The Guns of Navarone (1961)

The film ranks among the best war movies for its mayhem, fighting, and straightforward story of heroism. It survives on its strong performances, particularly those of Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, and David Niven, and its sense of being more than a product of its time.

The piece celebrates the film as a groundbreaking epic that set standards for special effects, star power and stunt work in war movies. It highlights its enduring excitement and status as a blockbuster success that influenced later ensemble war films.

The film is a winner thanks to its weighty stars, terrific special effects and socko situations, despite a mid-production director switch and high cost. Highlights include the cliff-scaling sequence, storm scene and explosive climax.

The critic views the film as a quintessential WWII men-on-a-mission adventure that thrillingly executes its high-stakes plot with strong performances from a mix of actors and real directorial skill in building tension. It is described as a boy's-own classic despite being out of fashion.

This classic wartime adventure follows a daring commando raid on German guns threatening naval operations, with strong support from a cast including Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn and David Niven. Director J Lee Thompson maintains tension across the epic length, aided by a stirring Dimitri Tiomkin score.

This big, robust action drama in the DeMille tradition emphasizes melodrama over character or credibility but moves swiftly with pace and bold performances. The director handles the explosive action well, though the producer might have aimed for more complex human drama.

The film struggles with an imbalance between its moral and philosophical themes and the adventure plot, resulting in too much talk and diffusion that undermines narrative tension. Gregory Peck's impassive performance and miscasting of David Niven add to the difficulties in accepting the characters' relationships.

The critic finds the film a boys' own adventure pantomime that fails to convey its intended anti-war message about the futility of conflict. The acting is criticised as wooden, though it works as straightforward old-fashioned adventure.

The critic grew up loving 1960s war movies but now appreciates this one's subversion of the genre through character tensions and anti-war undertones beneath the action. He singles out the strong ensemble cast, especially the dynamics among Peck, Niven and Quinn, and the evocative score for praise.