Popular reviews

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  Review by Allison M. 🌱 ★★★

  This action/war film from the late 1970s features a very strong cast: Roger Moore, Telly Savalas, David Niven, Stefanie Powers, Claudia Cardinale, Sonny Bono, and Elliott Gould (a personal favorite).

  This World War II film soon turns into a heist movie. The characters become caught up in their own selfish greed and it's as if they've lost the plot. The closing credits play some contemporaneous song and it was like nails on a chalkboard, astoundingly out of place.

  It's basically a throw away movie with a few good moments and some familiar faces.

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  Review by theironcupcake ★★★★ 4

  "Oh, there's no such thing as country, major. There are only rivers, mountains, houses and people. 'Country' is an abstraction."
  "You don't really believe that."'
  "No."

  JANUARY 2021 STAR OF THE MONTH: ELLIOTT GOULD (#28)

  It's Kojak, Philip Marlowe, Shaft and Sonny Bono against the Nazis, baby!

  I figured that the last entry in my mighty Gould-a-thon should be another slice out of his 70s filmography, and since I fell asleep during A Bridge Too Far the last time I tried watching it many years ago, I decided to give another WWII flick, Escape to Athena, the final slot. And man, let me tell you, what a bonkers bit of fun this is! (Also, may I say how glad I…

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  Review by Mark Cunliffe 🇵🇸 ★★★ 5

  Escape to Athena sounds less like a war movie and more like a travelogue, which is in itself quite apt given that the stars of this were clearly having a lovely holiday in Rhodes! And what a star studded cast Lew Grade assembled for this picture; Roger Moore, Telly Savalas, David Niven, Elliot Gould, Stefanie Powers, Richard Roundtree, Sonny Bono and Claudia Cardinale. As Powers herself said:

  "The names had been needed to raise the money. Think about it. I was there to catch the TV audiences and younger men; Richard Roundtree to bring in the black movie-goers; Niv for the older generation; Rog 'cos he's handsome, and a very, very big star; Claudia was there to catch the older…

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  Review by Sonny_Jim ★★★

  Kinda breezy WWII action-comedy that is certainly fun in the moment but mostly forgettable, with perhaps the exception of (1) the wild motorcycle chase featuring Elliott Gould's stunt double, (2) Stefanie Powers having it going on in all the conventional ways, and (3) a great one-liner cameo from William Holden, who had dropped by the set that day to visit Powers.

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  Review by Keith Grubb ★★★★ 5

  "Vot is ooomph?"

  On a Nazi occupied Greek Island, the allied prisoners are forced to help Nazis loot an archaeological site. Everyone, including camp commandant Roger Moore are happy to see the war out, the new broom, SS commandant (Anthony Valentine) in the nearby town has other ideas, happily executing the locals who step out of line. The local Resistance, led by Tele Savalas, is ordered to break out the prisoners and capture the neighbouring U-boat refuelling depot. Added to that there is V-2 rockets housed in a cliff top monastery that must be destroyed. Time to kill a Nazi or two, but don't expect Sisu.
  I'm sticking with the Pure Cinema Podcast Golden Turkeys episode, to highlight this dad…

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  Review by pirateneckbeard ★★½ 2

  I'm starting to realize George P. Cosmatos gimmick of panoramic opening and ending shots that look gorgeous as two slabs of bread and fill the middle with some drama and in this case also drizzled in an oceans 11(soderbergh version) sauce replete with an Elliot Gould as a charming Jewish comedian (who is also an expert rifleman apparently) but really that's just my favourite accoutrement to the film. It's more goofy version of Stalag 17 with also a cameo from William Holden that is short so in general close to Hogan's heros in Greece. It's alright if you are in the mood for it and it doesn't do anything too wrong but it is light and easily dismissive with Roger Moore turning coat halfway through the movie without any issue. So basically it's a comedy wrapped in a war movie that has a heist story to it.

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  Review by Oliver Swift ★★★½ 1

  This is an underrated little flick. Part prison escape drama, part heist, all fun. 

  Telly Savalas and Elliot Gould are a phenomenal pairing.

  David Niven and Roger Moore aren’t given much to do but have such presence it would be a shame if they weren’t there. 

  And Richard Roundtree is just out there saving everyone’s asses.

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  Review by Cinema_Strikes ★★★

  Moore Manly Movies Double Feature! 

  Kicking off with an impressive opening helicopter shot establishing the gorgeous setting on the island of Rhodes, we get town, monastery, and prison camp before literally diving into the action. Athena is half WWII prison camp escape (complete with a delightful Stalag 17 gag) and half “men on a mission” Kelly’s Heroes heist flick. And plenty of Greek tourism propaganda. And one of those insane ‘70s casts:

  - Roger Moore as the suave Austrian prison camp commandant who’s more into jazz, chicks, and stealing priceless artifacts than that whole Nazi thing. 

  - Claudia Cardinale as the madam with a heart of gold who sells it for the resistance.

  - Elliott Gould as the wisecracking Jewish…

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  Review by Old Man Angelo ★★★½

  It's always nice to come back to one of these lads men on a mission movies to remind me what a fun romp World War II was. George P Cosmatos shoots it with a classical sense of adventure, with some great oners and the classic, but then contemporary gunshot oversells where people stand with their arms outstretched, yelling for a solid minute before falling down. I LOVE those.

  The cast is clearly having a blast, especially Elliott Gould action star, Sir Rog famously felt he was miscast as the lead in this film, but honestly I actually think it works because it's often so easy to get carried away with over the top German accents and play it broadly. Moore…

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  Review by Sophie Farrell ★★★

  The late 1960s and the 1970s saw the production of several Second World War action adventure films. Escape to Athena is probably one of the better known of these films. It is also probably the silliest of them all. However, it is also one of the most effortlessly entertaining of these particular films.

  During the Second World War, the prisoners of a German camp on a Greek island are trying to escape. While their main goal to to regain their freedom, they are also seeking for a mysterious treasure. This treasure is hidden in a monastery at the top of the island's mountain. The plot for this film is really strong. It begins as a war prison escape film before…

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  Review by Paul D ★★★ 9

  You can always spot a Lew Grade production within a few seconds, it's that starry line-up which is the big giveaway, lots of familiar names all there to draw in the crowds.

  And just as quickly you realise that the film will never be able to live up to the expectations which that roster brings. Not because no film ever could, but because ITC movies always seemed to be more interested in putting together a named cast than in the story itself.

  So what we have here is Roger Moore, Telly Savalas, David Niven, Stephanie Powers, Claudia Cardinale, Sonny Bono and Elliott Gould. Plus, only fleetingly William Holden who is literally there, propping up a wall and delivering a single…

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  Review by James ★★★

  Has to be the silliest of all these ensemble WW2 action adventure gigs, but for my money it's also one of the most entertaining.

  Any movie where Roger Moore plays a Nazi obviously isn't isn't going be high art and Escape to Athena is quite shamelessly a case of 'let's get some big name stars, go to a Greek island, have a blast and hopefully make some money' but the result is a lot a fun because it knows not to take itself too seriously and by quite clearly playing as a comedy, we don't have to either. Not all of the attempts at humour succeed but there's some great gags—many of them come from Elliot Gould who does a…