Escape to Athena1979

Director
George P. Cosmatos

Acters

Roger Moore (Major Otto Hecht)
Telly Savalas (Zeno)
David Niven (Professor Blake)
Stefanie Powers (Dottie Del Mar)
Claudia Cardinale (Eleana)
Richard Roundtree (Nat Judson)

A World War II adventure, involving a group of Allied P.O.W.s, Nazis, black market priceless art treasures, Greek resistance, a Greek monastery, and a secret German rocket base.
The ever efficient German war machine had little trouble sweeping over Greece, yet some stubborn resistance remained active. Various civilian prisoners were thrown with the officers in Stalag VII-Z, a camp on the site of a Neptune temple under two masters: S.S. Major Volkmann and former dodgy Viennese art merchant Major Otto Hecht. The camp, meant to send Berlin archaeological treasures, actually keeps the true treasures for his private black market trade, via Hecht’s sister in Switzerland. Prisoners mount an elaborate plan to take over the camp, in league with the local Greek resistance leader Zeno, who is determined to prevent the arbitrary execution of villagers as reprisal.
“The film is designed to be old-fashioned, large-scale entertainment. Director George Cosmatos is well aware of this characteristic and puts his energy into packing the film with excitement, laughs, and plenty of visual sweep.” – All Movie
“’Escape to Athena’—easy to miss film—deserves a watch. It’s a war movie that has an unusual venue and storyline.” – Ben Meyers International Movie Critics
“’Escape to Athena’ is the perfect film to see in the wee hours of the night when you want to be entertained. It is hilarious, packed with old-fashioned 70s action, and beautifully photographed. It also unites as impressive of a cast as one could have hoped for.” – Blu-ray.com