The Guns of Navarone

The Guns of Navarone (1961)

Runtime: 156 minutes

Directed by: J. Lee Thompson

Starring: Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn, Anthony Quayle, Stanley Baker

From: Columbia

I don’t know what’s more surprising: my having just watched this for the first time last night, or that Netflix was the platform I used to accomplish this task. I’ve seen my share of war movies in the past (including those set in World War II like Patton, The Longest Day, Tora Tora Tora, etc.) and am a big fan of most, so this was long overdue.

The premise of this men on a mission movie seemed simple: a random group of characters come together to destroy a pair of giant guns on the Greek island of Navarone-controlled by Nazi scum-lest they sink Allied ships tasked with rescuing 2,000 soldiers stuck on another Greek island. Appearances can be deceiving… of course all the characters are given distinct personalities so there’s occasional conflict and as it’s an extremely difficult task, the gang experience quite the ordeal just to reach the fortress that appears to be impregnable.

All the main players are given time to shine in this film; the over 2 ½ hour length never felt this way due to the numerous obstacles the team experienced along with some astounding scenes where tension is about to boil over due to scenarios I dare not spoil. When action is present, it does deliver. Much of the film is the characters interacting w/ each other during a mission that seems nigh impossible. That said, there are still plenty of Nazi deaths and literally award-winning effects; I was never bored.

What solid direction from J. Lee Thompson (what an odd career he had; concluding it with many Charles Bronson films was at least memorable for me), a cast that delivered-not just Gregory Peck, David Niven & Anthony Quinn-and a rousing score from Dimitri Tiomkin… what a gem The Guns of Navarone is.