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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Roger Moore non-Bond Gem from the 1970's, September 10, 2009
Released around the exact same time as the Bond film Moonraker in 1979, ESCAPE TO ATHENA was overlooked by most moviegoers in the U.S. at the time, and has not been available on home video until now. For James Bond fans, especially fans of the Roger Moore era of 007, this movie is certainly worth owning, as it marks the first non-Bond Roger Moore film available on Blu-ray. Along with Shout At The Devil (1976), The Wild Geese (1978), and The Sea Wolves (1980), ESCAPE TO ATHENA is more-or-less required viewing for anyone calling themselves a fan of Roger Moore or James Bond-type all-star action films.
As a non-U.S. Blu-ray, I was concerned about ESCAPE TO ATHENA working properly with my system. No problems here - the disc plays just fine, and the high-def. picture quality certainly outclasses any standard dvd, giving this 30 year-old film the quality it deserves, with a beautiful widescreen picture probably better than the original theatrical release back in '79. The cast and crew interviews (Special Features) are "audio only", but they are somewhat informative and entertaining nevertheless. Roger Moore's comments are especially good (humorous). Reduced to "four stars" only because there is no 5.1 sound mix: ESCAPE TO ATHENA is presented with its original sound mix (2-channel mono). Sound quality is good, to be sure, but would have been even better (obviously) with a full surround remaster.
As a fan of cinema from the 1970's, and as a collector of anything James Bond related, I can't help but recommend this film. Besides Roger Moore, the cast includes David Niven, Telly Sevalas, Claudia Cardinale, Richard Roundtree, Stephanie Powers, and Elliott Gould. Classic actors and actresses all, making this movie enjoyable to anyone who happens to be fans of their collective works, also.
One final note: I was very pleased to find this Blu-ray available through Amazon. I was aware of this movie's release on Blu-ray in 2008, but had been unable to actually find it at any retail stores, and I had checked many (big name stores and small), at various locations around the country. Very disappointing, considering the movie has an obvious tie-in to the James Bond films, and was releaed onto Blu-ray at a time when few such films from the era were available. Through Amazon, I was able to finally own this movie I had been wanting to see for some time.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun movie available as an import from Amazon UK, February 13, 2009
Please note that this is a review of the ITV BD release of ESCAPE TO ATHENA. I just received mine from Amazon UK last week and it plays fine on my American player. The special features do not play since they are in PAL (as they would also be on the Marketplace sellers product) but the movie itself is n great shape.
The movie follows the attempt by Allied P.O.W.'s during World War II Greece to disrupt the operations of the Nazi's, in particular to prevent the Germans from employing a secret weapon atop a mountaintop monastery. The plot however is largely used as a backdrop on which to stage some exciting action scenes and some comedic timing by Elliott Gould and Roger Moore (playing a rather improbable ladies manGerman officer). The rest of the cast includes David Niven (who would reteam with Moore a year later in the excellent "Sea Wolves"), Stephanoe Powers and Telly Savalas. All in all, it's a fun Boys Only adventure movie that is perfect viewing for those rainy Saturday afternoons.
The picture and audio quality of the Blu-ray are flawless and this is undoubtedly the best way to view the movie at home. The level of detail is staggering and the Blu-ray technology is put to good use to bring out the beauty of Greece.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
DVD available in Region 2 of fun 1970s action movie, April 26, 2006
Region-free DVD player owners might be interested to learn that a DVD of this fun 1970s actioner is available in Europe.
Those who own Blu-ray players might also want to pick up the European Blu-ray. The Blu-ray of this entertaining movie is playable on American Blu-ray players, though the special features (being in PAL) are not.
In this entertaining World War II action movie, two actors, who previously played the character James Bond, Roger Moore and David Niven (who spoofed the part up in the unfunny CASINO ROYALE) team up with previous Bond villain Telly Savalas (Blofeld in the excellent ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE) in an effort to destroy a Nazi missile silo in the Aagean Sea.
Niven and Savalas both seem comfortable in their roles as a British prisoner of war and a Greek resistance fighter respectively, only Moore seems uncomfortable in his role as a German officer and indeed his German accent seems a little forced at times.
But never mind the real attraction to this movie is the action and the comedic touches, with Elliott Gould (as a captured Allied entertainer providing a large portion of the latter). We have Moore tackling German frogmen, Gould racing through the streets on a motorcycle and an assault on a Nazi fortress among other action scenes.
It's an entertaining movie, in much the same vein as other Roger Moore movies of the 1970s and early 1980s (GOLD, SHOUT AT THE DEVIL and NORTH SEA HIJACK) and though Niven attacked another Aagean based Nazi fortress over a decade earlier in the superior THE GUNS OF NAVARONE, this is the perfect antidote for a slow Saturday afternoon.
The Region 2 DVD includes a rather interesting special feature that will hopefully be repeated when this is released stateside. In an archival documentary from 1979 the stars of the movie are interviewed not by professional movie critics, but by something much less forgiving - their children.
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