The 1961 war film The Guns of Navarone, an Anglo-American co-production hailed as a 'masterpiece' and a 'must-watch', is now streaming on Netflix. The film stars Gregory Peck, David Niven, and Anthony Quinn, alongside Gia Scala, Irene Papas, Stanley Baker, Anthony Quayle, and James Darren.
A Classic of the War Adventure Genre
Written and produced by Carl Foreman, who also wrote The Bridge on the River Kwai, and directed by J Lee Thompson, the film is an adaptation of Alistair MacLean's 1957 novel of the same name. The story, though fictional, drew inspiration from the Battle of Leros during the Second World War's Dodecanese Campaign.
The 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."
Box Office and Critical Success
The Guns of Navarone hit cinema screens on April 28, 1961, and proved a tremendous box-office triumph, amassing $28.9 million worldwide against an estimated budget of $6 million. It became the second highest-grossing film of 1961.
The film earned six Academy Award nominations, including Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Adapted Screenplay, and won the Best Special Effects accolade. Dimitri Tiomkin's score secured the Golden Globe for Best Original Score, and the film took home the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama.
Critical and Audience Acclaim
The film holds a 92% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. One critic said: "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 added: "David Niven is the subservient but stylish chemist Miller, rounding out a film that ranks among the best war movies."
An audience review 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."
One IMDB user review 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 film's success led to a sequel, Force 10 from Navarone, released in 1978, though it failed to quite match the heights of its predecessor. The Guns of Navarone is currently available to stream on Netflix.
