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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Salesrank: 8441
Released: March 28, 2000 |
| Our Price: $3.98 |
| Used Price: $2.18 |
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MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Robert Shaw (The Deep, Jaws) and Harrison Ford (The Fugitive, Air Force One) star as fearless World War II commandos in this thrilling follow-up to The Guns of Navarone. Directed by Guy Hamilton (Goldfinger) and adapted to the screen by Robin Chapman (screenplay) and Academy AwardÂ(r) winner* Carl Foreman (screen story), it's a large-scale action-adventure saga with "remarkable special effects" (Los Angeles Times), a powerful cast and "one hair-breadth escape after another" (Newsweek). In the darkest days of World War II, Hitler's armies are storming through Europe, annihilating all opposition in their path. But US Colonel Barnsby (Ford) plots to strike a crippling blow to the brutal Nazi forces. To succeed, he'll need the help of the most skilled and lethal soldiers in the world: the Force 10 squad, fresh from itstriumphant mission at Navarone. *1957: Adapted Screenplay, The Bridge on the River Kwai
Description of Force 10 From Navarone:
Generally underrated by critics, this 1978 sequel to the famous Guns of Navarone finds a miscellaneous group of commandos and spies trying to hinder the Nazis by destroying a bridge between them and the partisans. The story (based on a novel by Alistair MacLean) has nothing to do with the first film, but it is a tightly woven and entertaining piece with sharp performances and delightful character alliances. Director Guy Hamilton (Goldfinger) brings his trademark eye for handsome vistas to the canvas as well, so this is hardly the shoddy and dull knockoff many reviewers have previously suggested. No classic, perhaps, but a lot of fun. --Tom Keogh
Force 10 From Navarone Reviews:
Solid WWII Escapism 
2009-09-28 - Though Carl Foreman wrote the screen story, "Force 10 From Navarone" (1978) has little connection to Alistair MacLean's "The Guns of Navarone." It doesn't matter. 007 veteran Guy Hamilton directs this action-filled World War II adventure with efficiency and humor. Robert Shaw and Edward Fox take over the Gregory Peck and David Niven roles in memorable fashion - ably supported by co-stars Harrison Ford, Carl Weathers and Barbara Bach. Composer Ron Goodwin ("Where Eagles Dare") provides a typically rousing score. "Force 10 From Navarone" received a bad rap from critics, yet holds up nicely when seen today. The double-sided DVD features the superior 125-minute European version in widescreen format.
Suitable for children? 
2009-09-12 - I am a seventeen year old movie buff and am writing a series of reviews on films from the late fifties on so that parents can know what content issues may arise from these films. The sixties and seventies were known for pushing the content envelope to new levels and despite the common "if it's old it's ok for kids," statement, there are many films during this period that are not suitable for children.
After the review, I have also included my personal opinions on whether or not a film is suitable for children and whether or not the film is worth watching. Please do not be offended by my reviews because they are just stating the facts. I am trying to be as un-biased as possible.
Force Ten from Nowhere
Summary
Keith Mallory (Robert Shaw) and Dusty Miller (Edward Fox) are called on to perform another dangerous mission, this time in Yugoslavia with the aid of a headstrong colonel (Harrison Ford, fresh off of Star Wars). With this trio, action and suspense are sure to follow.
Violence
Fairly non-intense, but very lethal violence is shown through-out the film. Multiple shootings (mostly without blood), a violent knife fight, and the decapitation of an obvious dummy are all present in this film. Many explosions and a few scattered fist fights finish the tally.
Sexual Content
THERE IS NUDITY IN THIS FILM! About half-way though, Barbara Bach is shown topless (briefly) while taking a bath. Her back and most of her legs are also visible during this scene. She covers herself with a towel fairly quickly, but the damage is done. The context of the scene is that she is living with a German officer who watches her the entire scene without shame.
Language
Strong. Both variations of the B-word are used multiple times. Scattered S-words and multiple d-words and h-words. Approximately sixty profanities.
Now that Harrison Ford is an icon, his films have taken on an almost legendary status. This film, however, is probably one he would like to forget. Labeled a sequel to the classic Guns of Navarone, the two films have little common ground. Alistair MacLean did not write the screenplay for this film, so it strays wildly from the book. If this had been to the benefit on the film, one would not argue with it.
However, the film is monotonously childish. Too dumb for adults and too dirty for kids, this film is possibly the worst Harrison Ford ever appeared in. His own performance here is awkward. He had not yet perfected his boyish grin and his character is poorly defined and very wooden. If you insist on watching this movie, you'll probably regret it as much as he regrets appearing in it.
Force 10 runs out of breath
2009-07-06 - Irrespective of whether it was intended to be a sequel to the excellent 'Guns of Navarone' or not, the fact it uses Navarone in the title inevitably forces a comparison, to which this film falls dreadfully short. Additionally, if one reads the book this film is taken from, again it falls short by a long margin.
One of the many problems was the miscasting of Mallory. Gregory Peck brought a competent, ruthless and reliable character to the screen with his portrayal of the commando leader, yet Robert Shaw, in the twilight of his career (he was to die shortly afterwards), was a baffling and mystifying choice. Why him? He was over the hill and too old (the unsubtle scripting of having him carrying an injury was to accommodate his physical infirmity).
The book had Andrea Stavrou and 3 British commandos join Mallory and Miller, yet the scriptwriters here decided to omit Andrea totally and change the 3 Brits to a whole platoon of Americans - of which all but 2 were killed before they actually set down on Yugoslav soil. The plot was thin and haphazard, and could have been written by a half competent schoolboy. The holes in the story could have accommodated a bus being driven through it.
Richard Keil was one believeable actor suited to the role he was given, but many of the actors were miscast. Edward Fox was so-so, but then David Niven was always going to be a hard act to follow. But why I ask if this was meant to be a standalone story, parachute two old has-beens into Yugoslav territory? For a start, their characters weren't old as we were meant to believe, and they were far more competent and adept at survival than the American soldiers who really ought to have been wearing Star Trek red shirts as they obviously were there to die cheaply.
A loose excuse in identifying a rogue German agent disguised as a Yugoslav partisan was given, but anyone could have gone over and done it with the perfect photo Mallory and Miller were given before setting out. It just didn't work as a believeable story.
The film was shot on location in Yugoslavia, which is I suppose why they filmed that book (it was cheap to film behind the Iron Curtain in those days) but it was a confused mish-mash of loosely linked scenes where the heros escape, return to rescue their comrades, then somehow manage to stumble across getting explosives. The traitor gave the excuse of coming along as none of the others spoke German. Yet in Guns the character of Mallory spoke perfect German. If the same character is used then please get the character right, not completely reinvent him.
Poor script and poor casting ruined what might have been a decent film.
"The Guns of Navarone" it isn't, But "Force 10" is Still A Force To Be Reckoned With!
2008-12-29 - Everything that can go wrong for the heroes--does go wrong for them--in "Goldfinger" director Guy Hamilton's "Force 10 from Navarone," an above-average, atmospheric, $10-million dollar, World War II tale of espionage and adventure based on Alistair MacLean's exciting bestseller. Remember, MacLean wrote "Where Eagles Dare." Unfortunately, "Force 10 from Navarone" isn't as superlative as its source novel and many of its problems spring from the unfortunate fact that 20 years elapsed before the filmmakers brought it to get it to the screen. "Force 10" features a first-rate cast with Robert Shaw taking over the Gregory Peck role, Edward Fox replacing David Niven as the explosives expert, both of whom are joined by Carl Weathers of "Rocky" fame, Barbara Back and Richard Kiel from the James Bond movie "The Spy Who Loved Me." "The Long Ships" lenser Christopher Challis captures all this larger-than-life action with his widescreen photography. "Where Eagles Dare" & "633 Squadron" composer Rod Goodwin supplies an exhilarating as well as suspenseful orchestral score.
The instant that Robert Shaw and his commandos parachute into the Balkans, the British R.A.F. Lancaster bomber that they commandeered after a hard-knuckled fist fight with M.P.s blows up. No sooner than they land behind enemy lines than they find themselves prisoners about to be shot as spies by the villainous Nazis. Only at the last possible moment do our valiant heroes triumph over well-nigh impossible odds. They confront the same perils--in a sense--that Hercules faced when he hacked off the Hydra's head, only to see two more heads grow back to replace the one that he'd cut off.
Aside from a decapitation scene and the sadistic beating that Richard Kiel gives Barbara Bach, "Force 10 from Navarone" is a stylized fantasy in the superb tradition of the World War II propaganda combat movies that Errol Flynn made at Warner Brothers between 1942 and 1945. Although scores of men die, bloodletting is kept to a minimum. Take the heroes: a stout bunch of lads with clenched jaws and uncompromising virtue. Or the villains: a ruthless pack of devils that outnumber the good guys 100 to one. Nevertheless, despite the suicidal odds, our resourceful heroes carry out their mission, but not without considerable trouble. Sadly, Alistair MacLean's thrilling novel loses much of its panache in Robin Chapman's script. While Chapman's script keeps most of the plot intact (yes, they destroy a bridge by blasting a dam to smithereens), he has rewritten many scenes, eliminated several important characters, and added some--like Carl Weather's African-American sergeant.
Director Guy Hamilton encores explosive footage from director J. Lee Thompson's "The Guns of Navarone" to remind us that "Force 10" qualifies as a sequel. The movie opens with a map to establish the geography of the setting accompanied by stirring narration: "Deep in the heart of the Aegean Sea lies the island of Navarone. In 1943, it stood poised like a knife in the Allies' side." Hamilton keeps the action crackling and never allows the clutter of the plot--Major Keith Mallory (Shaw) and Corporal Dusty Miller (Fox) must identify a traitor as well as help out Lieutenant Colonel Mike Barnsby (Harrison Ford of "Star Wars") and his survivor blow up the bridge. In the book, Mallory and Miller were sent in to destroy the bridge and there was no Lt. Colonel Barnsby.
To his credit, Hamilton has enlisted a persuasive cast, convincing special effects, and the actual setting of the action: scenic Yugoslavia. In his last role, Robert Shaw gives a hearty performance as Mallory. Edward Fox is simply delightful as the 'vetty' British explosives expert. When he observes the bridge that Barnsby has been sent to blow up, he observes that the force of the charges won't "seriously inconvenience" the Nazis.
"Force 10 from Navarone" is a seriously underrated World War II feature film. It is really a shame that they didn't letterbox both copies of the movie.
fullscreen stinks 
2008-12-21 - It seems that the full screen version of this film must have been taken from an old worn out video. The wide screen version is a crisp and clear picture. DVD was invented for the movie lover however people complained about many of the films being available in wide screen. Wide screen is the way to go for one sees what the director intended the audience to see.
