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The Making Of The Guns Of Navarone The First In A Major
Opus |
Read more at in70mm.com The 70mm Newsletter
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Written by: Brian
Hannan |
Date:
26.04.2013 |
Scottish
film historian Brian Hannan is rewriting film history – literally. And the
first book – The Making Of The Guns Of Navarone - of a planned massive
one-million-word opus under the general title of ‘The Magnificent 60s’ gets
its ‘world premiere’ at the Bradford
Widescreen Festival on Sunday April 28. Hannan is introducing the restored 4K version of the film as well as doing a
book signing.
‘I discovered that Hollywood history was not what it seemed so I’ve had to
rewrite it,’ says Hannan. ‘For example, I found out that Gregory Peck,
between being signed up for the leading role for "The Guns Of Navarone" and
the film’s release, had gone from being a guarantee of box office success
into a major liability after Beloved Infidel, in which he played writer F
Scott Fitzgerald, was a commercial disaster. Of his previous six films, only
two had been hits. I also found out the movie was beset with calamity. In
short order the producer lost his preferred leading men William Holden (the
biggest star in the world at the time) and Cary Grant, scriptwriter Eric
Ambler and two leading ladies. Towards the end of shooting Oscar-winning
actor David Niven, one of the stars, nearly died. The set they built for the
guns was the biggest ever made in Britain, but it collapsed and had to be
rebuilt at great cost.’
The budget rocketed by 25%. The launch of the movie was postponed by nearly
a year after rows between producer Carl Foreman and the studio Columbia
Pictures. For its US launch Foreman wanted the movie to be shown first as a
prestigious roadshow, but Columbia got cold feet about going down this route
for such an expensive movie. And so it went straight into release, although
it was roadshown overseas.
‘There was consternation,’ adds Hannan, ‘among fans of the original
bestseller written by Alistair Maclean when they discovered there were
leading ladies in the movie because there were no women in the book. The
producer had switched two of the male roles into female. The film was
originally meant to be filmed in 1957 but did not appear until four years
later.
‘Hollywood had a habit of writing its own history that nobody bothered to
check. But I have and, to my surprise, discovered much of what I believed
turned out not to be true.’
The ‘Making Of’ books are part of the ‘The Magnificent 60s’ series which
looks at classic films of that era, examining how they were made, and the
conflicts and disasters created along the way, as well as how they were
released and the success or failure, thereafter, of the principal players.
The series is a ten-year project. It is estimated that books will be
released at the rate of two-three a year. The series will encompass 20-30 of
the major films of the period, movies that set precedents, broke taboos or
became iconic favourites, including David Lean’s Oscar-winning
"Lawrence Of
Arabia", Fellini’s ground-breaking "La Dolce Vita", "Never On Sunday", classic
westerns "The Magnificent Seven" and "The Wild Bunch", the scorching Paul Newman
dramas "Hud" and "The Hustler", Elizabeth Taylor’s Oscar winners
"Butterfield 8"
and "Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf" as well as guilty pleasures like
"The
Dirty Dozen".
Hannan has already has two books published on Alfred Hitchcock – Darkness
Visible: Hitchcock’s Greatest Film and Hitchcock’s Hollywood Hell.
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More in 70mm reading:
70mm Blow Up
List 1963 - by in70mm.com
John Wayne Was Set To Play Lawrence Of
Arabia
Widescreen Weekend
2013
Internet link:
24.04.2013:
This morning in the Amazon Kindle Top 100 Chart for Film & TV - your
proud author had FOUR books in the Top Thirty. The Making Of The Guns Of
Navarone was at No 19, The Making Of Lawrence Of Arabia was at No 24,
Hitchcock's Hollywood Hell was at No 27 and Out Of This
World:Spielberg's Greatest Film was at No 30.
Brian
25.04.2013:
I've now got all FIVE of my published kindle books in the Amazon kindle
Film & Video chart - as of this evening the Making of Lawrence of Arabia
was No 2, Making of Guns Of Navarone was No 10, Hitchcock's Hollywood
Hell was No 26, Out of This World ; Spielberg's Greatest Film was No 29
and Darkness Visible: Hitchcock;s Greatest Film was No 44. In the US
Lawrence is at No 69.
Brian
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All
star cast of "The Guns of Navarone". Columbia 1961
‘This is the classic story of turning your hobby into something bigger,’
says Hannan. ‘I’ve been working on these books for years. I’m a massive
movie fan and go every week – I went more often when I was younger. The
strange thing is that I grew up in a town without a cinema, which was very
unusual in Scotland, which was famous for its cinemagoing habit. I did not
see "The Guns Of Navarone" till I was about sixteen years old. When I went to
university I got into movies in earnest, ending up as president of the film
society and therefore able to programme all the old films I wanted. I also
spent a lot of time in the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, a famous reference
library, and was amazed to discover they took in copies of the weekly movie
trade magazines so in a sense I was a movie researcher from an early age and
so researching has always been a joy.’
How he finds the time is another wonder for he is kept busy with his
full-time job as the chief executive of The Cookery School in Glasgow. ‘When
your hobby is such fun it’s not hard to make the time,’ he says. ‘My job is
also a joy. Food and movies, what more is there to life?’
In fact his first published books related to food. He edited the bestselling
recipe book The Flavour Of Scotland and wrote Great Scots In The Cookery
Business. He also organised the Official Dinner for the Opening of the
Scottish Parliament.
‘I’m a massive fan of the Bradford Widescreen Festival. The museum does a
fabulous job of showing these old movies in their original format and I’m
delighted to be taking part.
‘Although Bradford had already scheduled the film before they heard of my
book, what’s most rewarding of all is that, apparently, because of my book
coming out, other UK cinemas are starting to book "The Guns Of Navarone",
which has been restored in 4K, as a special Father’s Day attraction this
year. The Glasgow Film Theatre, for example, has already booked it.’
Brian Hannan has also written The Making of
Lawrence Of Arabia, Hitchcock’s Hollywood Hell, Darkness Visible –
Hitchcock’s Greatest Film and Out Of This World – Spielberg’s Greatest Film.
He is currently working on The Making Of The Magnificent Seven.
The Making Of The Guns Of Navarone is available on Amazon Kindle in Britain,
the US and across Europe (on various amazon sites) and direct form the
publisher Baroliant Press and in British bookshops.
Contact Brian Hannan
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