The Guns of Navarone

One of the most popular World War II films ever made, The Guns of Navarone (1961) boasts a superb international cast, lavish production values, picturesque locations, cliffhanging action, and Oscar-winning special effects. Adapted from Alistair MacLean's bestselling novel, Navarone, the film follows a team of Allied commandos that includes an American officer (Gregory Peck), a British explosives expert (David Niven), and a Greek freedom fighter (Anthony Quinn). Their landing on a Greek island and subsequent attempt to destroy a battery of huge guns deployed by Nazis in a seemingly impregnable fortress consumes nearly three hours, but director J. Lee Thompson (Cape Fear) never allows the pace to flag, keeping viewers riveted with a succession of breathtaking stunts and narrow escapes, while the actors supply topnotch performances. An intelligent, suspenseful wartime drama that garnered seven Academy Award nominations, The Guns of Navarone remains as fresh and exciting today as it was upon its original release more than 40 years ago. This Superbit edition boasts a slightly improved visual image and sharper audio (thanks to the Superbit process's higher bit rate for recording), while also adding a robust DTS soundtrack, but the transfer looked fairly decent already on the original release, which was also loaded with extras. Highly recommended for those who are collecting Superbit titles; for others, the original DVD is the better bet. (E. Hulse)[DVD Review—May 1, 2007—Sony, 2 discs, 157 min., not rated, $24.95—Making its third appearance on DVD, 1961's The Guns of Navarone (Collector's Edition) sports a great transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. DVD extras include two audio commentaries (one with director J. Lee Thompson; the other with film historian Stephen J. Rubin), a 30-minute “Memories of Navarone” retrospective featurette, the “Ironic Epic of Heroism” featurette (25 min.), “Forging The Guns of Navarone: Notes from the Set” (14 min.), an “Epic Restoration” featurette on the restoration process (10 min.), “A Heroic Score” (9 min.), a six-minute narration-free prologue that showcases the score, a six-minute “Roadshow Intermission,” four vintage featurettes (“Great Guns,” “No Visitors,” “Honeymoon on Rhodes,” and “Two Girls on the Town”—approximately 20 min. total), a message from screenwriter-producer Carl Foreman (2 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a whopping extras package for a fine WWII film.][Blu-ray Review—Oct. 11, 2011—Sony, 156 min., not rated, $19.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1961's The Guns of Navarone sports a good transfer and features a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack. Extras carried over from previous DVD releases include two audio commentaries (one with director J. Lee Thompson; the other with film historian Stephen J. Rubin), a “Memories of Navarone” retrospective featurette (30 min.), the “Ironic Epic of Heroism” featurette (25 min.), “Forging The Guns of Navarone: Notes from the Set” (14 min.), an “Epic Restoration” segment on the restoration process (10 min.), “A Heroic Score” (9 min.), a narration-less prologue that showcases the score (6 min.), a “Roadshow Intermission” (6 min.), four vintage featurettes (20 min. total), a message from screenwriter-producer Carl Foreman (2 min.), and trailers. New to this Blu-ray release is “The Resistance Dossier of Navarone” interactive feature (25 min.) and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a beloved war classic makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray.]