tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post6563439752174593253..comments2024-03-08T18:49:51.289-05:00Comments on Classic Film and TV Café: Alastair MacLean's The Guns of NavaroneRick29http://www.blogger.com/profile/08358116647815569722noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-67373650731726233062020-06-20T15:11:24.993-04:002020-06-20T15:11:24.993-04:00I'm not a big action/war film fan...but I LOVE...I'm not a big action/war film fan...but I LOVE this movie! It's a nail-biter alright, but I think what makes it really stand out is the cast and its setting. I wish more adventure films were set in Greece. In Peck's later days, he reunited with Niven to make the wonderful Sea Wolves. The Metzinger Sistershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10728879307994086409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-53389099940348613942020-06-20T15:01:27.172-04:002020-06-20T15:01:27.172-04:00I agree that Peck, Niven and Quinn were too old fo...I agree that Peck, Niven and Quinn were too old for these roles, but it's such a terrific film with a brisk pace and smart dialogue, you can overlook that. This is a film I watch regularly, and I always forget it's so long. Like you said, it doesn't drag or feel like a long film.Silver Screeningshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04955048716754142299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-81506577280402137792020-06-15T23:26:38.170-04:002020-06-15T23:26:38.170-04:00MacLeans's books I couldn't read, his styl...MacLeans's books I couldn't read, his style didn't sit well -- but I didn't have a problem with the movie adaptations. "Guns" I liked, but right away I felt the same as you that the actors were too old for the parts.<br /><br />I'm afraid I haven't seen it since it came out in theaters. Sat through it halfway through a second viewing, and my friend and I decided to walk home instead of wait for his mother to pick us up at the arranged time. She was frantic searching for us. We both received wounds suffered in battle as a result of that escapade and I never wanted to relive the experience.Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00452222696907771602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-51487626946508027382020-06-15T17:16:35.900-04:002020-06-15T17:16:35.900-04:00Very nice review, Rick. McLean was one of those au...Very nice review, Rick. McLean was one of those authors, like Michael Crichton or John Grisham, who seems to be relatively easy to adapt into film. Or, the popularity of his novels made adaptations less risky for risk-averse Hollywood.<br /><br />Fun fact: David Niven played a small, but instrumental role in England's effort to stave off Hitler during the Blitz in WWII. I am reading Erik Larson's excellent "The Splendid and the Vile" right now, and Niven makes a real life "cameo" volunteering to entertain (in London) a key figure in the US government at a crucial time when Churchill desperately needed the US to support England - prior to Pear Harbor, of course.Eric Warrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12494404128694639359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-79871935384443763992020-06-15T08:08:02.940-04:002020-06-15T08:08:02.940-04:00Did you time this post to coincide with James Robe...Did you time this post to coincide with James Robertson Justice's birthdate?<br /><br />On the drive home from a party where we heard someone comment how much he "hated" The Guns of Navarone, my husband mused that if we ever created an application form for friends, the first question should be their feelings about The Guns of Navarone so we could weed out the haters. Caftan Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05936895555808823221noreply@blogger.com