--- title: "The Guns of Navarone: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-guns-of-navarone/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-guns-of-navarone" critics_score: 69 critics_reviews: 9 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Guns of Navarone (1961): what the critics said Critics' score 69 from 9 reviews: 6 positive, 0 mixed, 3 negative. Most critics like it, and they like it for the same reasons. The praise gathers around the set pieces: the cliff climb, the storm and the final assault are singled out as the sequences that still work. The cast gets the next share of credit, with Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn and David Niven named again and again, and several reviews credit J Lee Thompson with holding the tension across a long running time. Dimitri Tiomkin’s score is mentioned warmly more than once. The spread is wide, though. Three of the nine are negative, and the dissenters agree on the problem: the film wants to be an adventure and an argument about the futility of war, and the two pull against each other. Sight and Sound finds too much talk and thinks Niven miscast; The Guardian calls it a pantomime with wooden acting. Even The New York Times, broadly favourable, wants more character and less melodrama. ## Slant Magazine Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 7 May 2007. 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. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-guns-of-navarone/) ## The Telegraph Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 5 November 2021. 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. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/guns-navarone-david-nivens-epic-blew-war-movie/) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1960. 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. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1960/film/reviews/the-guns-of-navarone-1200419876/) ## Empire — Ian Nathan Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 27 April 2006. 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. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/guns-navarone-review/) ## Radio Times — Jeremy Aspinall Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 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. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-6ywmrb/the-guns-of-navarone/) ## The New York Times — Bosley Crowther Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 23 June 1961. 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. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1961/06/23/archives/screen-a-robust-dramaguns-of-navarone-is-at-two-theatres.html) ## Sight and Sound Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 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. [Read the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/features/ultimatefilm/chart/details.php?ranking=43) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 15 May 1961. 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. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/15/spartacus-guns-of-navarone-film-review) ## Den of Geek — Mark Pickavance Rating 2/5. 17 October 2011. 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. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-guns-of-navarone-50th-anniversary-edition-blu-ray-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-guns-of-navarone.md