Escape to Athena

This WWII movie takes place on somewhere in Greek islands during 1944 , a misfit prisoners group(a stoic David Niven,a two-fisted Richard Roundtree, among them) are scheming escape from the concentration camp and at the same time the robbing in an Ortodox monastery at the top of the island's mountain. At the bunch appear a distinguished David Niven(whose son David Niven Jr is producer), an Italian cook(Sonny Bono), a member of the Greek Resistance(Telly Savalas), a prostitute( beautiful Claudia Cardinale) and among Nazis are a former Viennese art merchant(likable Roger Moore) and a cruel Nazi(Anthony Valentine).The gentleman Nazi officer Moore is stuck with the outfit of goof-offs as they search for the Greek treasure.

Basically an amusing action filled /wartime/and comedy set during WWII. It's a crossover among the rogue soldiers from ¨The Kelly's heroes(Brian G Hutton)¨, the getaway from ¨The great escape(John Sturges)¨ and the humor included in ¨Hogan's heroes¨ taking parts here and there. This wartime picture which is short in realism instead we have far-fetched but moving blow up, shoot'em up, fighting , it should please most adventure-action-comedy buffs.Middling screenplay by the prestigious Edward Anhalt.Some characters aren't credible in 1944 setting , neither the Nais soldiers dressed in black when parade along with the secret German rocket installation.Roger Moore is miscast as an Nazi official and Elliott Gould as a hippie-alike sound embarrassing. Cameo by William Holden as prisoner smoking a cigar in prison camp and he appears uncredited. Luminous and shimmer photography by Gilbert Taylor. Stirring and military musical score by Lalo Schifrin. This improbable motion picture is professionally directed by George Pan Cosmatos. Although the movie has some aspects a little tough to take , this caper film still has its moments.This large-scale and lavishly produced pic attempts a bemusing atmosphere with regular results.

A group of Allied Prisoners of War on a Greek island plan to escape, but not before they've lifted some valuable treasures.

Wow, this was quite something, a mix of Stalag 17, James Bond and Kojac, I truly had no idea what to expect with this film, I didn't quite expect it to play out as it did.

I understand why it has such a low score, it's hardly one thing or the other, it's an action packed, comedy caper, it looks sublime, but at times the content really is hollow.

There are some imaginative ideas, and it's hard not the enjoy the idea of a team of allies fighting The Nazis on a Greek island, but the ending lost me a little, it does take a pretty wild turn.

The major positive has to be the film's appearance, the camera work is fantastic, those sweeping panoramic scenes look great. Plenty of explosions throughout to keep you entertained.

I liked the music, you'll hear several well known melodies that you can sing along to.

I thought David Niven, Stefanie Powers and Elliot Gould were all good value. Roger Moore's German accent......Cafe Rene, he should have done a stint on Allo Allo, it would have fitted in well.

I thought it was better than its reputation would suggest, just be mindful to manage your expectations.

7/10.

I happened across this film at a used video sale, saw the cast list and immediately bought it. I mean, Sonny Bono AND Richard Roundtree? Cosmotos did a bang up job of translating the James Bond formula to the 1940's (though with the ocassional anachronism -- the word "groovy," Bono's haircut). And what a motorcycle chase! I'm not a chase fan, but this one is on par with some of the greats. Just enough stuff to keep the jaded fan amazed.

This film came free with today's paper, so perhaps I'm in an indulgent frame of mind. However, much as I admire the wit shown by IMDb members in panning this film, I have to disagree with them. Escape to Athena is a very enjoyable romp indeed, with all sorts of excellent stylistic touches, some really gratifying explosions, humour that is a trifle dated but not so bad if you lean back and accept it, and an interesting plot. I don't know why people require a movie to go all the way in one direction, ie be edge-of-the-seat suspense, or cataclysmic tragedy, or roll-in-the-aisles hilarious, or weepie romantic etc. etc. Why can't it be a bit of everything? I think we're far too used to the extremes that have become fashionable of late. Forget Daniel Day-Lewis bursting a vein, if just for one evening. You'll feel better for it. However, Telly really can't dance. That I must agree with.

Roger Moore is the Austrian commandant of a German POW camp located in the Grecian Isles in Escape to Athena. He's got a couple of favorites among the prisoners, an Italian cook in Sonny Bono, an archaeologist in David Niven and a black GI magician in Richard Roundtree. In addition USO entertainers Elliott Gould and Stefanie Powers are shot down in their transport plane and become Moore's prisoners.

Moore really hasn't got his heart in the commandant business. He's an antique dealer in civilian life and he relishes the assignment only because of the location where he's also involved in Adolph Hitler's looting of Greek antiquities of which there are many in that area. Niven and company aid him because if they didn't they'd be in the hands of the SS. STill they want there freedom.

Which they get when they join with resistance leader Telly Savalas and his mistress, bordello madam Claudia Cardinale. It's rumored there's a lot of hidden loot in a monastery on a nearby hill, whatever Moore hasn't taken for his own private stock for after the war. But Savalas is interested in some prototype V2 rockets located there.

Escape to Athena mixes the plot elements of The Guns of Navarone and Topkapi, but they're not stirred too well. The scenery is quite nice and I'm sure the prospect of some paid time in the Aegean Sea might have been a big inducement for all these people signing on for the movie.

As he was involved with Stefanie Powers at the time, William Holden gets a small unbilled cameo in a brief scene with Elliott Gould. As it turns out Moore's Prison Camp is also Stalag XVII. That might have been part of the package for Stefanie to go to Greece.

It was also plain dumb to make Richard Roundtree a black GI. Americans were not involved in that theater, let alone black soldiers. Now if they had made his character be part of the African colonial troops of the British Empire, it would have made more sense. Then again we couldn't have heard Roundtree call a German soldier a 'cool cat'.

The action sequences are done well enough, but the cast here just collected their paychecks and walked through the parts.