Welcome to yet another entry in the Oscar Film Journal, here at Enuffa.com!
Heading back to the early 1960s today, and a classic war adventure film known as The Guns of Navarone, starring Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn and David Niven. This highly influential World War II actioner centers around a secret mission cooked up by the British military to rescue 2000 stranded soldiers on the tiny Greek island of Kheros. The Axis powers plan to annihilate everyone on the island in a week's time, and have been able to thwart any rescue attempts using two massive, transport-killing cannons located on a nearby island called Navarone. Captain Keith Mallory (Peck) and his team must disguise themselves as local fishermen (Mallory is an accomplished spy who fluently speaks both Greek and German), sail around to the scarcely-guarded back end of Navarone, scale a several hundred-foot cliff, and make their way across the island to the fortress housing the guns so they can sabotage them. All without being caught or killed by the Germans. None of the men (and women) on the team has much hope that this "impossible mission" (TM pending) will succeed, but it's their only chance of saving the marooned soldiers and stopping Turkey from joining the Axis powers.
First off, this film is a ripping good time in the same vein as its successors Raiders of the Lost Ark, Inglourious Basterds and even the original Star Wars (Try watching this film's climax without thinking of the Death Star orbiting its way into range of the Rebel base). Our heroes must shoot first, don enemy uniforms, and quietly infiltrate a German stronghold, and they always seem to be in just over their heads. There are loads of well-executed action set pieces and some pretty stunning location cinematography (The film was shot primarily in and around Greece, lending the production tangible authenticity). The special effects mostly hold up very well too, aside from some dated compositing (This film nabbed the Oscar for special effects that year).
There's also plenty of organic character development. Peck's character is a noble but unscrupulous spy whose methods are angrily questioned by his ballistics expert Corporal Miller (Niven). His former friend, a Greek Colonel Stavros (a stalwart, rugged Anthony Quinn) also bears him a death grudge after Mallory inadvertently caused the deaths of his wife and children. Stavros has vowed however to wait until after their mission is complete before attempting any revenge. The team meets up with a pair of female Greek spies, one of whom is the resourceful sister of one of the men and proves a tough and invaluable part of the team. Along the way each character gets a chance to display their strengths depending on the situation; for example after being captured by the Germans, Col. Stavros creates an effective diversion that allows the spies to turn the tables on their captors. This is the best kind of action film, one that reveals information about the characters through kinetic action and visuals. Spielberg, Tarantino and Lucas took away all the right lessons from films like this one.
Even at two-and-a-half hours, The Guns of Navarone mostly flies by, the only real exception being the sequence where the team's fishing boat is shipwrecked, followed by the ascension of the cliff wall, but that's a nitpick. Overall this film is a thrilling entertainment that must have electrified early 60s audiences. It's also impossible to go wrong with Gregory Peck leading your cast; he was one of the most compelling screen presences of his generation.
I give The Guns of Navarone **** out of ****.
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