Showing posts with label The Guns of Navarone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Guns of Navarone. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 16, 2023

Catching 'The Guns of Navarone' in Ikebukuro!

The Guns of Navarone at the Shin Bungeiza. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Wednesday, August 16, I caught a screening of the Columbia Pictures classic The Guns of Navarone (1961) at the Shin Bungeiza theater in Ikebukuro. I'd never seen it before, so I figured seeing it on the Shin Bungeiza's massive screen would be the best way to watch it for the first time. I was a bit taken aback to find that the screening would be sourced from a Blu-ray, as opposed to a 4K remaster or DCP. (What is this -- the Pickwick Theatre?!)

Look who's guarding the soda machine. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Thankfully, the movie was still quite watchable, even if it was grainier than what I was used to. I enjoyed the movie, too, especially since I couldn't always predict where the story would go. On the other hand, I felt the climax went on too long and lost some of its tension along the way, but I was pleased with the overall film. It was also fun to see Irene Papas in an early role, as I mostly know her from her appearance as a baddie in John Landis' Into the Night (1985). 

Not sure what movie I will see next there. I saw that the theater will screen a great Showa-era horror movie at the end of the month, but we'll see if I'm available to catch a screening.