This powerful , dramatic story from the Alistair McLean novel starts when the commanding staff (led by James Robertson Justice) prepares a multinational task force and is sent to Greece for a dangerous mission . It's commanded by a stiff-upper-lip climber captain (Gregory Peck) and a British Major (Anthony Quayle) , being formed by a misfit group : a Greek colonel (Anthony Queen) , an explosives expert (David Niven) , a tough private nicknamed 'the Butcher' (Stanley Baker) and an American-Greek marksman (James Darren) . Later on , they are joined by two partisans (Gia Scala and Irene Papas) but they are also hindered by a traitor . The outfit must destroy huge guns which threat the Allied ships that attempt to help a group of besieged troops . The giant batteries are heavily fortified on a German fortress located in Navarone . To do so , they must sneak throughout the Nazis'(commanded by Walter Gotell) noses disguised as German soldiers .
This interesting wartime picture contains high-powered action-packed , shootouts , explosions , mass slaughter and lots of fun . Fairly decent acting by the star-studded , a traditional all-cast , this Box-office hit is an entertaining , exciting WWII actioner . Highlighted by a stirring and thrilling climax at a stronghold with overwhelming action scenes proceeded by Oscar-winning special effects . For the scene where the commandos scale the near-vertical cliff , the rockface was a painted backdrop laid out on the ground , so the actors were actually climbing over the studio floor and then the image was tilted in camera . Great actors in attractive roles played by all-star-cast and supported by prestigious secondary players . There was reportedly much tension between many of the stars -particularly Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn- early in the film's production . The picture is well set in island of Rhodes (Greece) and Shepperton Studios (England) . Although Navarone is a fictional place , the novel of the same title is based on The Battle of Leros , in the Dodecanese , the location of the deepest port in the region and coastal battery which defended it . Along with ¨The great escape¨ , ¨Dirty Dozen¨ and ¨Where eagles dare¨ this ¨Navarone guns¨ results to be one of the best WWII adventure yarns .
Rousing and evocative musical score by the great master composer Dimitri Tiomkin . Colorful , luxurious cinematography by Oswald Morris and John Wilcox as assistant cameraman . Producer Carl Foreman brokered a deal with the Greek army where he had 12 destroyers and over 1000 infantrymen at his disposal . With a budget of $6 million, at the time, this was one of the most expensive films ever made . This sweeping wartime movie epic from the director of 'Mckenna's gold' , J. Lee Thompson , presents the historic events of hokey manner but it does so fascinatingly . All in all , it's a successful piece of warlike fluff . Although overlong , it has good battle footage , solid acting , breathtaking scenes which help offset a sometimes far-fetched plot , but suffers on television , as the small screen damages its really spectacular images . This picture should please most action-war-adventure buffs . Followed by an inferior sequel also written and produced by Carl Foreman titled 'Force 10 Navarone (1978)' by Guy Hamilton with Robert Shaw , Harrison Ford, Barbara Bach and Edward Fox.
This interesting wartime picture contains high-powered action-packed , shootouts , explosions , mass slaughter and lots of fun . Fairly decent acting by the star-studded , a traditional all-cast , this Box-office hit is an entertaining , exciting WWII actioner . Highlighted by a stirring and thrilling climax at a stronghold with overwhelming action scenes proceeded by Oscar-winning special effects . For the scene where the commandos scale the near-vertical cliff , the rockface was a painted backdrop laid out on the ground , so the actors were actually climbing over the studio floor and then the image was tilted in camera . Great actors in attractive roles played by all-star-cast and supported by prestigious secondary players . There was reportedly much tension between many of the stars -particularly Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn- early in the film's production . The picture is well set in island of Rhodes (Greece) and Shepperton Studios (England) . Although Navarone is a fictional place , the novel of the same title is based on The Battle of Leros , in the Dodecanese , the location of the deepest port in the region and coastal battery which defended it . Along with ¨The great escape¨ , ¨Dirty Dozen¨ and ¨Where eagles dare¨ this ¨Navarone guns¨ results to be one of the best WWII adventure yarns .
Rousing and evocative musical score by the great master composer Dimitri Tiomkin . Colorful , luxurious cinematography by Oswald Morris and John Wilcox as assistant cameraman . Producer Carl Foreman brokered a deal with the Greek army where he had 12 destroyers and over 1000 infantrymen at his disposal . With a budget of $6 million, at the time, this was one of the most expensive films ever made . This sweeping wartime movie epic from the director of 'Mckenna's gold' , J. Lee Thompson , presents the historic events of hokey manner but it does so fascinatingly . All in all , it's a successful piece of warlike fluff . Although overlong , it has good battle footage , solid acting , breathtaking scenes which help offset a sometimes far-fetched plot , but suffers on television , as the small screen damages its really spectacular images . This picture should please most action-war-adventure buffs . Followed by an inferior sequel also written and produced by Carl Foreman titled 'Force 10 Navarone (1978)' by Guy Hamilton with Robert Shaw , Harrison Ford, Barbara Bach and Edward Fox.