Search - ESCAPE TO ATHENA (1974) on Blu-ray

A Roger Moore non-Bond Gem from the 1970's

Elmer S. Hider | 09/10/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Released around the exact same time as the Bond film Moonraker in 1979, ESCAPE TO ATHENA was overlooked by most moviegoers in the U.S. at the time, and has not been available on home video until now. For James Bond fans, especially fans of the Roger Moore era of 007, this movie is certainly worth owning, as it marks the first non-Bond Roger Moore film available on Blu-ray. Along with Shout At The Devil (1976), The Wild Geese (1978), and The Sea Wolves (1980), ESCAPE TO ATHENA is more-or-less required viewing for anyone calling themselves a fan of Roger Moore or James Bond-type all-star action films.

As a non-U.S. Blu-ray, I was concerned about ESCAPE TO ATHENA working properly with my system. No problems here - the disc plays just fine, and the high-def. picture quality certainly outclasses any standard dvd, giving this 30 year-old film the quality it deserves, with a beautiful widescreen picture probably better than the original theatrical release back in '79. The cast and crew interviews (Special Features) are "audio only", but they are somewhat informative and entertaining nevertheless. Roger Moore's comments are especially good (humorous). Reduced to "four stars" only because there is no 5.1 sound mix: ESCAPE TO ATHENA is presented with its original sound mix (2-channel mono). Sound quality is good, to be sure, but would have been even better (obviously) with a full surround remaster.

As a fan of cinema from the 1970's, and as a collector of anything James Bond related, I can't help but recommend this film. Besides Roger Moore, the cast includes David Niven, Telly Sevalas, Claudia Cardinale, Richard Roundtree, Stephanie Powers, and Elliott Gould. Classic actors and actresses all, making this movie enjoyable to anyone who happens to be fans of their collective works, also.

One final note: I was very pleased to find this Blu-ray available through Amazon. I was aware of this movie's release on Blu-ray in 2008, but had been unable to actually find it at any retail stores, and I had checked many (big name stores and small), at various locations around the country. Very disappointing, considering the movie has an obvious tie-in to the James Bond films, and was releaed onto Blu-ray at a time when few such films from the era were available. Through Amazon, I was able to finally own this movie I had been wanting to see for some time."