the whole story. It was an inspirational but sanitised retelling of one man’s need to come to terms with the lasting trauma of war.

That story is now in the cinemas in The Great Escaper, starring Sir Michael Caine and the late Glenda Jackson

Today's Martha Kearney speaks to Sir Michael and the film's director Oliver Parker.

Photo: Martha Kearney and Michael Caine)