DVD Corner

The Guns Of Navarone 4K UHD Steelbook Review

“The Guns Of Navarone” is a classic war movie. 

Based on the novel of the same name, the 1943 set action WWII story revolves around the two titular guns in a German fortress which are preventing the Royal Navy from rescuing 2,000 stranded British soldiers on the island of Kheros. The Germans plan on attacking Kheros and persuading Turkey to join them as an ally. With time running out and the stakes being high, Allied forces plot a suicide mission of 6 commandos (Captain Mallory, Major Franklin, Greek Army Colonel Stavros, demolitions expert Corp. Miller, a tough soldier named Spyros and a mechanic known as Butcher Brown). Along the way, 2 female resistance fighters (Maria and Anna) join the squad as well. Of course, this mission is filled with danger involving Nazi encounters, a storm, a hellish mountain climb, an injured commando, death, captures, a traitor, and tough decisions where lives hang in the balance.

Nominated for 7 Academy Award awards including Best Picture, 1961’s “The Guns Of Navarone” remains a thrilling “men and women on a mission” WWII adventure. Despite running 158 minutes, there’s never a dull moment here thanks to director J. Lee Thompson’s tight direction and Carl Foreman’s intense script. Foreman, who wrote another classic action-war film with “Bridge On The River Kwai,” is probably the best to ever write these types of movies which sadly just don’t really exist anymore. There’s a scope and ambition to ‘Navarone’ (and ‘Kwai’) that is just purely cinematic.

From the get go, the movie never wastes any time getting down to business. Sure, there may be less characterization than some would like, but every character has their big moments and there’s even some intriguing character moments along the way (such as the vendetta Stavros has against Mallory). It doesn’t hurt that you have some acting titans in this film like Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn, Richard Harris, and Anthony Quayle either. At the end of the day though, both Thompson and Foreman never forget that this is an action-war movie and the movie never disappoints in that department with award-winning special effects and model work, epic explosions, gun battles, and much more. 

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 2.35:1 2160p. How does it look? While perhaps overly grainy in some moments, there’s an incredible sharpness to this print. The location shooting on the Greek Island of Rhodes looks more picturesque than ever.

Audio Track: Dolby Atmos. How does it sound? While snowy in spots, the action scenes and explosions sound delightfully thunderous.

Extras:
* Original roadshow intermission card option
* Blu-ray copy
* Theatrical trailer
* Main Title Progression Reel
* Archival extras on the Blu-ray- 1. Commentary by film historian Stephen J. Rubin. 2. Commentary by director J. Lee Thompson. 3. Narration-free prologue. 4. A message from writer/producer Carl Foreman. 5. Sony trailers. 6. Six Featurettes on the restoration, score, Greece location shooting, a promo piece for Rhodes as a Honeymoon spot, the female cast members, and visitors to the set in Rhodes. 7. 3 documentaries on the production, memories in making the movie, and the film’s context, themes, and story. 8. “The Resistance Dossier Of Navarone”- An interactive extra with factoids

November 7, 2023 - Posted by nicklyons1 | 4K UHD Review | 60's Movie, Anthony Quinn, David Niven, The Guns Of Navarone, The Guns Of Navarone 4K UHD Steelbook Review, War Movie