Guns of Navarone watchalong Thursday 18th 9pm GMT

Number24

The cannons were made at Pinewood by enginners who constructed artillery for real.

Gymkata

Number24 wrote:

The cannons were made at Pinewood by enginners who constructed artillery for real.

these are essentially Howitzers, right?

Shady Tree

The guns of Navarone! Phallic symbolism, if ever there was any!

Gymkata

Great musical cue when you finally up close with the Guns.

Shady Tree

The sailor who stabs 'The Butcher of Barcelona' looks too avuncular to be messing about on gun boats!

Number24

The majority of the biggest coastal artillery in the world are in Norway. The Germans took them from battleships that were destroyed or never finished.

Charmed & Dangerous

Stanley Baker's death scene is a bit cheesy.

Shady Tree

Showdown with Darren... it's Bob Simmons who shoots him!

Barbel

Gymkata wrote:

Great musical cue when you finally up close with the Guns.

Absolutely, Tiomkin's score is one of this film's greatest assets.

Number24

Number24 wrote:

The majority of the biggest coastal artillery in the world are in Norway. The Germans took them from battleships that were destroyed or never finished.

What do you mean, phallic nature? ;% :v :v

Golrush007

Shady Tree wrote:

Showdown with Darren... it's Bob Simmons who shoots him!

Interesting...that Bob Simmons gets around quite a bit.

Barbel

Number24 wrote:

Number24 wrote:

The majority of the biggest coastal artillery in the world are in Norway. The Germans took them from battleships that were destroyed or never finished.

What do you mean, phallic nature? ;% :v :v

Have you read Fleming's TMWTGG?

Shady Tree

The stuff inside the gun emplacement, with the Germans trying to drill their way in, it's an aesthetic of 'blue collar' labour... sweat, grime, grease, muscle and mechanical skill...

Gymkata

Number24 wrote:

Number24 wrote:

The majority of the biggest coastal artillery in the world are in Norway. The Germans took them from battleships that were destroyed or never finished.

What do you mean, phallic nature? ;% :v :v

Barbel

Gymkata wrote:

Number24 wrote:

Number24 wrote:

The majority of the biggest coastal artillery in the world are in Norway. The Germans took them from battleships that were destroyed or never finished.

What do you mean, phallic nature? ;% :v :v

Oh, I love that film!

Shady Tree

The movie's least convincing special effect is the shimmering sea as seen from inside the gun emplacement... a bit like a 'Blue Peter' Christmas decoration!

Number24

The SOE really did make explosive rats, just like in the movie. :007)

Shady Tree

A dramatic problem at this stage in the movie is that our surviving heroes are no longer in any personal jeopardy... the tension about whether their mission has been successful is all that remains (and it's easy to predict the outcome, despite all the Hitchcockian suspense around the stopping and starting wheels on the elevator!)

Number24

The mountain blowing up and the cannons falling in the sea is too obviously model work, but I don't know if it can be done better without CGI.

Shady Tree

The final explosions are as good as in any Bond film!

Gymkata

love that they gave Anthony Quayle some good reaction shots here.

Gymkata

really well done composite shot of the boats with the model of the burning gun emplacement.

Barbel

What a fun experience watching this film again with you guys. Thank you all, and particularly Number24 for being behind all this. I've had a fun evening, and a wonderful experience. Thanks again.

Shady Tree

The film greatly benefits from the Greek navy lending those six warships!

Charmed & Dangerous

Such a stirring ending when the battleships sound their klaxons.

Shady Tree

Barbel wrote:

What a fun experience watching this film again with you guys. Thank you all, and particularly Number24 for being behind all this. I've had a fun evening, and a wonderful experience. Thanks again.

Yes, thanks N24. You've been trying to get this evening going for some while and I'm glad you managed it. A pleasure, as always, to join in with an AJB watchalong with everyone here :-)

Gymkata

FORCE 10 now?

Golrush007

A most enjoyable watchalong. It's been a while since I last saw this film, revisiting it has been great. It's almost 2AM here (work will definitely suffer in the morning) so I'll bid you all a good night. I look forward to the next one!

Number24

This was fun and it couldn't have been done without all of you
A special thanks to Gymkata for great GIF work.
It's a relief to see non-Bond watchalongs can work.
Are you onboard for a Where Eagles Dare watchalong in a few weeks?

Shady Tree

Gymkata wrote:

love that they gave Anthony Quayle some good reaction shots here.

It sort of anticipates that thing with 70s TV of replaying clips of the leads in the end titles (it became a movie thing first).