Film

Escape to Athena

Name: Escape to Athena
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, War, Action
Released: 1979
Cast: Roger Moore, Telly Savalas, David Niven, Stefanie Powers, Claudia Cardinale

Treasure hunt

A 1979 adventure film where WWII prisoners in a Greek island POW camp scheme to escape while hunting treasure hidden in a mountaintop monastery. Roger Moore and Telly Savalas lead an ensemble cast through a film that can't quite decide if it's a heist, a war story, or a comedy—which is precisely its charm. Gloriously unhinged fun.

TMDb rating

2.9

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like cheerful, scheming caper stories where a ragtag group of prisoners plots under a sunny Mediterranean sky and the comedy comes from the characters' bickering rather than slapstick.

Skip it if you want a tight, grounded war drama, since this one is breezy, a little creaky, and at 125 minutes it lingers longer than its light comedy needs.

What it asks of you: Settle in for just over two hours of amiable, loosely strung-together scenes, with no need to track complicated history; the mood stays easygoing and the pace unhurried.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Great Escape1963

The template for all POW camp escape films. Meticulous plotting, genuine tension, and a cast of stars playing against type. Watching it first makes Escape to Athena's chaos feel like a deliberately looser cousin.

But Three-hour commitment and a more serious tone means it lacks Athena's anything-goes spirit. Slower build.

The Italian Job1969

Ensemble heist film with an irresistible cast, gold bullion, and a willingness to prioritise fun over logic. Michael Caine leads a group of lovable criminals through a perfectly bonkers plot set across multiple countries.

But The iconic ending is abrupt and unsatisfying if you need narrative closure. Some scenes haven't aged gracefully.

Where Eagles Dare1968

Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood in a WWII adventure that knows exactly how entertaining it is. A castle, impossible odds, and characters who solve problems through intelligence and style. Relentlessly entertaining.

But Nearly three hours and some of the action setpieces feel repetitive. The plot occasionally vanishes in favour of spectacle.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Escape to Athena

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Lavender Hill Mob1951

Both are ensemble capers where the real pleasure is watching smart people enjoy themselves plotting something elaborate. The heist is the excuse, not the point.

Ealing comedy about mild-mannered bank clerk organizing an audacious gold heist. Alec Guinness leads a cast of lovable British eccentrics through a caper that's clever without being cold. Pure joy.

But Black and white, and the pacing is deliberate. Modern audiences accustomed to quick cuts may find it measured.

The Guns of Navarone1961

A commando team on a suicide mission to destroy impossible-to-reach guns during WWII. Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn. Taut, intelligent, beautifully shot on real Greek locations.

But More serious and methodical than Athena. If you want constant action, the middle passages may test your patience.

Major Dundee1965

Sam Peckinpah's wildly ambitious film about a Union officer commanding a ragtag regiment of misfits on a dangerous mission. Chaotic, sprawling, occasionally genius. Charlton Heston, Richard Harris, Warren Oates.

But The film was heavily edited by the studio and is genuinely uneven. Some scenes feel unfinished. Requires tolerance for ambition over polish.

The Dirty Dozen1967

Twelve condemned soldiers trained for a suicide mission into Nazi territory. Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, John Cassavetes. A masterclass in ensemble casting and action sequences that still hold up.

But At over two hours, the training montage is lengthy. Some of the comedic moments feel dated now.

Too Late Blues1961

John Cassavetes' jazz musicians navigate betrayal and ambition in Los Angeles. A completely different energy: intimate, improvisatory, achingly human. Proof that star casts can work in small, real stories.

But Sparse plot and long stretches of character observation. If you need plot mechanics, this will frustrate you.

The Poseidon Adventure1972

A luxury ship capsizes and a ragtag group must climb through the inverted vessel to survive. Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters. Peak disaster film with a dream ensemble cast and practical effects.

But The tone shifts awkwardly between action and melodrama. Some character deaths land as unearned emotional manipulation.

Cannon for Cordoba1970

A Mexican-American officer leads a team to steal a cannon during the Mexican Revolution. George Peppard, Raf Vallone. Obscure war adventure with real stunt work and an appetite for absurdist complications.

But Genuinely hard to find in good quality. Uneven pacing and some of the dialogue feels like it survived a bad translation.

The Defiant Ones1958

Like Athena, a film about prisoners bonding through shared adversity while chasing freedom. Athena plays it for laughs; this goes deeper. Same skeleton, completely different temperature.

Two escaped prisoners—one Black, one white—chained together, forced into an odyssey across the American South. Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis create genuine chemistry from antagonism. Funny, touching, morally complex.

But Made in 1964, it tackles race directly. Some may find the dynamic uncomfortably dated; others will appreciate its sincerity over modern caution.

The Wages of Fear1953

Both films center on groups of men bound by circumstance, dependent on each other, trapped between freedom and survival. Athena treats it as adventure; Wages treats it as tragedy. Same human equation, opposite answers.

A French masterpiece about four men hired to transport unstable nitroglycerin across mountains in South America. Yves Montand leads. Suspenseful, philosophical, about how desperation and camaraderie collide.

But French dialogue, slow burn, and a worldview shaped by post-war existentialism. Not designed to be comfortable. Not short.