| | | An impenetrable fortress, an invincible army...and the unstoppable commando team.
Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.35:1, Hi-fi Stereo, English, Spanish, Korean, Subtitled
Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn and David Niven are Allied saboteurs assigned an impossible mission--inflitrate an impregnable Nazi-held island and destroy the two enormous long-range field guns that prevent the rescue of 2,000 trapped British soldiers. Blacklisted screenwriter Carl Foreman (High Noon, The Bridge On The River Kwai) was determined to re-establish both his name and credibility after spending most of the '50s working in anonymity. To accomplish this, he decided to bring Alistair MacLean's best-selling novel, The Guns Of Navarone, to the screen. Supported by an all-star cast and produced on a grand scale, the film was an enormous success, receiving seven 1961 Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture) and winning for Best Special Effects. Although Foreman achieved his goal, it was MacLean who wound up the true beneficiary; his novels became the source for many high adventure screen epics, including the Ice Station Zebra and Where Eagles Dare. However, it is The Guns Of Navarone that remains not only the best of the MacLean adaptations, but one of the greatest action/adventure spectacles ever produced.
"Consistently interesting... vivid cast." VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever
Editor's Note
One of the great war movies of all time, with an all star cast, and a gripping plot--based on the Alistair MacLean novel. A commando team is sent to a Greek Island to destroy the giant guns of World War II Germany which are controlling a strategic channel in the Aegean Sea. This was a groundbreaker in the Special Effects department, too. Academy Award Nominations: 7, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best (Adapted) Screenplay. Academy Awards: Best Special Effects.
Plot Summary
A specialized commando team is organized in 1943, during WWII, to sabotage and put out of commission the Axis firepower on the mountainous Greek island of Navarone in the Aegean Sea.
| Features | Theatrical trailers | | Production notes | | New audio: English 5.1 (Dolby Digital) and original 2-Channel (Dolby Surround), Spanish and French | | Subtitles: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai | | Talent files | | Retrospective documentary: "Memories of Navarone" | | "A Message From Carl Foreman" | | Four original featurettes | | Digitally mastered audio & anamorphic video | | Widescreen presentation | | Director's audio commentary |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Columbia Tri-Star |
| Release Date: 12/21/2004 |
| Running Time: 157 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1961 | | Catalog ID: 72129 | | UPC: 00043396721296 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English, Spanish Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, Chinese | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 2.35:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Oscar (1961) |  | Vivian C. Greenham, Bill Warrington, Winner, Best Special Effects | |
Golden Globe (1962) | | Dimitri Tiomkin, Winner, Best Score | |
Oscar (1962) | | | J. Lee Thompson, Nominee, Best Director | | | Alan Osbiston, Nominee, Best Film Editing | | | Dimitri Tiomkin, Nominee, Best Music, Scoring Of A Dramatic Or Comedy Picture | | | Carl Foreman, Nominee, Best Picture | | | John Cox, Nominee, Best Sound | | | Carl Forman, Nominee, Best Writing, Screenplay Based On Material From Another Medium | |
British Academy Awards (1962) | | | Carl Forman, Nominee, Best British Screenplay |
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| | Professional Reviews | USA Today
"...The film got an Oscar for special effects, and now you can see why once again via this wide-screen gem..." 07/01/1994 p.3DSight and Sound
"...[A] rip-roaring boys' own adventure..." 03/01/2001 p.64 Find-A-Video 9 of 10
A big story with some of Hollywood's biggest stars. The special effects won an Oscar, and everything else about this fast-moving, involving and action-packed WWII adventure is up to the same standard.
Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide 9 of 10
Explosive action film about Allied commandos during WW2 plotting to destroy German guns; high-powered adventure throughout this first-rate production, highlighted by Oscar-winning special effects.
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