Many of the late Alistair MacLean's novels have been made into successful films –Where Eagles Dare, Breakheart Pass. The Guns of Navarone is another example.

The story centers on a team of six Allied soldiers, attempting to infiltrate a Nazi stronghold on the Greek island of Navarone. Among the adventurers are a reluctant American captain (Gregory Peck); a British demolitions expert (David Niven); a British major (Anthony Quayle); a Greek colonel whose family has been wiped out by the Germans (Anthony Quinn); a top knife fighter known as "the Butcher" (Stanley Baker), and an idealistic, young Greek private (James Darren). Their mission is to destroy or disable two huge German guns that are preventing the landing of Allied forces. At stake are the lives of 2,000 British soldiers, stranded on an adjacent island. To gain access to the German fortress, the would-be saboteurs must land on an unguarded side of the island, and climb a nearly-unscaleable mountain. This is the only point on the island that the Germans don't bother to watch, because they figure that the sheer height of the cliff makes the spot impregnable.

Conflict threatens to rip apart the uneasy alliance. There are some similarities between "The Guns of Navarone" and "The Dirty Dozen." Dissent and mistrust break out as they debate the treatment of the injured, and the question of who is really loyal to whom.

"The Guns of Navarone" quickly establishes the premise and the conflict in the story, without rushing into the action. Without boring us with scenes of extraneous dialogue or consdescending explanation, the script advances the story effectively, and communicates to the audience what is going on. Here is an action film that also spends sufficient time on character development. In the short space of two hours, we not only witness the complete story play out, but get a sense of who the characters are, what motivates each of them, and what doubts and personal crises plague them. With perhaps one exception, none of the soldiers really want to be there. Captain Mallory (Gregory Peck) has quite a task keeping them focused on their mission. Yet Gregory Peck, although a fine actor, seems too tame for this role. He seems too much of a gentleman, too refined to do a lot of what he does. I think the role should've been played by someone grittier. He is someone I would expect to see sitting down to a black tie affair and sipping champagne, not coolly assassinating Nazi sentries with a silencer-fitted .45 automatic.

War movies have come along way since 1961, when The Guns of Navarone was filmed. Battle scenes were not steeped in gore. Yes, there are shootings, stabbings and explosions, but tastefully done. I understand that the depiction of graphic violence in war films is meant to show the horrors of combat, and there is something to be said for that, but a lot of people find this hard to stomach.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12