Force 10 from Navarone

Plot synopsis:
In 1943, after their successful mission on the Greek island of Navarone, Major Keith Mallory (Robert Shaw) and Sergeant John Miller (Edward Fox) are sent to find and kill Nicolai. Originally thought to be a traitor who informed the Germans about Miller and Mallory during the Navarone mission, Nicolai is now known to be Colonel von Ingorslebon, a dedicated German spy believed to have infiltrated the Yugoslav Partisans as "Captain Lescovar" (Franco Nero).
To get to Yugoslavia, the two men pair with "Force 10", an American sabotage unit, led by Colonel Mike Barnsby (Harrison Ford), which has its own mission there. To maximise security, Force 10 steals a Lancaster bomber from a British air base in Termoli, Italy, rather than requisitioning one; but they are spotted by Military Police MPs before they can take off. Weaver (Carl Weathers), a US Army sergeant under arrest by the MPs, joins with Force 10 and forces his way onto the plane. Barnsby and crew successfully "escape" Termoli, only to be shot down by Luftwaffe night fighters. Only Barnsby, Mallory, Miller, Weaver, and Force 10 member Doug Reynolds (Angus MacInnes) manage to escape the crippled plane.
On the ground, the survivors run across a group they believe to be their allies, Communist Yugoslav Partisans, led by Captain Drazak (Richard Kiel). Force 10's rescuers are soon revealed to be collaborationist Chetniks (nationalist Serb guerrillas) under German control. The Germans take the team into custody but do not know their mission, so Mallory and Barnsby tell the commander, Major Schroeder (Michael Byrne), that they are criminals fleeing Allied authorities. To keep Schroeder from opening Miller's suitcase, which contains his special explosives, Mallory tells him that it contains a new wonder drug called "penicillin" which will spoil if exposed to air. By the next morning, the prisoners are told that Schroeder has opened the case, finding it full of firewood. Surprised, Mallory and Barnsby improvise an excuse, "admitting" they buried the samples. Schroeder sends them to retrieve them, under the guard of his concubine Maritza (Barbara Bach) and three of his soldiers. Miller, Weaver, and Reynolds are left in a cell in camp.
Far from camp, Maritza kills the Germans, revealing herself to be a partisan spy who hid the explosives before Schroeder opened the case. She directs Mallory and Barnsby towards the partisan camp under the command of her father, Major Petrovich (Alan Badel). Mallory and Barnsby escape, ambushing and killing two of Drazak's Chetniks, who are bandaged to hide burns from flamethrowers. Eventually, the two meet a patrol of real Yugoslav Partisans led by a man Mallory recognises as his target – Captain Lescovar alias Nicolai. While Mallory assumes that Lescovar has recognised him, too, he and Barnsby are nevertheless taken to the partisan camp, which lies near a wide river and a large hydroelectric dam.
Skeptical, Major Petrovich dismisses Mallory's story about Lescovar being Nicolai, assuring Mallory they executed the real Nicolai months earlier. He also reproves the men for killing the bandaged Chetniks, who were partisan infiltrators and his only link to his daughter Maritza. Petrovich's principal worry is an impending assault by the Wehrmacht: The Germans are marshaling their forces nearby, and only a ravine separates as many as three German divisions from the outnumbered partisans. Only a single concrete arch bridge links each side of the ravine, but the partisans have been unable to destroy it. Barnsby reveals that the bridge is, in fact, Force 10's target. Knowing Miller's expertise in demolitions, Mallory convinces a reluctant Petrovich to help mount a rescue mission, using Lescovar and the Partisan Marko (Petar Buntic).
The four re-enter the camp at night, with Mallory and Barnsby posing as captives, and Lescovar and Marko disguised as the bandaged men. Before they complete their mission, Drazak arrives with the bodies of the two real bandaged men. Since Maritza had always been seen with them, and realizing that she must have helped Miller and Mallory escape, Drazak attacks and beats her. Meanwhile, a gun battle breaks out in the cell block. Major Schroeder and Reynolds are killed; but Mallory, Barnsby, Miller, Weaver, Lescovar and Marko escape in a truck with a badly beaten Maritza and the recovered explosives.
Having made it to the Partisans, explosives expert Miller reveals that the bridge really is impregnable. Mallory hits upon the idea of destroying the upstream dam they saw earlier, with the sudden onrush of several millions of gallons of water being enough to destroy the bridge. A night-time air drop is arranged to replace Force 10's lost supplies, but Lescovar sabotages the drop by calling in German planes. Maritza spots Lescovar betraying the partisans, but he kills her before she can warn the others, and German planes bomb the illuminated drop zone.
Petrovich, angered by the botched air drop, orders the men to be sent to Marshal Josip Broz Tito's headquarters for transport back to Italy. The team decides to infiltrate the German marshaling yards at Mostar to steal explosives, with Lescovar and Marko volunteering to accompany them. Lescovar again betrays them, alerting a German sergeant to their presence, identifying himself as an Abwehr officer. Marko overhears the plan and sacrifices himself to save the others, who escape with Lescovar aboard a train leaving for Sarajevo. Lescovar tries to make up a hasty cover story, but cannot fool Mallory or Barnsby, and finally is forced to admit that he really is Nicolai. Barnsby kills him, and asks Mallory to return the favour by helping him accomplish Force 10's mission.
Jumping the train near the dam, the team splits up: Miller and Weaver set off diversionary explosives while Mallory and Barnsby sneak into the dam. Weaver runs into Captain Drazak in the woods and kills him in a knife fight. Mallory and Barnsby set their charges within the dam but realise that they are out of time. With the German assault only minutes away, they are forced to set a short fuse, leaving them no time to escape. Mallory and Barnsby are caught in the explosion, yet nevertheless survive. At first, the dam appears undamaged; but with its fragile structural integrity disrupted, the dam wall collapses, releasing millions of tons of water in a wave that topples the bridge. The German assault is thwarted, saving Petrovich and the Partisans.
Mallory and Barnsby rejoin Miller and an injured Weaver, but the jubilation is short-lived. Mallory reminds the men that they are now trapped on the wrong side of the river, with no supplies and no way of contacting or reaching the partisans. As the credits roll, the men begin a strenuous journey back to friendly lines.

Tags: psychedelic

Review:
Some time after the successful mission to destroy the huge guns on the island of Navarone, Mallory and Miller are sent to Yugoslavia to kill Nikolai, a German agent who nearly blew the Navarone operation, and who has now infiltrated the Partisans.
Harrison Ford, fresh from 'Star Wars', played Col. Barnsby, Franco Nero signed on as Nikolai, and Richard Kiel, Barbara Bach, and Carl Weathers all came from recent box office hits - the former two from 'The Spy Who Loved Me', the latter from 'Rocky'.
Owing to the fact that it took original "Guns" producer Carl Foreman a decade to get the "Force 10" film project off the ground, Gregory Peck and David Niven were both  Social Security eligible by the time the film was ready to go, and that meant we'd have to see a new cast.
It is interesting to see Harrison Ford in his first post-Star Wars role working alongside the great Robert Shaw in his last film, and Edward Fox appears to emulate most of David Niven's mannerisms quite well.
Robert Shaw and Edward Fox are good replacements to Gregory Peck and David Niven in the roles of Keith Mallory and Major Miller.
While Barbara Bach and Richard Kiel offer fine performances after their roles in "The Spy Who Loved Me".There will be a few hate remarks from fans of the original, but seeing it as not a sequel to the classic film and more of a film that uses 'Guns' as its inspiration, this "sequel" is fun, exciting and occasionally excellent.
With the recent success of Shaw's JAWS and, obviously, Ford's STAR WARS, it was prime casting...no question.Don't take it to seriously, and with the fast-paced story, Top-Notch cast and brilliant Ron Goodwin score...you should really enjoy it, if you like the genre!
Thrilling and rousing film is set about two years after the events of Guns of Navarone , in which a valiant and skilled trio , Harrison Ford-Robert Shaw-Edward Fox , is dispatched to a dangerous mission during World War II in Yugoslavia .
This powerful , dramatic story from the Alistair McLean novel starts when the commanding staff assigns a mission to several oddly assorted military experts as Mallory , now been promoted to the rank of Major (played by Robert Shaw in this sequel and was his last film completed , he was called Captain Jack Mallory ; in the original was played there by Gregory Peck) and Miller, who has now been promoted to the rank of Sergeant (played by Edward Fox who replaced Ian Bannen ,here was called Corporal Dusty Miller , in the original performed by David Niven) .
The acting of the interesting characters is believable and convincing , furthermore and enjoyable support cast as Carl Weathers , Franco Nero , Alan Badel , Michael Byrne and it's one of three movies, all made during the mid-late 1970s, that actress Barbara Bach and actor Richard Kiel both appeared , it includes The humanoid , Spy who loved me and Force 10 .
Given that this was released in 1978, the special effects are decent too.By 1970s standards, the cast is also pretty high-powered including Robert Shaw (R.I.P), a post-Han Solo Harrison Ford, Seventies uber-babe Barbara Bach, and the wonderful Edward Fox as the aristocratically eccentric explosives expert Miller (definitely my favorite character in the film).
It is however Richard Kiel as Captain Drazak that delivers the best performance in the movie."We're going to blow up a bridge"-Major Mallory"Well they may be experts at building them old boy, but I am an expert at blowing them up"-Staff Sgt. Miller.It's lines like these that make this movie pure fun to watch.It's not a historical documentary to be sure, but as a product of entertainment in the genre of war movie, it is worth a look..
Limp sequel (of sorts) to the classic Guns of Navarone, has Harrison Ford and his team heading to Yugoslavia to blow up a bridge valuable to the Nazis.
Despite a big budget and a great cast, Force 10 From Navarone will probably go down as one of the worst films of Harrison Ford's career..
That little piece of trivia is really about the only thing that stands out in this forgettable and pointless 70's WW2 action piece.Supposedly a continuation of the Guns of Navarone story, but aside from the characters portrayed in that film by Gregory Peck, David Niven (and Richard Harris?), the link to the 1962 J.
And shamelessly so, as this film could never have survived 3 days at the box office without having 'Navarone' in its title.Some very questionable and implausible plot devices drive this lacklustre adventure; by the time Ford and Robert Shaw kill the two Chetniks in the facial bandages you know for sure you're watching a bad film, which doesn't get remotely suspenseful or interesting until Shaw and Ford attempt to blow up the dam at the end.Acting wise?
In tow they have Robert (Jaws) Shaw and Edward (Day of the Jackal) Fox who have a mission of their own and a stowaway in the shape of Carl (Rocky) Weathers.Upon arrival in Yugoslavia they are met by a group of characters that include Bach and another 007 alum Richard Kiel, and the viewer is left trying to guess who is friend and who is foe.
Nero (Django) is good in a small role and the bond connection is made by Bach and Kiel  both were in the Spy who Loved Me.Guns of Navarone wasn't a classic but it was a polished film that felt that some effort had gone into it.
From the blue Aegean Sea to the nasty back alley Balkan partisan war in Yugoslavia, the characters played by Gregory Peck and David Niven now played by Robert Shaw and Edward Fox are sent back into the fight on another undercover mission.
But there's also an agent in the partisan camp and that's Shaw's job, to kill the traitor.If you remember The Guns Of Navarone best try and put it out of your mind because this film isn't nearly as good.
But the script went through all kind of hoops to make sure Weathers was kept well hidden while the rest of the team blended with the surroundings.But beyond that Force 10 From Navarone resembles one of those propagandistic films from the World War II era where the Nazis were often played as incredibly stupid.
It gave me exactly what I was asking:fun,good performances,adventure.It manages to be playful without ever being ridiculous;it hasn't any great ambitions,but to offer some fun.The first part is a little elliptic.The story is interesting and average.A commando is sent in a conventional,fancy Yugoslavia,a comic-strips-like one.This gives opportunity to some burlesque adventure.This is not to be taken as "history",but as pure fanciful fun.Some things are,indeed, ridiculous in a campy but enjoyable way.It has a comic strips' liveliness and a merry mood;it has to be taken as such.Nero makes a creepy,keen,ruthless and handsome villain,as Lescovar.All the characters are marionettes.The movie is not violent,but suspenseful enough.A gentlemanly flick.This kind of film is not a mistake;it is a cinema many are not able to taste.The photography is delightful.Force 10 from Navarone (1978) was directed by the reputable Guy Hamilton ;he bets much on the cast,but only Nero's acting is conspicuous (such movies are never written for the actors,or for the characters' evolving).Ford is extremely banal, sulking and unnoticeable,it is so obvious that he spoiled his role,he really does nothing and is blown out by his far more interesting mates (Franco Nero,and also Shaw,Fox,Mrs. Barbara Bach).
I sort of like the pairing of the cunning Shaw and smart aleck Ford in this return to the "Guns of Navarone" saga with both stars on a deadly mission to blow up a bridge and save the day.
You really cannot go wrong with any movie that stars Robert Shaw, Harrison Ford, Barbara Bach and Edward Fox and this movie - mauled by the critics on release - really is a great action adventure war movie.
His sure direction shows his usual flair and expertise handling action that he so ably previously demonstrated in (perhaps the best of the early James Bond movies) the aforementioned "Goldfinger" and the World War II drama "Battle of Britain." Hamilton does succumb to some espionage clichés at times, such as when one of the characters stumbles across the traitor sending a message, but all of these instances are handled capably and add to the familiar nature of the plot.
Robert Shaw, Harrison Ford, Barbara Bach, Edward Fox, Franco Nero, and Carl Weathers star in "Force 10 from Navarone" based on a novela by Alistair MacLean and a follow-up to "The Guns of Navarone."Mallory is now played by Shaw instead of Gregory Peck and Miller is now Fox instead of David Niven.
It's a James Bond reunion of sorts as director of more than a few Bond movies Guy Hamilton directs Robert Shaw (in his last movie) a young Harrison Ford and a few Bond stars in a thoroughly enjoyable army picture, that is good old fashioned family viewing.
It stars Robert Shaw, Harrison Ford, Edward Fox, Carl Weathers, Franco Nero, Richard Kiel and Barbara Bach.
Loosely based on Alistair McLean's follow up to his best-seller, the action takes place around 2 years after the events of the first film, with (now) Major Keith Mallory and (now) Staff Sargeant Miller, both sent on a mission to Yugoslavia to kill a german spy (code name: Nicolai Lescovar) who had infiltrated in the Partisans' resistance.
A group of american commandos, led by Colonel Barnsby, are selected to escort them behind enemy lines, with the mission to destroy a strategic bridge for the German Forces...Directed by the James Bond veteran, Guy Hamilton, who also helmed "Battle of Britain", "Force 10 from Navarone" is an exciting and splendorous "men-on-a-mission" film that deserved better fate, because even if more 'flimsy' than the predecessor and less clever, the movie never fails to deliver action & adventure in an unpretentious way that engage the viewer into the screen and it never gets boring.The strong cast surely makes an impression, even with the replacements due to Peck and Niven's age, the late great Robert Shaw as Mallory & Edward Fox as Miller are very good in their respective roles, even if Fox have less to do than Niven in the first film.Harrison Ford, in his second co-leading role, after the global success of "Star Wars" that made him a 'star' in just 1 year, was less 'mouthy' than Richard Harris' cameo as Barnsby in "Navarone", but way more responsible, even if still a bit stiff with his acting.Ex-Bond Girl (from the best 007 movie from the 70's decade), Barbara Bach as Maritza and one of the most recognizable Bond villains, Richard Kiel as Capt.
Drazak reunite after "The Spy Who Loved Me" and Franco Nero is scrumptiously charming and as well, vile, as the infiltrated german Colonel.Carl Weathers is just here for the sake of his Apollo Creed's fame, if his character had been removed from the film, it would not spoil the plot, but he have presence and his character adds the 'american street smart loudmouth' attitude to a strictly mannered team of Brits.Keep your eyes open for appearances by Michael Sheard & Wolf Kahler, as well Michael Byrne, all future cast members of the Indiana Jones' and Star Wars' films playing once again Nazis or elite from the Empire.
Michael Byrne, Vogel from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", plays the major Nazi antagonist and Angus MacInnes, from "Star Wars" and future Ford's pursuer in "Witness" ('85) plays here Barnsby's 2nd in command from the Force 10.Some reviewers have stated here that some plot and characters' decisions were all wrong, like the casting of the leading man type, Franco Nero, that doesn't resemble at all the character actor who played Lescovar in the original film, but if using the suspension of desbelief and we can accept Shaw & Fox in those roles instead of Peck & Niven, for sure we can do the same for Nero.
I think it makes total sense, Weaver got involved (even if by his own fault), into a classified mission that he doesn't understand and after all the group went through and nobody giving him a straight answer, when Ford told him the inconvenient true, like if Weaver were expendable, it marks the first time that someone is being sincere to him, treating him like a man, and that's why he smiled and came to respect the team.The special effets during the destruction of the bridge are good and made in almost the same way / models as the destruction of "The Guns of Navarone".In short, "Force 10 from Navarone" is a classic matinee's adventure / war film that works better if viewed in a big screen television, because the butchered version for TV kind of dismiss its splendorous visuals of gorgeous cinematography in Technicolor.
After the successful raid in 'The Guns of Navarone', Major Keith Mallory (Robert Shaw) and Sergeant Miller (Edward Fox) are back in England given a mission to kill Nicolai in Yugoslavia.
It actually took me a few minutes to realise that Gregory Peck and David Niven had morphed into Robert Shaw and Edward Fox for this real-time follow-up to the 1961 hit war- movie "The Guns Of Navarone".
I could however have done without the racial baiting of Carl Weathers' black maverick soldier, quite unnecessary and unforgivable in a film made in the late 70's.The acting is as solid and stolid as you'd expect, Shaw and Fox demonstrating a stiff upper lip and Ford trademarking American moxy as they all start off distrusting each other but of course wind up as bonded-by-fire buddies by the end.It's fair to say I think that MacLean's writing and movie direction of this style was looking very clichéd and anachronistic this far down the line.
Harrison Ford sleepwalks his way through the film and Robert Shaw looks and acts as exhausted as he probably was at this time so near to the end of his life.As par for the course there's plenty of explosions and gun-play but unfortunately quite wasted in a largely daft and sloppily made film.Look fast for Doctor Who actors Michael Sheard (later reunited with Ford as Hitler in INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE) and Leslie Schofield (the guy in STAR WARS who tells Peter Cushing that "There is a danger") in bit parts as German soldiers.
But actors like Robert Shaw, Edward Fox, Harrison Ford, Franco Nero and Barbara Bach, all in a same movie are just unable to make a dull film, don´t you think so, my friends?.
Not Great, But Decent Follow-Up. This is a pretty solid World War II movie, a belated followup to the very successful (and, yes, better) "The Guns Of Navarone." This time a force, mostly British soldiers but led by a young American colonel (Harrison Ford) is sent over to Yugoslavia to blow up a bridge the Nazis use.
Seems like an action/adventure but ends up espionage and is overall a World War II film, and not a real sequel as two characters from THE GUNS OF NAVARONE, played by different actors, Robert Shaw and Edward Fox, join a group of Americans, led by Harrison Ford (basking from the prior year's STAR WARS fame), all sent from England into Yugoslavia: Ford's mission to blow up a bridge, Shaw's to kill a German agent.One must suspend disbelief to truly enjoy the plodding yet lightly involving odyssey as both missions intertwine, and you never really know which peripheral character's on the right side, adding intrigue and a fair amount of suspense.While it's much too easy for our heroes to traipse around Nazi-ridden Yugo without being killed, there's enough snags (like being captured twice by easily-tricked Germans) that you'll either forget or embrace that, for better or worse, this is complete fantasy..
However, in their midst is a traitor who betrays them to the enemy, and nearly succeeds in foiling their plans.Force 10 From Navarone has been poorly received by many critics such as Leonard Maltin who called the film a bomb, but this is the same person who gave films such as Jaws 3 and Jaws: The Revenge (that IMDb has put in the worst films of all time list) a 2 1/2 out of 4.The cast which includes Robert Shaw, Harrison Ford, Bernard Fox, Franco Nero, Carl Weathers, Barbara Bach and Richard Kiel all put in good performances.
"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.
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.
Barnsby) in a lead role early on in his career, Robert Shaw (Mallory), the always dependable Edward Fox (Sgt. Miller), Barbara Bach (Maritka, a partisan), Franco Nero (Lescovar) and Carl Weathers (Sgt. Weaver).
Best of the bunch is Carl Weathers, hot off the success of ROCKY, excellent as the youthful, gung ho soldier.The plot of FORCE 10 FROM NAVARONE is nothing special; find a traitor, blow up a bridge, you've seen it all before countless times.
Alistair MacLean story adapted by Carl Forman (who wrote "Guns of Navarone"); a James Bond director; a cast with veterans Shaw and Fox aided by several hot young properties, including Harrison Ford, Barbara Bach and Carl Weathers.