The Guns of Navarone (1961)

An early war-classic, this was based on Alistair MacLeans novel by the same name, a novel most acclaimed by critics. So does the film do it justice?

Quite frankly, yes. There are some flaws, but all in all this is a classic by it's own right.

First and foremost the casting is brilliant. Though Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn are good, it is David Niven that gives the most riveting performance. His insolence cemented in his first two lines, leaving the viewer in no doubt as to what kind of a soldier he is.

Straight to the high-point: The stand-off between a furious and baiting Niven and the desperate Peck taken in by his earlier actions, is an astonishingly acted scene, beautifully directed. The quick shock, followed by the late reaction and utterly crestfallen look on Niven's face as his well-argued bluff gets called is a detail to behold and a turning point of his entire character. Marvelous and surely one of the best scenes of the decade!

This film is at its best when it plays to its strengths, and in particular its cast. The lines are well written and the characters all have their little quirks and twists, exemplified nicely through Stanley Baker's speech about his tiredness over the war, and particularly his own stature as the "Butcher of Barcelona". And to the director's credit it's not just a speech, but has consequences throughout the movie (take a lesson, Spielberg).

Director Thompson does the novel credit by panning out the plot very nicely, never overstating. The traitor-angle (which can easily be dealt with in a clumsy manner) start out as tiny traces only the most observant viewer will catch on to, slowly building up until it can be ignored no longer. Another plus to the director for portraying the Nazis less like caricatures than most early war-films, particularly through Walter Gotell.

Unfortunately the film has two weaknesses. There is too much slow suspense, and it's not very evenly distributed throughout the movie. The sinking boat followed by the climbing is almost half an hour where the director is looking for one single effect from the film and affect from his audience. Sounds tedious? It is after a while and with a running time of 150 minutes, it really could have needed the shave.

Furthermore, Dimitri Tiomkin's score is woeful. The theme is patriotic and light-hearted. That could have worked decently during the credits, but unfortunately we're treated to variations over this theme throughout the movie, whether there's suspense, action or drama. It helps neither and destroys the mood of the two last in particular.

The set pieces are of course astronomical for its time and I imagine it must have been a nightmare for the actors to endure the necessary treatment to get it looking good. And that it does!

A must see for all intents and purposes if you like the any of the spy- or wargenre.

8/10