The Guns of Navarone was a book that was originally written by Alistair MacLean in 1957 and the plot centers on a military attack in an attempt to take down a German fortress which is located on an island in the Aegean Sea. The book became so popular with readers that it later made into a movie in 1961. The part of the book regarding Navarone Island is completely made up; however it was based on the Battle of Leros which really did take place and it was part of a campaign that is connected to World War II. The film adaption of the book starred Gregory Peck and received rave reviews from the public because of the fact that it had an all-star cast and because it was based on such a wildly popular novel.

One of the main characters in the story is Captain Keith Mallory who is an officer from New Zealand and belongs to the Long Range Desert Group, nicknamed “The human fly” in novel because of his reputation for mountain climbing before the war began. Another one of the more noteworthy characters in this book is Colonel Andrea Stavros who used to be a commander of a Greek Motorised Regiment and the leader of the resistance movement on the fictional island of “Crete”. There is also Captain James Jensen R.N who is the leader of the Allied Intelligence for the Middle East as well as Mediterranean Theater of Operations.

Written by Alistair MacLean in 1957, The Guns of Navarone was made into a movie in1961 starring Gregory Peck. The story centers on attempts to destroy a German fortress on an island in the Aegean sea.

While there is no island named Navarone, the story is based on the Battle of Leros, part of the Dodecanese Campaign in World War II.

German and Italian soldiers occupied Greece and its many islands when Greece fell in April 1941. The next month, the allies also lost the island of Crete.

When Italy surrendered to the Allies in September 1943, the British saw an opportunity to retake the Grecian islands, occupying Leros that same month. By October, the Brits had 3,000 forces in place on the island.

The Germans responded by ordering the commander of the 22nd Infantry Division, Generalleutnant Friedrich-Wilhem Muller, to take Leros.

The German effort to retake Leros began with nearly 50 days of air strikes followed by an amphibious landing on Nov. 12, 1943 and a drop of 500 parachutists, most of whom landed safely. During the night, more German reinforcements arrived.

Fighting on the 14th and 15th resulted in more casualties but no conclusion. On the night of the 15th, the Germans landed an additional 1,000 troops and artillery.

Despite being outnumbered, the Brits managed to retake part of Apetiki, land an additional company and capture 170 German prisoners, marching them to Samos.

On the morning of Nov. 16, the British commander, Brigadier Tilney, surrendered 3,200 British soldiers and 5,320 Italian solders who had agreed to fight with the Brits.

The Americans withdrew air support, leaving three British battalions to fight on for five more days.

When it comes to old war tales there is nothing like the Guns of Navarone which is a WW2 story about a small group of soldiers who do their duty to save many other lives. These men where behind the lines troops who only came in a handful at a time but where bad enough to carry out a very important detail which could help not only save many lives and expensive military hardware but could also help win the war by opening up a channel of water into the enemy territory. The story starts out that a convoy of navy ships is destroyed by the guns of Navarone which are built into a cliff face which is facing the entrance to a river and harbor for the enemy shops. To get past these big cannons was a very difficult task because they were well fortified and built into solid rock.

The elite handful of men managed to get behind enemy lines by killing most of the guards along the way. Their mission was to either sabotage the guns or somehow stop them from firing at the ships coming up the passage. They had to fight many men however these Americans where well equipped and ready for a full on battle while the guys on board the ships where relying on the elite force to silence the guns before they arrived. Needless to say there was a happy ending at the very last moment however most of the heroes died during this bloody campaign which is why they tell the story, to remember them. There are many different stories about war and the trials of these times but the Guns of Navarone is one book that is worth reading.

When it comes to people ripping off books and making them into movies there is often something left out in the telling. You could see this in the movie the great escape as well as others like Pearl Harbor where some chapters did not add up to the same detail that is described in the books. The guns of Navarone are one story that would make a great movie is the right producer came along and made a decent effort of it. The book is an old favorite of many people that have a good view of stories from the Second World War.

The guns of Navarone are tactically and strategically emplacements guns or more like canons which were used to protect an inlet in a bay that would have been the perfect point for landing an army which could have easily crossed the country to conquer the land. These giant guns where designed to blow the big ships out of the water. With six inch diameter canon barrels and larger there is a certain threatening look about them which would keep any person worried about crossing their path. Hopefully in the near future there will be a great movie with many good quality actors and actresses which will make it a Hollywood success. Until then we will have to make do with the action war movies that are available now such as Saving Private Ryan and Wind Talkers.

Alistair McLean, the brains behind the historical novel Guns of Navaronne, is kind of an obscure figure. Even though Alistair McLean is responsible for some great and critically acclaimed works such as Where Eagles Dare and Fear is the Key, few people know the life of this great novelist.

Alistair began his life in Scotland and was the son of a minister. He then came on to serve in the Royal navy and was injured in battle. It is during his term in the Royal Navy that McLean gathered the vivid imagery that makes his novels so captivating.

After he left the army, McLean studied English at the University of Glasgow where he learned the tricks of the trade. He published his first novel in 1955, HMS Ulysses, which was loosely based on his various war experiences. The novel became an instant hit and readers where captivate by McLean’s straight to the point action and cynical characters. He went on to publish Guns of Navaronne in 1957 which was arguably the most important novel of his career.

Alistair went on to write many other books during his lifetime, but none received the same response as his earlier works. He then became an alcoholic and died from alcohol related complications in 1987.

Alistair McLean left us many great works as a testament to his talent. Sadly, most of his novels are not available in print in the US. However, new revamped copies of the movie Guns of Navarrone are hitting the shelves and maybe, just maybe, they will help carry the legacy of the great author that Alistair McLean was.

Although there was not much better than to go off to war during the World War Era with Nazi Germany, there were great movies made about it that allowed people to feel like they were in the midst of the action. German Nazis plotting to do their worse is something that everyone feared and hated them for. Luckily, in the movies such as the Guns of Navarone, the heroes are the winners in the end. Full of action and special don’t turn away appeal, the movie had a great budget and has made a big impact on moviegoers back when the movie first debuted. There are many reasons to see it now, because it has been fully restored, colored and sound re-mastered for the surround sound experience. Many people will enjoy it more now as a full Hollywood feature!

There are many people in this movie that will stay in your memory and you will want to search them out in other movies as well. Even though the acting isn’t very good and some of the effects are very lazy, this great American tale of being the hero is sure to inspire the generation all over again. Young ones will enjoy the great story that the Guns of Navarone provides while older viewers will remember the good old days. Taking advantage of such an amazing movie is a really good idea, especially if you enjoy really good movies. There are more reasons to watch this great feature length film than there are not to. Even those who do not like war movies can really enjoy this one because there are love and romance scenes, action scenes and great technological scenes that will peak everyone’s interests.

Although the film version of Guns of Navarone differed greatly from the book and had many of the characters changed, added in characters and even changed a bit of the storyline, it was a great box office hit. Many people enjoyed the film because it was a story about helping to stop a major force of evil, the Nazi Party. World War II is one of the settings that were very popular in movies in the 1960′s and Guns of Navarone actually was the best grossing film in 1961. This is probably due to the nature of the film.

Even though such a great book was changed so much for the film adaptation, it was still a great success. Many of the characters where essentially “dumbed” down but the movie added in action packed sequences where the characters do many stunts and perform some of the most elite and tactical moves that you would have ever seen in actual WWII combat. The storyline actually takes place in Greece where the Nazis plan on starting war between the British and the Turks. This plan is eventually foiled by the team because the guns are destroyed with explosives after a very intense story.

To really get the best out of this movie, you have to see it for yourself. Many media sellers will carry the new and improved restored copy on DVD that allows you to see the great quality picture and awesome sound that is meant to be heard. You should try and skip the original version if you have yet to see it as it does not pack the punch that the restored version does. Make sure to literally watch it over and over again so that you don’t miss any of the storyline and you get to see all of the detail from the movie!

The Guns of Navarone was once a fuzzy and very badly done movie, or so we thought until the re-release restored format that is now available on DVD. The video is crisp and clear with the sound format made for surround sound. This means that watching it today can make you feel like you were really there, fighting German forces and in the heat of the War and give you a sense of something greater than what the film was originally released as. Seeing this movie and piece of art once again can make you feel like you were watching it for the first time in the re-mastered and restored format.

The storyline will surely keep you glued to the seat as you partake in all that is the Guns of Navarone. Making sure to experience this movie in full widescreen format and surround sound is the only way you should watch it unless you get the rare chance to watch it at the cinema. Without the best equipment available today, you will not be able to see this movie in its full glory in the way it was intended to be seen.

The plot and characters resemble what would happen in real life if these events were to truly occur. The Guns of Navarone restored allows you to see all that you couldn’t see before as well as gives you the opportunity to watch the story unfold for the characters you know and love. If you have yet to see this movie, then it is recommended that you experience it in the new and improved restored and re-mastered format to see it how it was meant to be seen. The older versions of this movie simply do not offer what you could be experiencing with the new release.

The Guns of Navaron is a movie from 1961. The categories that this movie fall into include action, adventure, drama and war. The basic plot of the movie is that a British team is sent to cross occupied Greek territory and destroy the massive German gun emplacement that commands a key sea channel.

Although the movie is over forty-five years old, it contains many names from Hollywood that are still known to this day. Some of the notable names that appeared in this film include Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn, Stanley Baker, Anthony Quayle, James Darren, Irene Papas, Gia Scala, James Robertson Justice, Richard Harris, Bryan Forbes, Allan Cuthbertson, Micheal Trubshawe, Percy Herbert and George Mikell.

Throughout the year of 1962, the movie did quite well in terms of the recognition it received throughout Hollywood. The biggest award the movie received was the Oscar for Best Special Effects. In addition to this win, it was nominated for six other Oscars, including Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Music Scoring of a Dramatic Picture, Best Sound, Best Writing Based on Material from Another Medium and even Best Picture. In addition to its Oscar win, the movie also won three other awards: Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Motion Picture Score, and a Golden Laurel for Best Drama. To round things out, the movie received an additional four nominations from various movie award institutions, including the BAFTA Awards, Directors Guild of America, the Golden Globes and the Grammy Awards.