It has been called one of the ‘greatest war films of all time’ (Image: FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty Images)
Epic war films like The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Great Escape and Paths of Glory are hailed as some of the best in the action-adventure genre, and anyone who has seen these movies would agree.
With unrelenting action, top-tier performances, and twists and turns galore, these films have carved an unshakeable niche for themselves in the war adventure category.
There’s another masterpiece though, that often finds itself overlooked in this genre, but is definitely worth the watch.
The 1961 film The Guns of Navarone is an epic action-adventure war film that stars the who’s who of the film industry. Written and produced by Carl Foreman, who also happens to be the writer of The Bridge on the River Kwai, this epic masterpiece has been directed by J Lee Thompson.
The film is an adaptation of Alistair MacLean’s 1957 novel of the same name, which, although it depicts entirely fictional characters and events, was inspired by the Battle of Leros during the Second World War’s Dodecanese Campaign.
The war action drama stars the who’s who of the film industry (Image: Getty Images)
Packed to the brim with A-listers, The Guns of Navarone stars Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn alongside Gia Scala, Irene Papas, Stanley Baker, Anthony Quayle, and James Darren to give us a stellar cast.
The war film’s official plot states: “A team of Allied saboteurs is assigned an impossible mission: infiltrate an impregnable Nazi-held Greek island and destroy the two enormous long-range field guns that prevent the rescue of 2,000 trapped British soldiers.”
The Guns of Navarone is an American and British co-production and released in cinemas on April 28, 1961. It proved to be a roaring success at the box-office for its time, collecting $28.9 million worldwide against an estimated budget of $6 million. It became the second highest-grossing film of 1961 and was regarded as a massive commercial success.
Critical acclaim followed swiftly thereafter, with The Guns of Navarone being nominated for six Academy Awards including for Best Director, Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay and bagging the Best Special Effects honour.
Dimitri Tiomkin’s beautiful score won the Golden Globe for Best Original Score, while the film itself won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama.
The epic war drama is available to stream on Netflix (Image: FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty Images)
The movie was such a success that a sequel, Force 10 from Navarone, was commissioned and released in 1978, although it did not perform quite as well as its predecessor.
The Guns of Navarone managed to carve a niche for itself and became part of a list of massive big-budget World War II movies mounted on a huge scale including The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Longest Day, The Great Escape, and Where Eagles Dare.
With a smashing 92% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences have declared The Guns of Navarone has to be a part of everyone’s ‘must-watch’ list.
One critic said of the film: “With great action scenes, solid dialogue and an interesting plot, The Guns of Navarone is an excellent example of what war movies were like over 60 years ago.”
Another reviewer added: “David Niven is the subservient but stylish chemist Miller, rounding out a film that ranks among the best war movies.”
While one critic said: “Beautifully paced, this 156-minute classic allows enough time for character development, plot complications, and several exciting set-pieces.”
A glowing audience review of the war action drama reads: “A classic action-adventure that even after all this time, can still deliver the goods. Two and half hours of pure excitement and intelligence. One of the greatest action-adventure films ever made. A masterpiece.
Viewers can’t stop raving about the brilliance of the film (Image: LMPC via Getty Images)
“An exciting, riveting and action-packed thrill-ride. A smart, well-crafted and suspenseful piece of film-making that works extremely well. A tremendously entertaining and vastly epic movie. A trio of brilliant performances from Anthony Quinn, Gregory Peck and David Niven.”
While one user review posted to IMDB says: “Probably the best action/adventure film set in WW2, The Guns of Navarone is a magnificent movie; truly an all-time-great. Despite its long duration, the film progresses slickly and maintains its tensions all the way to the end. The characters are an equally important part of the story as the mission. I thought the special effects were surprisingly good, by no means badly dated. See this instead of Where Eagles Dare or the poor sequel Force 10 from Navarone.”
Another fan review compared it to The Bridge on the River Kwai: “Ranking just under the ten-star rated Bridge on the River Kwai, Guns Of Navarone is an instant-classic and will always be so due to its solid foundation of high production values, endearing score, good writing, strong plot/character development, the fine actors to play those characters and loving direction. Kudos to all who worked on this film.”
While one viewer said: “One of the best war films ever made. character development, plot pacing and script is superb.”
The Guns of Navarone is available to stream on Netflix.