Deep and entertaining at the same time
Added 10/23/2009
This film shows how far off the track many modern films have gone, when they sacrifice characters for special effects. All too often films of the 21st century use great CGI and film wizardry to paper over the shallowness of a storyline or the paper-thin characters that take part.
Guns of Navarone is a war film that has great characters and a depth that is sadly missing today. The leaders have to wrestle with their consciences in making decisions that will affect the lives of those under them. There is none of this mock-heroic insulting rubbish we see all too often today. Here are people demonstrating genuine fears and emotions without making it ludicrous or false.
Set on fictitious Greek islands, a small group of Allied commandos have to destroy two huge guns that block the way for a rescue fleet of British destroyers who are trying to get 2,000 Allied troops off an island targeted for a massive German invasion.
Ironically this film actually won a best special effects award in 1961, but to me what stands out here is the believeable storyline and the sympathy I feel towards the characters. They are tough but at the same tiem vulnerable, none more so than the tired and worn out Brown, the knife expert, who tells Captain Mallory that he's been 'killing Germans since 1937. There's no end to them.' As a result Mallory gives him the cold shoulder until Brown, desperate to feel part of the team again, is reduced to pleading his usefulness to Mallory.
Mallory himself is seemingly two men; on one hand, he's the cold-hearted, insensitive robot who has to get the job done, but on the other hand his doubts are shown in one telling scene with the traumatised Greek resistance fighter Anna (portrayed in the book as Panayis, a man), when he asks her if his choices are moral.
Great storyline, plenty of action, and real characters to empathise with. And yes, I agree with others, they don't make them like this anymore, sadly.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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The Guns of Navarone
Added 9/3/2009
This is one of the better older movies I've seen in the past year. Gregory Peck gives one of his better performances as the determined and yet very humane leader of this bunch of ragtag recruits to knock out a major Nazi naval battery in the eastern Mediterranean Sea during WWII. The action pacing keeps the movie interesting, with only a very few slow parts within. The final scenes are particularly memorable -- well worth the brief wait to get there. A great addition to any personal movie library.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Guns of Navarone
Added 8/14/2009
Delivered promptly and as advertised. Filled out a missing item in my collection - may be years berfore I actually view it again.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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guns of navarone
Added 7/19/2009
This movie is a blast from the past! It's great that you can find old movie titles at this website!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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giant guns
Added 6/29/2009
Mr. Peck was refreshing to watch in this adventure of wills... co-operation
with good leadership takes it home.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Deep and entertaining at the same time
Added 10/23/2009
This film shows how far off the track many modern films have gone, when they sacrifice characters for special effects. All too often films of the 21st century use great CGI and film wizardry to paper over the shallowness of a storyline or the paper-thin characters that take part.
Guns of Navarone is a war film that has great characters and a depth that is sadly missing today. The leaders have to wrestle with their consciences in making decisions that will affect the lives of those under them. There is none of this mock-heroic insulting rubbish we see all too often today. Here are people demonstrating genuine fears and emotions without making it ludicrous or false.
Set on fictitious Greek islands, a small group of Allied commandos have to destroy two huge guns that block the way for a rescue fleet of British destroyers who are trying to get 2,000 Allied troops off an island targeted for a massive German invasion.
Ironically this film actually won a best special effects award in 1961, but to me what stands out here is the believeable storyline and the sympathy I feel towards the characters. They are tough but at the same tiem vulnerable, none more so than the tired and worn out Brown, the knife expert, who tells Captain Mallory that he's been 'killing Germans since 1937. There's no end to them.' As a result Mallory gives him the cold shoulder until Brown, desperate to feel part of the team again, is reduced to pleading his usefulness to Mallory.
Mallory himself is seemingly two men; on one hand, he's the cold-hearted, insensitive robot who has to get the job done, but on the other hand his doubts are shown in one telling scene with the traumatised Greek resistance fighter Anna (portrayed in the book as Panayis, a man), when he asks her if his choices are moral.
Great storyline, plenty of action, and real characters to empathise with. And yes, I agree with others, they don't make them like this anymore, sadly.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
The Guns of Navarone
Added 9/3/2009
This is one of the better older movies I've seen in the past year. Gregory Peck gives one of his better performances as the determined and yet very humane leader of this bunch of ragtag recruits to knock out a major Nazi naval battery in the eastern Mediterranean Sea during WWII. The action pacing keeps the movie interesting, with only a very few slow parts within. The final scenes are particularly memorable -- well worth the brief wait to get there. A great addition to any personal movie library.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Guns of Navarone
Added 8/14/2009
Delivered promptly and as advertised. Filled out a missing item in my collection - may be years berfore I actually view it again.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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