I don't get it! Why has this film been so praised, so admired, so loved?It's not a bad little yarn about World War 1 POW's - but its incredible and deep significance escapes me.In fact I found it a bit of a chore to sit through. The first part of the film is something like "Hogan's Heroes", with the French POW's having a high old time eating like kings and putting on impossibly elaborate stage shows in drag.And of course there's the ubiquitous escape tunnel!Then it becomes a lot of silly ramblings as a French and a German aristocrat mourn the loss of their class - the other major characters are a French workman and a French Jew.All very deep.And then it all descends into "The Great Escape". Yes, it's all about the stupidity of war - but it makes its point quickly and then rambles on for another hour and a half.I've always been immune to the charms of over-weight, middle-age French actors like Jean Gabin (and today Mr Depardieu), who we are supposed to find sexy - but Von Stroheim is splendid as the German officer.He carries a tragic weight, as opposed to a cholesterol-induced one, that is very powerful. Surprisingly ordinary.