The Guns of Navarone (1961)

VHS CASE/SIDE

Length of film: 158 Minutes (Roadshow: 161 Minutes)

Rated: PG

Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama

Director: J. Lee Thompson

Starring: Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn, Stanley Baker, Anthony Quayle, James Darren, Irene Papas, Gia Scala, Richard Harris, Walter Gotell

IMDB Rank: 7.5/10

Part 1 Time:  87 Minutes (Roadshow: 91 Minutes)

Part 2 Time:  71 Minutes (Roadshow: 70 Minutes)

Where does the first part end? Capt. Keith Mallory (Gregory Peck), Capt. John Anthony Miller (David Niven), Col. Andrea Strvros (Anthony Quinn), CPO Butcher Brown (Stanley Baker) Maria Pappadimos (Irene Papas) and Anna (Gia Scala) are captured by Nazi soldiers.

Final line of dialogue on the first part: “Give up quietly gentleman, unless you want a great many innocent people killed along with yourselves?” Muesel (Walter Gotell) states as he holds the group at gun point.

First line of dialogue on the second part: “Turn around please.” Muesel states as he questions the group about the whereabouts of the explosives.

How jarring is it when the first part ends? Somewhat, the group has been captured by Nazi soldiers, will they been able to escape and finish their mission?

Which part is better? Both parts have multiple edge of your seat action scenes. The group goes through many ups and downs on their mission as they are faced with betrayal, environmental factors and Nazi interference. Part two is given the edge as we are able to see the results of the mission.

Academy Awards: Best Effects- Special Effects, Best Picture (Nominated), Best Director (Nominated), Best Writing-Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Nominated), Best Sound (Nominated), Best Film Editing (Nominated), Best Music- Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (Nominated).