Do reviews posted need to be overwhelmingly long? In some cases yes. But when it comes to movies that have been seen time and time again on cable and television perhaps not. You know the film, you know the characters so why go on except for those who are as yet uninitiated with the film? And for those few, the barest of facts can be enough to get them to invest the time in the movie being discussed. Such is the case here.

THE GUNS OF NAVARONE has been available for some time now thanks to the folks at Columbia Tri Star Home Video. But it has recently been released in their Superbit format, something that fans of the film will be overjoyed to hear. Epinions may not list this as a Superbit version, but it is available for those who are interested in not only great picture but great sound quality as well. And this version offers both.

If you haven’t heard, Superbit is Columbia Tris Star’s format where they use the entire space on the disc for picture and sound quality rather than use it for extras like director commentary, trailers or such. This is supposed to yield a higher quality picture and sound and when you view one of these titles you’ll know the claim is true. Every explosion sounds bigger and the picture quality here is superb. So on with the story for the uninitiated.

World War II is in full swing and a group of soldiers are stranded without help of reinforcements coming to their aid. The problem is that a stronghold on the island of Navarone holds two of the biggest cannons that the Nazis have on hand, capable of stopping any ship that might dare attempt to pass. The object of the team in the film is to silence those guns forever.

The team is led by Capt. Keith Mallory (Gregory Peck), an officer with leadership qualities as well as one of the best rock climbers in the world. And those skills will be needed since the only way to get on to Navarone will be a daring climb up the rocky face of the island no one has ever attempted. His second will be Col.Andrea Stavros (Anthony Quinn), a man who is capable of doing what needs to be done to get the job finished. The only problem is that he holds Mallory responsible for the death of his wife and has sworn to kill him when the chance presents itself.

Along for the ride are Cpl. John Anthony Miller (David Niven), an off beat character who knows anything there is to know about explosives, Pvt. Butcher Brown (Stanley Baker), a good man to have in hand to hand combat, Pvt. Spyros Pappadimos (James Darren), a soldier with a knack for killing whose family is on Navarone and Maj. Roy Franklin (Anthony Quayle), the man responsible for forming the team. This motley crew set out to do the impossible, silence the guns of Navarone.

Along the way they are aided by the resistance movement already in place on the island.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8