Product Details

• Actors: Sophia Loren, George Peppard, Trevor Howard, John Mills, Richard Johnson
• Directors: Michael Anderson
• Writers: Derry Quinn, Duilio Coletti, Emeric Pressburger, Ray Rigby, Vittoriano Petrilli
• Producers: Carlo Ponti
• Format: Color, Closed-captioned, Dubbed, Subtitled
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: December 19, 2006
• Run Time: 115 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005JP3T
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,216 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Operation Crossbow" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

OPERATION CROSSBOW - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a nifty WWII spy thriller, June 30, 2004

By 

Alejandra Vernon "artist & illustrator" (Long Beach, California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Operation Crossbow [VHS] (VHS Tape)

With a terrific international cast and excellent effects, this fast-paced thriller about spies infiltrating a German rocket installation is entertaining, and though much of the antics are improbable, especially in the final sequence, it does have a historical context to it. There was an Operation Crossbow, when Winston Churchill (well played by Patrick Wyman) was concerned about what misslies and rockets the Nazis were making.
The V-1 "Buzz Bomb" was a nightmare for those living in London in the summer of '44, and perhaps the most gripping part of the film is its depiction of London being hit with these dreaded missiles, with some amazing cinematography by Erwin Hillier.

George Peppard is a smooth spy, and does many scenes speaking German, though he looks 100% American, perhaps because of the hat he wears pushed back on his head, which would have been a givaway had he really been in enemy territory.
Richard Johnson is wonderful as Duncan Sandys, who believes action is imperative and that "in war, decisions almost always have to be made on incomplete knowledge; if you wait until you're certain, you're sure to be too late", and goes against Trevor Howard as Professor Linderman, who is not convinced that the situation is serious, or even exists.
(Duncan Sandys was Churchill's son-in-law, and not a very popular fellow with the RAF, because he thought the future of air warfare was in missiles and rockets, and not in manned flight).

Other top-notch actors are Sophia Loren looking beautiful, Tom Courtenay, John Mills, Jeremy Kemp, Anthony Quayle, Richard Todd, and Lilli Palmer marvelous as a resistance worker in Holland.
The film has a certain stylish slickness that it probably owes to the popularity of the James Bond films in the early '60s, and in the Bond tradition has many lovely ladies in all levels of the work force (even as a German engineer/test pilot) and lots and lots of action. A film that almost makes it to 5 stars but just misses the mark, it still makes fine viewing, with some history (though a little jumbled) thrown in for good measure.
Total running time is 115 minutes.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Operation Crossbow, February 2, 2000

By 

Richard S. Garris (Berlin, New Hampshire) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Operation Crossbow [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This engrossing war drama places stars George Peppard and John Mills as trained sabatuers in an underground factory where V-1 and V-2 "Buzz-bomb" rockets were being manufactured in Germany during world war II. This gripping drama is as suspensefull as it is realistic. Their mission is to destroy Hitler's ability to manfacture those terrible incendiary rockets which were terrorizing London during the latter stages of the war. Sophia Loren, thinking her husband already dead, discovers George Peppard impersonating him, and the action accelerates from there. This movie has it all, romance, great suspense and special effects as well as a thrilling climax. Several scenes are in German with English subtitles, and as a high school German teacher, I found this a pleasant addition to the film. This movie has aged well since its release in 1965. Give it a try.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best film about Nazi sabotage of its era I've ever seen, January 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Operation Crossbow [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I loved this film when it first came out in 1965 (keep in mind the war was over for fewer than 20 years at that point, so the public's collective memory of the V-1 and V-2 weapons was much crisper then). The movie is superbly cast, despite producer Carlo Ponti's insistence that wife Sophia Loren get top billing. Paul Henreid (Casablanca) has a minor, but important role as the general in charge of testing the flying bombs. Lili Palmer plays her usual anti-Nazi resistance role with great believability. George Peppard, young at this point, plays the role as the central allied saboteur -- ably assisted by Jeremy Kemp and Tom Courtenay. The Loren character (a mother of two looking for her Nazi-loving husband) is superimposed over the mission to penetrate the underground Nazi missile factory and destroy it. The photography is spectacular, with thoughtfully conceived dissolves and segues that look just as good today as they did in 1965. For anyone who remembers London during the blitz, this is a must-see. No doubt, it will produce chills. Buy this movie, before some dope in Hollywood decides to cut it out. They should only transfer it to DVD. It's a real treasure. Take the phone off the hook when you watch, so you're not distracted.