CULVER CITY, CALIF. (August 11, 2011) — Sony Pictures Home Entertainment celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the heroic WWII epic adventure The Guns of Navarone, based on the Alistair MacLean novel and directed by J. Lee Thompson (Battle for The Planet of the Apes, MacKenna’s Gold, Cape Fear, What A Way To Go), with the release of a collector’s edition Blu-ray on Oct. 18, 2011.
Gregory Peck (To Kill A Mockingbird), Anthony Quinn (Lawrence of Arabia) and David Niven (The Pink Panther) are Allied saboteurs assigned an impossible mission: infiltrate an impregnable Nazi-held island and destroy the two enormous long-range field guns that prevent the rescue of 2,000 trapped British soldiers.
Blacklisted screenwriter Carl Foreman (High Noon, The Bridge on the River Kwai) was determined to re-establish both his name and credibility after spending most of the 50’s working in anonymity. To accomplish this, he decided to bring Alistair MacLean’s best-selling novel to the screen. Academy Award® nominee for Best Picture (1961) and winner for Best Special Effects (1961) and a Golden Globe® winner for Best Picture (Drama, 1961), The Guns of Navarone is supported by an all-star cast and produced on a grand scale. The film was an enormous success, receiving seven 1961 Academy Award® nominations.[1]
In keeping with previous restoration efforts by Sony Pictures, The Guns of Navarone 50th Anniversary Edition has been newly remastered following an extensive 4K digital restoration from the original camera negative. Other classic Columbia Pictures titles that have undergone 4K restoration efforts for subsequent Blu-ray releases include Dr. Strangelove, The Bridge on the River Kwai, and Taxi Driver.
The 50th Anniversary Blu-ray™ edition of The Guns of Navarone features many extras, including The Greek Resistance, The Real World of Guns of Navarone, Forging The Guns of Navarone and an Epic Restoration Feraturette, and will be available on Blu-ray for the suggested retail price of $19.99.
Academy Award®-winners Gregory Peck (1962, Best Actor, To Kill A Mockingbird), David Niven (1958, Best Actor, Separate Tables), and Anthony Quinn (1952, Best Supporting Actor, Viva Zapata!; 1956, Lust For Life) star as a team of Allied military specialists recruited for a dangerous but imperative mission: to infiltrate a Nazi-occupied fortress and disable two long-range field guns so that 2,000 trapped British soldiers may be rescued. Faced with an unforgiving sea voyage, hazardous terrain, and the possibility of a traitor among them, the team must overcome the impossible without losing their own lives. Adapted by screenwriter Carl Foreman from Alistair MacLean’s best-selling novel, THE GUNS OF NAVARONE was nominated for seven Oscars®, including Best Picture, and won for Best Special Effects (1961).
Blu-ray features include:
· THE RESISTANCE DOSSIER OF NAVARONE
The Blu-ray interactive dossier gives the viewer all new access to detailed information on THE GUNS OF NAVARONE, the real world history that inspired the film, and insights from film and military historians on the continuing effect the film has on popular culture.
· Commentary with Film Historian Stephen J. Rubin
· Commentary with Director J. Lee Thompson
· Forging the Guns of Navarone: Notes from the Set
· Iconic Epic of Heroism
· Epic Restoration
· A Heroic Score
· Narration-free Prologue
· Memories of Navarone Retrospective Documentary
· Message from Carl Foreman
· Great Guns Original Featurette
· No Visitors Featurette
· Honeymoon on Rhodes
· Two Girls On The Town Original Featurette
· Original Trailer
· Exhibitor’s Trailer
The Guns of Navarone has a running time of approximately 156 minutes. The film is Not Rated.
