Watch The Guns of Navarone

The Guns of Navarone is a gripping war drama set during World War II, released in 1961. The movie stars David Niven, Gregory Peck, and Anthony Quinn as members of an Allied commando team sent to sabotage two massive German guns on the Greek island of Navarone, which threaten the evacuation of 2,000 trapped British soldiers. The movie is based on Alistair MacLean's novel of the same name.

The film begins with a British Navy destroyer rescuing a handful of commandos stranded on a cliff on Navarone. Among them is Captain Keith Mallory, played by Gregory Peck, an experienced mountaineer who is enlisted to lead a team of saboteurs to take out the guns.

Mallory's team is composed of Sergeant John Miller, played by David Niven, a skilled scholar and explosives expert; Greek resistance fighter Andrea Stavros, played by Anthony Quinn, who provides valuable intelligence on the island's terrain and facilities, and who has a personal stake in the mission; and a team of four others, each with their own skill sets.

Mallory's mission is straightforward: lead his team to infiltrate the heavily guarded Nazi fortress atop the Navarone cliffs, find a way to destroy the guns, sweep the island for hidden German troops, and fight their way out to rendezvous with the British Navy before the guns inevitably take out their armada.

As the mission progresses, the team is confronted with numerous obstacles, including dangerous cliffs, treacherous seas, minefields, fierce storms, and a seemingly impervious Nazi garrison. The team also quickly realizes that they were never intended to succeed – in fact, their real mission was to divert the Nazis' attention while a larger force attempted to rescue the British soldiers, hundreds of whom were dying each day in a nearby valley from lack of food, medical supplies, and water.

The movie is filled with stunning visuals of the rugged Greek coastline, which serve as an apt metaphor for the team's daunting task. The towering cliffs of Navarone are beautifully and menacingly rendered, sheltering a heavily fortified concrete fortress that is nearly impervious to conventional attack. The film's director, J. Lee Thompson, makes excellent use of the island's natural beauty, and the action sequences are always thrilling and suspenseful.

The cast is fantastic, particularly Peck, who delivers a commanding performance as the team's leader, and Niven, who adds a touch of levity to the otherwise grim proceedings. Quinn is electrifying as the Greek resistance leader, and the chemistry between the three leads is palpable.

One of the film's most enduring legacies is its music score, composed by Dimitri Tiomkin, which includes the signature theme "The Guns of Navarone" and which served as the inspiration for a whole generation of war movie music. The score is both epic and intimate, and it perfectly suits the action on screen.

The Guns of Navarone is a must-see for fans of war dramas, and it still holds up today as a thrilling and exciting example of the genre. The movie is not only an exciting adventure story, but also a compelling exploration of the human cost of war, and the sacrifice and heroism that it can inspire. It's no wonder that the movie was a massive blockbuster upon its release, and it remains a cornerstone of wartime cinema to this day.

The Guns of Navarone is a 1961 war movie with a runtime of 2 hours and 38 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.5 and a MetaScore of 72.