Force 10 from Navarone (film)
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| Force 10 From Navarone | |
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| Directed by | Guy Hamilton |
| Produced by | Oliver A. Unger |
| Written by | Robin Chapman |
| Starring | Robert Shaw Edward Fox Harrison Ford Barbara Bach Carl Weathers Franco Nero Richard Kiel |
| Music by | Ron Goodwin |
| Cinematography | Christopher Challis |
| Distributed by | - USA - American International Pictures - non-USA - Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | December 1978 |
| Running time | 118 min. (theatrical release) 126 min. (restored version) |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10,000,000 |
| IMDb profile | |
Force 10 from Navarone is a 1978 war film very loosely based on upon Alistair MacLean's 1968 novel Force 10 From Navarone.
The film is also a sequel to the award-winning 1961 film The Guns of Navarone, but this time the parts of Mallory and Miller are played by Robert Shaw and Edward Fox. It was directed by Guy Hamilton and also stars Harrison Ford, Carl Weathers, Barbara Bach, Franco Nero, and Richard "Jaws" Kiel.
Shaw's portrayal of Mallory differs from both MacLean's literary character and Gregory Peck's portrayal in Guns, being a slightly older, more thoughtful strategist rather than the almost superhuman man of action which commonly characterized MacLean's protagonists.
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[edit] Plot
Mallory and Miller are charged with identifying a spy known as "Nicolai", who appeared briefly in The Guns of Navarone. (In the film The Guns of Navarone, Nicolai was the identity of the laundry boy who was suspected to be listening in on private conversations and almost killed for it.) "Nicolai" is now thought to be disguised among the Yugoslavian partisans, under the guise of a Major Lescovar (Franco Nero). The hunt takes them to Yugoslavia, where they team up with "Force 10", a sabotage unit led by Lt. Colonel Barnsby (played by Harrison Ford). Stowing away is an African-American prisoner, played by Weathers. The sabotage goal is to destroy a key bridge because it is determined to be indestructible by explosives. The team instead chooses to blow up a dam which will then destroy the bridge with tons of water. The film ends after the heroes realize they ended up on the wrong side of the river and had no hopes of rejoining the partisans. The forest would soon be crawling with Germans, and Miller didn't have any more matches (a minor comic story line). The movie fades to black as the heroes begin their long journey home.
[edit] Cast
- Robert Shaw as Maj. Keith Mallory
- Harrison Ford as Lieutenant Colonel Mike Barnsby
- Barbara Bach as Maritza Petrovich
- Edward Fox as SSgt. Dusty Miller
- Franco Nero as Capt. Nikolai Leskovar
- Carl Weathers as Sgt. Weaver
- Richard Kiel as Capt. Drazak
[edit] Critical history
This film was not initially a theatrical success, neither critically nor at the box-office, and differed from the novel in almost every respect besides the name and the team's objective of blowing up a bridge. At year end 2006 the film has grossed in excess of $25,000,000.
In the years since its release, Force 10 From Navarone has consistently gained in cult popularity, particularly due to the later superstardom of Harrison Ford, who began filming it upon finishing Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Ford later stated that making the film was a mixed experience, and he was unhappy that promised script revisions were never delivered, but he expressed great appreciation at the experience of working with Robert Shaw.
[edit] Fact
This was the last film which Robert Shaw completed. He died suddenly during the filming of Avalanche Express in Tourmakeady, County Mayo, Ireland on August 28 1978.
The finale cost $1 million to film. Scale models of the dam, the valley and the bridge were constructed at the Mediterranean Film Studios in Malta, which as of 2007 still houses the largest outdoor water tanks in Europe.
Composer Ron Goodwin scored the film to the 126 min. version during the summer of 1978. However, before the film was released it was altered and shortened to 118 mins. for its US distribution by American International Pictures, who had co-financed the film, and held the US distribution rights. The opening narration by Patrick Allen was replaced by an American voice with totally different dialogue, some scenes were deleted or shortened, and the film was littered with jarring dubbed dialogue (usually when the character is off camera, or has his back to us). Robert Shaw had sadly died before these alterations were made, and a voice impersonator was used. Consequently, his character's dubbed lines stand out particularly badly.
Along with all these other changes, an additional number of music cues were created by recycling Ron Goodwin's music from other parts of the film - typically reusing suspense passages in scenes for which they were not written - leaving the score sounding rather incoherent. The recent CD release of the soundtrack by Film Score Monthly chronicles these changes, and presents the score as Ron Goodwin wrote and recorded it for the 126 min. version.
The 118 min. cut was subsequently the version that was also released worldwide theatrically by Columbia Pictures, which had released the film of which Force 10 is a sequel to, The Guns of Navarone. While Columbia held on to international rights, the US rights would pass to Orion Pictures in 1982 after buying Filmways and American International Pictures. Orion was in turn sold to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1998. Ironically, MGM itself was sold to a consortium led by Columbia's current parent Sony in 2005, and so Columbia holds some ancillary rights in the US today.
